Congratulations of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev on the occasion of the Day of National Press - July 22, 1995


Our national press, founded 120 years ago by the newspaper "Ekinchi" instituted by a great scholar, teacher, journalist and public figure Hasan bey Zardabi, left a glorious page in the history of the spiritual culture of the Azerbaijani people, played a matchless role in formation of our national identity, in the preservation and protection of our spiritual values.

Stages of development of our national press are a part of the history of the struggle for freedom and independence of the Azerbaijani people. We have learned lessons of struggle for freedom, democracy, and independence from the pages of our national press, from the newspaper "Ekinchi."

The Azerbaijani people who has built their free, independent, democratic state has faced and is facing unimaginable difficulties on this path. The sly network woven by the internal and external enemies and their evil intentions, even the attempts of coup d'état, have repeatedly tested the will of our people and state. The Azerbaijani journalists who work in conditions of freedom of press and speech, and use the democratic values have great services in the solution of these issues and in objective assessment of events.

I congratulate the journalists, publishers, printing industry; in general, all the people working in this sphere on the occasion of Day of National Press, I wish you success for the sake of a brighter future of our country, for then establishment of the ideals of peace, freedom and democratic principles.

Newspaper "Azerbaijan", July 22, 1995