Azerbaijan Television and Radio Broadcasting CJSC hosted a presentation of the book "People of the Trench" organised by the International Eurasia Press Fund (IEPF).
According to EDNews.net, well-known signatories, political scientists, parliamentarians, media authorities, whoused their pens as weapons to sacrifice their lives in the unjust war of Armenia against Azerbaijan, both during the 44-day Karabakh war and during the 30-year occupation. Azerbaijani journalists, as well as relatives of those who died on the way to the summit of martyrdom, took part at the presentation.
The members of the media given in the book "People of the Trench" are our colleagues who have been sent to the Karabakh region for many years. At the same time, the book commemorates journalists died in the 1st and 2nd Karabakh wars. During both wars and the 30-year occupation, we had many journalists who were ready to sacrifice their lives in every sense of the word. Mirshahin Agayev, Kamil Eldaroglu, Mahir Mammadli, Ilgar Mikayiloglu, Vusal Garaja, Anar Shushali, Aysham Rustamova, Ibrahim Hashimov, Elmin Bayramli, Ramal Abdullayev, Islam Ashrafov, Ismail Amirov, Ahmad Mammadov, Heydar Mirza and dozens of our colleagues have been honored to live life in the trenches.
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Opening the presentation, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Television and Radio Broadcasting Closed Joint-Stock Company Rovshan Mammadov first thanked the IEPF and the president of the organisation Umud Mirzayev and those who have had hard work in the publication of the book, as well as guests. He offered to commemorate the souls of our martyrs with a minute of silence.
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Then Rovshan Mammadov spoke about Siraj Abishov, the operator of AzTV, who was killed by an enemy mine while filming in Kalbajar on June 4.
“Siraj devoted himself to this work. Although we called him several times, he did not return to Baku. He said he still had work to do. He left us, but left a history of pride behind. They are mentioned at the wall of the honour in the yard of the television, we always remember them."
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"We are proud of you, you are a living example," he told reporters at the event. Today's event is a drop in the ocean, we tried to pay our debt. We are very glad that the activity of our journalists is immortalized in the book "People of the Trench". I thank those who played a role in the creation of this monograph."
President of the International Eurasia Press Fund Umud Mirzayev thanked the participants and said that the journalists had been in the trenches for 30 years.
“12 journalists have been martyred in the Karabakh war. Among them, there were two journalists who were foreigners. Even at a time when news was hard to produce, journalists covered a wide range of media outlets around the world. Azerbaijani journalists have done as much as the soldiers in the trenches, to tell the truth to the world. We also dedicated the book to journalists working in the Karabakh region.
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Speaking at the event, Chairman of the Press Council Aflatun Amashov first thanked IEPF President Umud Mirzayev.
“The work done by Umud Mirzayev is immeasurable. Over the years, he has taken dozens of journalists to the front lines to tell the truth to the world. With the initiative and support of the IEPF, a famous TV channel such as Al Jazeera made 5 films from Karabakh.
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A.Amashov also spoke about the exceptional activity of AzTV in the Karabakh war.
“Foreign TV channels and politicians used AzTV as a reference to transmit information about Karabakh to the world. During the 44-day war, every employee of AzTV fought like a soldier. Journalists Siraj Abishov and Maharram Ibrahimov are among the martyrs of the Second Karabakh War. During the 44-day war, 27 Azerbaijani journalists have been to war zone. This book is the beginning of a tribute to their hard work. I am sure that this will continue, this book will be used as a textbook for students at the Faculty of Journalism."
Rey Karimoglu, head of the press service at Karabakh Veterans Public Union thanked everyone who contributed to the publication of the book.
“First of all, I thank IEPF President Umud Mirzayev and Shohrat Eyvazov, who had hard works in the publication of the book. I am sure that there will be greater books in the future. This book is about journalists who worked on the front lines. But apart from them, hundreds of journalists fought at the back on the information front."
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MP Azay Guliyev said that martyrs die when they are forgotten, not when they are shot.
"The journalists we see in the book also played a role in the successful completion of the President's mission that led us to victory."
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He said that IEPF President Umud Mirzayev highly appreciated and supported the interaction with international organisations as the head of an NGO, emphasising the importance of civic self-sacrifice in this work. The MP said that we have a creative activity in the Karabakh region.
“Also, the information war is not over. We must unite around Mr.President in this area."
Vugar Rahimzadeh, a member of the Board of the Press Council of Azerbaijan and editor-in-chief of the "Iki Sahil" newspaper, said he bowed to the holy spirit of the martyred journalists and all the martyrs and their families. Our people closely united around the President's "Iron Fist" and demonstrated a civic position on the front and back. Time will pass, we will witness the making of films, stories and essays about martyred journalists.
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Sabina Seyidova, an employee of the Media Development Agency, said that the publication of such books and films is a sign of respect and reverence for the souls of martyred journalists.
“We see the behind-the-scenes activities of journalists in films. The activity of our journalists showed the character of our nation. Their families should know that they will live as long as our journalism lives.”
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Martyr Colonel Raguf Orujov's wife Sevinj Orujova said that the martyrdom of a journalist is also the martyrdom of the organisation she represents.
“The people of Azerbaijan know the names of martyred journalists. Today, every journalist is struggling. We recently visited the graves of Shohrat Eyvazov and Raguf Orujov, the compiler of the book "People of the Trench" and the Karabakh correspondent of the Public Television. Shohrat Eyvazov is a valuable person for me. The activities of our journalists during the Second Karabakh War will leave traces in the memory of our youth. Today we are progressing upward and I am sure that the souls of Chingiz Mustafayev, Salatin Askerova and Ali Mustafayev are happy today."
The brother of AZERTAC correspondent Maharram Ibrahimov, who was killed by a landmine in Susuzluq village of Kalbajar region, said that journalists face many difficulties.
“I am proud. When do we bocome martyrs for the homeland? National zeal must always be at the forefront. "
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He also proposed to perpetuate the names of the martyrs.
“It is possible to perpetuate the names of the martyrs in Kalbajar, both in terms of tourism and in terms of delivery to the world community. We thank Rovshan Mammadov for the long-awaited consolation. I hope we will see Goycha district, where Maharram was born and raised, as an integral part of Azerbaijan.”
IEPF President Umud Mirzayev added that our newspapers operating in the regions also have martyrs.
“Before, we had more than 100 journalists in the regions, who changed their lives during this period. Journalist Zibeyda Hajiyeva and her parents have been martyred by a landmine in Fuzuli.
Samir Yuniszadeh, Zibeyda Hajiyeva's cousin, said that Zibeyda was the editor-in-chief at "Araz" newspaper.
"He said, 'I will be the first journalist to step in Fuzuli.' He went there for the article "The Great Return". He could not complete the article himself. I want all journalists to complete their articles themselves."
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In conclusion, Umud Mirzayev thanked the chairman of AzTV Rovshan Mammadov for his assistance in organising the event, as well as Gunel Gozalova, who made a special contribution to the organisation of the event.
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It is significant to note that the book is of 162 pages. The author of the idea of "People of the Trench" is the President of the International Eurasia Press Fund (IEPF) Umud Mirzayev, editors are Jahangir Mammadli, Mubariz Piri, compiler is Shohrat Eyvazov and the consultant is Rey Karimoglu.
During its existence, the IEPF has organised a number of visits to the Karabakh region for internationally renowned foreign media representatives, heads of public and private organisations, in order to convey the truth about Karabakh to the world.