Jeyhun Osmanli: “Xaribülbül has returned to freedom”
On May 12, “Xaribülbül” music festival opened in Shusha, the “cultural capital” of Azerbaijan
On May 12, the “Xaribülbül” (Kharybulbul) Festival of music opened in Shusha, the “cultural capital” of Azerbaijan and the Caucasus Conservatory. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and her daughters, Leyla Aliyeva and Arzu Aliyeva, attended the event, organized in Khidir Duzu by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.
The festival consisted of performances by famous masters of Azerbaijani national music and folk groups of different nations and ethnicities living in Azerbaijan.
Jeyhun Osmanli, doctor of philosophy and economics, political scientist and co-founder of the Green Movement of Azerbaijan, called the event a “historical milestone” in the Caucasian country.
The International Festival “Xaribülbül” has been held since 1989 in connection with the centenary of the famous Azerbaijani singer Seyid Shushinsky, in places as diverse as Japan, USA, Turkey, Germany, Israel, Italy, Spain or Austria. It has the participation of many countries, such as Afghanistan and the former Soviet republics, and is considered one of the most important cultural events, not only in Azerbaijan, but worldwide.
However, after the collapse of the Soviet empire in 1991, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan resurfaced. Shusha and other lands were occupied by Armenia on May 8, 1992 and since then until 2021 it has not been possible to celebrate it.
After regaining Shusha in last fall’s war, the Azerbaijani city “has returned to freedom,” according to Jeyhun Osmanli, pleased with the proclamation of the city as the cultural capital of Azerbaijan.
Jeyhun Osmanli also noted that on the first day of the festival, organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the musical creativity of different peoples living in this country was presented on “multiculturalism in Azerbaijani music”. According to him, music groups and performers from different nations living in different regions of the country conveyed the idea that everyone, regardless of nationality or religion, has a unique homeland and that every citizen lives and creates for this land.
“The cultural heritage of Shusha, the historical city of Azerbaijan, is one of the most delicate and irreplaceable examples of the world cultural heritage”, although the Armenians “seriously damaged many of these monuments during the 30 years of occupation”.
This information was sent from Azerbaijan by the political scientist Mahir Qurbanov to the Spanish journalist Carlos Matías, collaborator of Columna Cero.
The recovery of a cultural event such as the “Xaribülbül” Music Festival in Shusha is always good news for the culture of the whole world.
This Music Festival can be a wonderful opportunity to strengthen ties between different cultures, the reconciliation of countries confronted by various disputes and, ultimately, to give an opportunity to promote universal peace.
The city of Shusha is the main historical enclave where the Republic of Artsakh was self-proclaimed after the fall of the Soviet Union. It had a population of 17,000, 98% of them were Azerbaijanis (according to the 1989 Soviet Union census) The city of Shusha was occupied by Armenian military units on May 8, 1992 and recaptured by Azerbaijan on November 8 last year 2020
On May 7, 2021 Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared the city of Shusha as the cultural capital of Azerbaijan.
