Mehriban Aliyeva:”To defend Azerbaijan’s position is everybody’s duty, not only in the battle field, but also before a computer.”

Dear fellow-citizens! 

The events that have occurred recent days worry every citizen in our country. Another provocation of the invader immediately received a worthy response. 

May God rest souls of all our martyrs. May God help our soldiers recover soon. May God save lives and health of every Azerbaijani soldier. 

We all are encompassed by emotions these days. A sense of pride is one of the strongest emotions, along with condolence and respect for memories of our martyrs – the pride in the fighting capacity of the Azerbaijani Army,  the pride in mothers that have brought up such brave sons, the pride in patriotism of our fellow-citizens, the youth ready to fight to defend the Homeland upon the first call,  tens of thousands of volunteers, the pride in thousands of Azerbaijanis beyond the borders of the country who express their unambiguous positions and support our state, and our army.    

Demonstration of unity, high mood and being ready for celebration of historical truth – for the restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity – are strong and influential means in our sacred struggle. 

I want to thank all who have demonstrated a true civic stand in these days. 

Dear brothers and sisters!

Today, against the backdrop of the high level of patriotism and bellicosity, we all have to be strong, sober, and tolerant. We should never forget that the environment of confrontation that we have been experiencing years long covers not only the military operations zone directly, but also the information space. In the time of social networks, the scope of information wars, as well as their impact on the progress of the events turn into a very significant factor affecting the results of the confrontation. 

Modern information platforms are used by hostile forces, malevolent people and, sometimes, simply envious and biased circles, for spreading fake news, fabricated and provocative materials in a dishonest fashion. The objective is to set up an alarm, cause a quarrel and create an internal “front”, and increase the mood of apathy and defeat. 

From fake profiles and phone numbers intended for one-time use only to methods aiming to impact users’ visual, hearing and emotional perception, a wide arsenal of tools are used. In short, the most disgusting means are resorted to in order to touch the most sensitive chords of a human heart. Forces supporting Armenia’s occupation policy are acting based on the principle “all means are good in a war”. 

It is very rejoicing that majority of Internet users of Azerbaijan do not give way to provocation, unmasking lies and slander, differentiating a down-right lie from a true fact, talking about the true facts concerning the roots of the conflict. After all, our primary duty is to convey our voice of justice to the world society.

I want to thank all who have been active these days, talking honestly, defending our country’s interest in this sphere of activity in a substantiated fashion, following legal and ethical norms. 

There are also other examples. At a time when the Azerbaijani Army worthily responded to the provocation of the enemy, there appeared some Azerbaijanis hiding in third countries who manifested such hatred towards their homeland by airing fake news about the “completely destroyed” Azerbaijani positions, many deaths among the civil population, causing panic, fear and depression among our fellow-citizens, or used the patriotic mood of the Azerbaijani youth to cause separation, anarchy and disorder with the purpose of  securing their inessential and impracticable political ambitions. 

Such moves of these people may not be justified. They have nothing common with millions of Azerbaijanis that are ready to sacrifice their lives for their land, and may not have. God is judge to them, as apart from the public reproach, all are responsible before God.   

Dear friends!

The mutual support you have demonstrated on social networks, your tolerance, solidarity and self-control are worth appreciation. I thank you for that! We all have to be sober, not giving way to provocation. Every time we share new information, place a photo or write a comment, let us not forget that we are living in the conditions of war, and the opposite side may use everything we have distributed in the information space against us. Let us not forget that to defend Azerbaijan’s position is everybody’s duty, not only in the battle field, but also before a computer. Let us not forget that we are a nation with one only goal. We need a victory, a victory for all of us. And he who strengthens his power with unity, intellect and willpower is a winner. 

I infinitely love my native Azerbaijan, and my wise, brave and merciful people! Our cause is legitimate, and God is on our side! May Almighty God protect Azerbaijan! 

With Love,

your MEHRIBAN