Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova started the scheduled autumn-session plenary sitting held on 11 October with an account of the official visit that the delegation of the Azerbaijani legislators paid to the Slovak Republic on 7-9 October.

Situated in Central Europe, the Slovak Republic is a country with the population approximating six million, the territory of close to 49,000 m2; it sports a dynamically evolving economy, too, according to Mrs Gafarova. As for the visit, it was generally the first occasion on which a speaker of the Milli Majlis lands in Slovakia, emphasised Sahiba Gafarova who had, whilst in Bratislava, met with the Slovak PM Eduard Heger and then, together with the accompanying delegation, also with Chairman of the National Council Boris Kollár, the Slovak friendship group and Foreign Affairs Minister Ivan Korčok. There had been negotiations. Mrs Gafarova and Mr Kollár had held a joint briefing for the mass media.

Continuing, Madame Chair mentioned having underlined at the conversations in Slovakia the importance that Azerbaijan attaches to broadening its co-operation with the European Union member-states and spoken about the energy policy of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan’s role in the European energy security matters.

Also, according to Sahiba Gafarova, she had told her vis-à-vis about the 44-day Patriotic War, about that Azerbaijan, when it had liberated its lands after thirty years of liberation, had restored both the historical justice and its own territorial wholeness. The large-scale restoration and building work went on in the freed lands now, Mrs Gafarova had pointed out.

Madame Chair had also mentioned at her meetings in Slovakia that the boundaries of the economic regions of Azerbaijan had been redrawn with the two new ones of Garabagh and East Zangazur established pursuant to the decree of President Ilham Aliyev.

It had been said also that Armenia resorted to provocations, sent groups of terrorists to the de-occupied Azerbaijani territories, painted the terrorists apprehended after the signing of the trilateral statement of 10 November 2020 as prisoners of war and evaded the release of the minefield maps. It had been said, besides, that the explosions of the mines planted by the Armenian side had killed and wounded 150 Azerbaijani civilians and military servicemen to date.

All that shows once more that Armenia continues to be grossly in breach of the international humanitarian laws.

According to Sahiba Gafarova, she had referred during the conversations in Bratislava to the objectionable and inadmissible documents passed by the Slovak Parliament in respect to the Armenian-Azerbaijani Conflict, namely, the resolution dated 1 April 2021 and the decision ‘On Highland Garabagh’.

Furthermore, it had been remarked at the meetings in Slovakia that the thirtieth anniversary of the Khojali Genocide was nearing: it would be marked in Azerbaijan next year. A number of national parliaments and several international organisations have passed relevant decisions about that massacre, that crime against humanity. The Chair of the Milli Majlis had pointed out to the Slovak colleagues that, as she hoped, the Parliament of Slovakia, too, would initiate a recognition process with respect to the genocide.

There had been an exchange of opinions during the visit about the continued expansion of the bilateral economic relations, the moves to boost the trade turnovers, the steps taken to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, deepening the co-operation deeper after the pandemic and other matters of shared interest.

Sahiba Gafarova noted as she was finishing her account that the official visit was a success. She thanked the colleagues who had travelled to Slovakia with her and taken an active part in the negotiations conducted there.

The issues du jour began to be discussed then. A parliamentary committee chairman Zahid Oruj and the MPs Hikmat Mammadov, Rashad Mahmudov, Fazil Gazanfaroglu, Nizami Safarov, Aghil Abbas, Elman Mammadov, Elshan Musayev, Azay Guliyev, Aydin Mirzazade, Sabir Rustamkhanli and Razi Nurullayev brought up the concerns of the electors, the countering of the pandemic, the political parties’ representatives’ trip to Shusha and various aspects of the public and political life of the country.

Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova announced the first item on the agenda – the Independence Day Bill, which is submitted to the Parliament by way of the legislative initiative of President Ilham Aliyev of the Azerbaijan Republic. Apart from that looking at such a draft law ahead of the thirtieth anniversary of the state independence of the republic is a highlight in itself, this is also a token of respect for our history. The Azerbaijan Republic that regained its state independence on 18 October 1991 is the heir to the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic that declared its independence on 28 May 1918. The modern Azerbaijani State lives on falling back on that heritage and has been able to attain the present-day high level therefore. Now, the proposed Bill is intended to restore the historical justice by passing an acting and correct judgement on both of those remarkable events of the 103 years past.

First Deputy Chair of the Milli Majlis and chairman of the parliamentary Law Policy and State-Building Committee Ali Huseynli then tabled the Bill in question (in the first reading). Mr Huseynli lauded Mr President’s having approached the Parliament with this draft law, which is of massive importance in the history of the land, precisely on the eve of the thirtieth anniversary of our restored independence. The Bill emanates from the need for a clearer reflection of such exceptionally significant milestones in our victory, namely, the independence found at the beginning of last century and the independence reclaimed at its end. The National Council of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic announced its independence to the world by signing the Declaration of Independence of 28 May 1918: our people retook the independence by force of the relevant constitutional act. Those dates are set with more precision and a greater conformity to their essence and import in the Bill in question, Mr Huseynli was saying. Specifically, it is suggested in the draft that the 28^th of May should be declared the Independence Day and the 18^th of October the Newfound Independence Day. Both are to be red-letter days, too.

Going further, Ali Huseynli told the House that both dates were the most important ones in our statehood history, chronologically as much as by their substance. The Bill submitted by Mr President for consideration of the Parliament is more exacting and complete in its coverage of those milestones; it had been scrutinised at a meeting of the Law Policy and State-Building Committee.

Commentaries came from the parliamentary committee chairmen Musa Guliyev, Zahid Oruj and Siyavush Novruzov as well as the MPs Hikmat Mammadov, Gudrat Hasanguliyev, Kamal Jafarov, Nurlan Hasanov, Kamila Aliyeva, Aydin Mirzazade, Emin Hajiyev, Ali Masimli, Fazil Mustafa and Vahid Ahmadov. They all talked about the Bill’s needfulness and significance in the history of national independence.

The first reading of the Independence Day Bill was resumed after the intermission. The further speakers were the Milli Majlis committee chairs Hijran Huseynova, Bakhtiyar Aliyev and Tahir Rzayev and the MPs Nizami Safarov, Razi Nurullayev, Elshad Mirbashiroglu, Fazil Mustafa, Sabir Rustamkhanli, Anar Isgandarov, Musa Gasimli, Ramin Mammadov, Nigyar Arpadarai, Erkin Gadirli, Azer Badamov, Asim Mollazade, Javid Osmanov, Etibar Aliyev, Tahir Karimli, Azay Guliyev and Sahib Aliyev. They, too, talked about the importance of the document in the context of the Azerbaijani victory in the Patriotic War and from the national history viewpoint.

Then, the Independence Day Bill was put on vote and passed through the first reading.

A draft decision on election of a member of the Milli Majlis Committee for Public Associations and Religious Entities was considered at the plenum as well. MP Azay Guliyev was elected to the said committee.

With that, the sitting of the Milli Majlis was over.

The Press and Public Relations Department

The Milli Majlis