At the scheduled plenary sitting of the autumn session held on 5 November, Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova reminded the MPs that it was taking place ahead of the glorious date: on 8 November, our people will be celebrating the Victory Day, the day of the brilliant triumph crowning the 44 days’ Patriotic War.

Speaking on behalf of the Milli Majlis, Mrs Gafarova thanked for that Victory the esteemed President, the victorious Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, the courageous soldiers and officers of the Armed Forces as well as the gazies, and congratulated them all on the holiday with all her heart. Madame Speaker’s congratulations evoked the applause of the House, as did the subsequent suggestion of the leader of the parliament that congratulatory letters should be sent to President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva on behalf of the Milli Majlis. The letters, written out duly, contained the wishes of further successes and achievements in the name of the prosperity and prominence of the people and the state of Azerbaijan.

Then, Sahiba Gafarova remarked wistfully that, alas, no war passes without losses and we, too, had the bitter lot of saying good-bye to our shahids at our war.

The plenum participants had a moment of silence in memoriam of the shahids fallen at the 44-day Patriotic War and, before it, at the First Garabagh War and in other battles for their Motherland and people as well as in memoriam of the peaceful dwellers of our towns and villages who had parted with their lives owing to Armenia’s acts of genocide and state-level terrorism.

Next, the ten-item agenda of the plenum was adopted. The Chair of the Milli Majlis tabled Item 1, which was ‘The Statement of the Milli Majlis on the Victory Day of the 8^th of November.

A year ago, the heroic Azerbaijani Army led by Ilham Aliyev, the president of the Azerbaijan Republic and the triumphant commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the country, had brought us the historic victory, an exceptionally important occurrence in the history of Azerbaijan as an independent state. The Patriotic War of 44 days that is inscribed in our annals in glowing letters culminated with the crushing blow landed on the Armenian troops and the deliverance from occupation for most of the lands of Azerbaijan that Armenia had previously captured. The victory won in the battlefield was underpinned with the political and diplomatic achievements to the same end. The peaceful recovery by Azerbaijan of its Agdam, Kalbajar and Lachin provinces meant that the historic justice was restored. Besides, Azerbaijan independently enforced the resolutions of the UN Security Council and the pertaining decisions of the other international organisations by dropping the curtain on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict which had impeded the progress of our state for long years.

Not only Azerbaijan but also the whole of the South Caucasus now enjoy new growth opportunities thanks to that shining victory – the victory that was achieved thanks to several factors, Sahiba Gafarova continued. Definitely, the crucial factor was the competent, dependable and responsible political administration of Azerbaijan all through the 28 years past. The creation and development strategy that the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev set in motion upon return to power in June 1993 and that President Ilham Aliyev of the Azerbaijan Republic then took further has transformed Azerbaijan into one of the most dynamically advancing countries of the region and a party whose word mattered within the boundaries of the spacious region. The state policy building on the public interests and needs ensures that any task arising before it can be carried out successfully.

The speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament emphasised then that the accumulation of the immense political, economic and defence potential of the country and the Armed Forces built up to meet the highest modern standards had added up to another victory factor. The Army of Azerbaijan as we know it today is one of the 50 strongest in the world. The captainship of the victorious Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev let the whole world see for itself what the Armed Forces of our country can do in the battlefield. The unparalleled self-sacrifice and steadfastness of our privates and officers ensured the purging of Shusha and our other towns and villages of the enemy; the heroism of the Azerbaijani warrior is a source of pride for us. The combat tactics of the Azerbaijani Army are taught at military colleges in several countries these days.

The third victory factor was the unity of the nation. Our people were rallied to their commander-in-chief and joined up into one indestructible whole during the war; they made that first which became the symbol of national unity and delivered the crushing blows to the foe. The enemy could not withstand such unity and such might – he tried, but he failed.

The Chair of the Milli Majlis proceeded to quote the Commander-in-Chief then, saying, ‘The victory that we had in the Second Garabagh Conflict is a historic one, a victory, a nonesuch in the history of our nation that dates back over many centuries. The whole nation became united for it; they closed the ranks behind our Army as it carried out the orders of its commander-in-chief meritoriously. I should also like to say that we – as we manifested examples of heroism and self-sacrifice and shed our blood and counted our fallen – we drove the enemy from our soil and taught him a proper lesson. The enemy went to his knee before us; the enemy flew the white flag. The people of Azerbaijan are the people of victors from now on.’

The flag of Azerbaijan is now hoisted proudly over Garabagh and East Zangazur; the large projects are undertaken aiming to restore the towns and villages pillaged and demolished by the Armenian vandals. President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva curate those projects on a daily basis, Sahiba Gafarova continued.

Those friendly and fraternal states that did not leave us without their moral support during the Patriotic War are brought in to take part in the restoration of the freed provinces. It is a joy to think about the recent inauguration of the Fuzuli International Airport, the ground-breaking for the Zangazur Corridor in Zanghilan and the blessing given to other major projects by the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey, Ilham Aliyev and Recep Tayyip Erdogan. One can safely say that all the projects targeting the economic resurrection of Garabagh and East Zangazur will be seen through and that that region will become one of the most beautiful parts of Azerbaijan.

‘It is with boundless pride that we are returning to our native parts, to our own Garabagh. We have the debt of gratitude to the victorious commander-in-chief and the armed forces for having given the right to do so back to us. So, we say proudly, ‘Long live our wise Leader, our heroic Army, our adamant People! Long live Azerbaijan! Garabagh is Azerbaijan!’ Sahiba Gafarova said concluding her speech.

The speech by the speaker of the Milli Majlis brought up plaudits, after the abating of which Mrs Gafarova pointed out that the Azerbaijani parliament had received – and was receiving on an on-going basis – Victory Day congratulatory letters from a number of national parliaments as well as international parliamentary organisations.

Deliberations upon the agenda of the plenum began with the statement by the Milli Majlis on the Victory Day of 8 November. A commission led by First Deputy Speaker Ali Huseynli and the MPs Ziyafet Asgarov, Hijran Huseynova, Ganira Pashayeva, Sabir Hajiyev, Tural Ganjaliyev and Javid Osmanov was put together to compose the draft.

As for the speakers, those were the MPs Fazil Mustafa, Zahid Oruj, Mahir Abbaszade, Musa Gasimli, Elman Nasirov, Emin Hajiyev, Musa Guliyev, Bakhtiyar Aliyev, Bahrouz Maharramov, Aydin Mirzazade, Ganira Pashayeva and Gudrat Hasanguliyev as well as Deputy Speaker Adil Aliyev. First things first, they congratulated the Head of State, the National Army and the whole of the nation including those 50 million Azerbaijanis living in various countries around the world on the Victory Day.

The speakers converged on the point that the nation as a whole had become united around Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev making one fist during the Patriotic War, that the president of Azerbaijan had demonstrated high intellect, resolve, courage, captainship, reserve and love for his country, be it in the battlefield or in the diplomatic arena or on the information front. They also said that President Aliyev was going down in history as the saviour of Garabagh and would be recognised internationally as a state leader who is a constructor thanks to the speedy restoration and rebuilding of the liberated lands. What else the lawmakers pointed out was that the Azerbaijani Army had demonstrated its prowess and military skilfulness in action. Going further, the MPs commemorated those fallen at the Patriotic War and mentioned the thorough care of the servicemen who had become gazies in the struggle for the wholeness of their Motherland and of the fallen brave ones’ families that First Vice President Mrs Mehriban Aliyeva is taking. It was said that the Azerbaijani nation that had raised the sons loving their country is a powerful and fair nation, a master of its land and its history alike, a nation committed to its state and its statehood traditions – thanks to which the flag of Azerbaijan flies high and proud now. On the days of the Patriotic War, it was noted besides, the Milli Majlis – all of them – worked in the name of the Victory with one accord and tirelessly. The Victory Day – the first one that we are celebrating with such honour now, is sacred for the history of Azerbaijan and essential for the Turkic World as a whole, the MPs were saying.

Then, Javid Osmanov presented the draft statement of the Milli Majlis on the Victory Day of the 8^th of November that the commission had drawn up. The text was read aloud to applause. The Statement of the Milli Majlis of the Azerbaijan Republic on the Victory Day of the 8^th of November was put on vote and adopted.

(The text of the statement of the Milli Majlis of the Azerbaijan Republic on the Victory Day of the 8^th of November will be taken out in the press.)

The draft resolution of the Milli Majlis ‘On Declaring an Amnesty on the occasion of the Victory Day of the 8^th of November’ was Item 2 on the agenda of the plenary sitting.

First, Chair of the Parliament Sahiba Gafarova said that protection of the human rights and liberties was one of the pillars of a rule-of-law and democratic state and that the affirmation of clemency and humanism in the life of the country was one of the staple areas of application of the state policy pursued by the president of Azerbaijan. The amnesty and pardon institution has won a great authority under his guidance; this institution promotes and reinforces the confidence in and respect for the person whilst also spreading the ideas of humanness and humanism in our society.

According to Madame Chair, there have been the numerous amnesty acts embracing thousands of people at the instance of the Head of State since 2003. Three days ago, President Ilham Aliyev came up with another amnesty initiative, on the occasion of the Victory Day this time, and submitted a relevant resolution’s draft for consideration of the Milli Majlis. That document was discussed by the parliamentary Committee for Law Policy and State-Building.

The House proceeded to listen to the overview of the draft resolution ‘On Declaring an Amnesty on the occasion of the Victory Day of the 8^th of November’ that came from First Deputy Chair of the Milli Majlis/Chairman of the said committee Ali Huseynli.

Ali Huseynli began by speaking about the policy of humanism in pursuit in Azerbaijan since the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev returned to rule the country again in 1993. One of the crucial components of the policy consists in a humane attitude to the people who did committed crimes but admitted to having done so and repented, in pardoning and amnestying them. It was precisely the outcome of the continuation of that course that first Heydar Aliyev and then Ilham Aliyev signed 67 pardon orders and decrees releasing almost nine thousand prison inmates during 1995-2001.

The parliamentary committee chairman recalled that the Parliament had passed 11 amnesty acts in the same period with the last of them motioned when the president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the esteemed Mrs Mehriban Aliyeva was a member of the Milli Majlis. As many as 117,000 people were amnestied in that time-span consequently.

The presented new amnesty resolution was composed at the President’s Administration to the orders of President Ilham Aliyev himself, according to Mr Huseynli. The parliamentary committee Mr Huseynli chairs has discussed that document thoroughly; so, the version tabled in the House contains the proposals that MPs have made during the discourse.

The amnesty document originated by the President of Azerbaijan consists of a preamble and four parts traditionally. In the preamble, there are clauses underlining the exceptional significance for the Azerbaijani people of the liberation of the town of Shusha on 8 November 2020 and justifying the needfulness of the amnesty initiative specifically by the first anniversary of the end of the Patriotic War and the forthcoming Victory Day. The document outlines the eligible persons, contains the proposed limitations, defines the legal force of the amnesty act and offers the amnestying regulations.

It follows from the draft that the amnesty is to come into effect as enacted and that the appropriate bodies shall carry the amnesty out within four months thereafter. Notably, the scope of this new amnesty will be larger than of any granted to date, according to Mr Huseynli.

Deliberations followed. The MPs Fazail Agamali, Aydin Huseynov, Etibar Aliyev, Zahid Oruj, Fazil Mustafa, Malahat Ibrahimghizi, Bakhtiyar Aliyev and Kamal Jafarov spoke favourably of the tabled documents; they also put forth their proposals and questions. Besides, they underlined the humanistic nature of the draft, saying that the amnesty to mark the first anniversary of the war in which we overpowered the enemy and to celebrate the day of the historic victory on the 8^th of November was another humane act on the part of the Azerbaijani State.

Ali Huseynli answered the questions. In addition, he stressed that this amnesty act was the largest one in our time; its passing would further boost the Azerbaijani society’s trust in the human rights and in justice alike.

The draft resolution of the Milli Majlis of the Azerbaijan Republic Declaring an Amnesty on the occasion of the Victory Day of the 8^th of November was put on vote and adopted subsequently.

Next up, Chairman of the Economic Policy, Industries and Enterprising Committee Tahir Mirkishili, MP Kamal Jafarov of the Law Policy and State-Building Committee and Chairman of the Sciences and Education Bakhtiyar Aliyev were listened to about the four drafts tabled for the third reading. Those were: the draft amendments to the State Duty Law; the draft amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences; the draft amendments to the Education Law and the draft amendments to the Vocational Education Law.

Also, the House reacted positively to the draft amendments to the Law ‘On Privatisation of State Property’ that had been tabled for the only reading.

That was followed by the second-reading amendments to the ‘On the Institution of the Orders and Medals of the Azerbaijan Republic’ in connexion with the introduction of the jubilee medal ‘The 30^th Anniversary (1992-2022) of the State Customs Committee’ and of the medal ‘For Efficient Collaboration with the Customs Authorities’.

The draft was voted through the second reading.

As the plenum drew to conclusion, there was the first-reading submission of the draft amendments to the ‘On the Institution of the Orders and Medals of the Azerbaijan Republic’ in view of the institution of the jubilee medals ‘The Centenary (1921-2021) of the Azerbaijan State Paedagogics University’ and ‘The 15^th anniversary (2005-2020) of the Defence Industry Ministry of the Azerbaijan Republic’.

Relevant opinions and suggestions came from the MPs Etibar Aliyev, Aydin Mirzazade, Siyavush Novruzov, Fazil Mustafa and Vahid Ahmadov.

All the proposed Bills were voted through the first reading one by one.

Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova concluded the scheduled plenary sitting by congratulating the MPs on the approaching holidays: the State Flag Day on the 9^th of November and the Constitution Day on the 12^th of November, and wished them all the best.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis