Tokyo, 25 November, /AJMEDIA/
The Azerbaijani people have been celebrating Kalbajar city day with special pride and honor for five years now.
The toponym “Kalbajar” means “castle on the river” in ancient Turkic. This ancient land is a living chronicle of Azerbaijani history with its countless monuments that have preserved the traces of Turkic culture, fire worship, Christianity and Islam since the 7th century for millennia. On this land there are settlements that are more than 30 thousand years old, 6 thousand year old rock paintings, examples of the ancient Turkic alphabet and artificial caves located along the Tartar River.
Kalbajar, one of the highest mountain regions of Azerbaijan, is of special importance for our country with its nature, borders and strategic position. Before the occupation, our ancient homeland was a large inhabited place that included 1 city, 1 settlement, 145 villages and 55 administrative territorial districts.
On April 2, 1993, hundreds of civilians were killed in Kalbajar, which was occupied by the Armenian army, and dozens of families were taken prisoner and disappeared. More than 53 thousand people were displaced from their native lands. Schools, hospitals, club and cultural houses, museums, historical monuments, thousands of houses and farms belonging to Kalbajar were destroyed, and wealth was looted. All this left a deep mark not only on the hearts of the people of Kalbajar, but also on the families of the martyrs who gave their lives for this land.
The years of non-implementation of UN Security Council Resolution No. 822 demanding the liberation of Kalbajar, Armenia’s illegal settlement policy, and the silence of international organizations led to the prolongation of this injustice.
However, the 2020 Patriotic War showed the whole world the will of the Azerbaijani people, the strength of our Army, and the determination of Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev. From the first days of the war, the strategic heights of the northern part of Kalbajar came under the control of our Army. This paralyzed the enemy’s use of the Basarkechar-Kalbajar road. In the words of President Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijani Army “almost completely limited” the movement of the Armenian army in this direction. These successes had a serious impact on the course of the war.
The Trilateral Statement of November 10, 2020, signed as a result of our Glorious Victory, created the legal basis for the return of Kalbajar to Azerbaijan on November 25. When Kalbajar was liberated from occupation, the burning of houses, destruction of farmland, forests, and gardens by illegally settled Armenians once again demonstrated to the world the full nakedness of Armenian vandalism.
Today, Kalbajar is experiencing a period of revival. The awarding of 9,455 military personnel with the medal “For the Liberation of Kalbajar”, established in November 2020, is an indication of the high value placed on the labor of heroes who sacrificed their lives for this land. The celebration of November 25 as the Day of the City of Kalbajar by the Decree of President Ilham Aliyev dated July 31, 2023 has become an official symbol of the revival of this land.
Today, the city is being rebuilt with a modern concept based on the Master Plan of Kalbajar until 2040. More than doubling the housing stock, 4 schools, 4 kindergartens, hospitals, museums, parks, large green zones, new roads and communication lines make the future of Kalbajar brighter.
Residential complexes for hundreds of families have already been built in the city, and the resettlement process has begun. The return of 81 families to Kalbajar, the construction of a large neighborhood of 524 families, the reconstruction of the villages of Yanshag, Zallar and Zar, and the relocation of thousands of families to these villages in total are the greatest joy for the people of Kalbajar.
Major infrastructure projects carried out in Kalbajar are also the main pillars of revival. The completion of 87 percent of the Toganali-Kalbajar-Istisu highway, the construction of the Murovdag tunnel, one of the longest automobile tunnels in the world, and the construction of the Kalbajar-Lachin road are already taking the development of the region to a new stage.
The energy infrastructure is also being fully restored – Meydan, Chirag-1, Chirag-2, Soyuqbulag, Ashagi Veng, Nadirkhanli and other small hydroelectric power stations are giving a new breath to the region.
The world-famous brand of Kalbajar, “Istisu”, is now serving the people of Azerbaijan again. A treatment and recreation complex, hotels, a SPA center and a mineral water plant with a production capacity of 100 million bottles turn this region into an economic and tourism center of the region.
The successive visits of President, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev to Kalbajar are an indication of the attention paid to the restoration of this region. During each visit, the head of state participates in the opening of new facilities, power plants, and residential complexes. This demonstrates that the revival of Kalbajar is under the direct control of the President himself.
Vugar Aghayev
