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Dear friends
distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen
i'd like to thank every single one of you
for coming here today
today we are here to celebrate the ninety-fifth anniversary
of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
in nineteen eighteen
exactly ninety five years ago
our forefathers established the first
secular democratic republic the muslim world
and in fact on this very date exactly ninety five years ago on may twenty six
our forefathers established the Azerbaijani National Council
which in turn established the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic two days later
on may twenty eighth
the ADR
existed for about two years and despite its short of existence
it achieved many accomplishments
they established
democratically elected parliament
they gave women the right to vote in nineteen eighteen
preceding the united states
and the united kingdom
the parliament of ADR was very multicultural
they had political parties coming from different ethnicities
to be specific
we had parties coming from
azerbaijani turkish armenian
jewish
and polish communities of Azerbaijan
and we have to understand that this was happening in nineteen eighteen
they also established the first
western style university the Baku State University in the East
they have made many accomplishments and many achievements
in this very short time-period
as the president of AYCN, the Azerbaijani Youth of Canada Network
I would like to say that
we are committed to learning
the values of azerbaijan democratic republic
we are committed to researching Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
and will adopt many values because we believe
that is justice
and we believe
with these values we have prosperous future for our community
I am not going to take any longer speaking on ADR
we have distinguished guests
friends of our community people you have met before many times
and we have future friends of our community
honorable Reza Moridi
minister of research and innovation
mpp from richmond hill
my constituency
we also have
MPP Monte Kwinter here
he's a good friend of our community, he's been to Azerbaijan a few times
he's been with on numerous occasions and he supports our community and he
needs our support as well
we also have MP Mark Adler here
Mark Adler is from north york
your center area which is north york we have
very very like a lot of Azerbaijani families living in that constituency
and we actually met with mister Adler last year we had a conversation with him
in his office he expressed his will to meet with the community and i'm glad that we
actually provided this opportunity for him for us as well
we also have a senator honourable Salma Attaullahjan on her way
she should be here any moment oh
thank very much for coming
she's the first canadian senator from uh... coming from pakistani descent
so it's a pretty pretty god achievement
we also have a president of
turkish federation Huseyin Nurgel bey
the federation have reached out ot many of you for coming here today and we are very grateful for
their help for this supports
and it's the brotherly community thank you very much for coming
salam aleikum and good afternoon
i feel privileged today to be
among you today to celebrate the nine fifth anniversary of the founding of
azerbaijan democratic republic
i am always happy to see presentation from the youth
for you are the future of this nation
as a canadian senator and a muslim
i am proud to speak of azerbaijan's independency
last year
in the senate chamber
i related to my colleagues
that although the republic was short lived
it was the first successful attempt to establish a democratic state in the
muslim world
it laid the foundation of a modern state that promoted equality and the rule of law
i emphasize to the fact that azerbaijan has historically promoted the
status of women
and was the first muslim country to grant women equal political
rights to men
women were granted the right to vote in the year of
independence nineteen eighteen
one year after canada
and two years before the united states it's a history that you should be very
proud of
the Honourable Senator Ataullahjan
MP Mark Adler
MPP
Monte Kwinter ladies and gentlemen it's a great pleasure and honor and
privilege to be here this afternoon to celebrate Azerbaijan's ninety fifth
anniversary
i had the pleasure of visiting Azerbaijan on two occasions one was
a few years after the independence after the collapse of the soviet union
at the latest four years ago
uh... in the company of my friend Monte Kwinter we have
been invited by the parliament of azerbaijan to visit the city of Baku
and we got a chance to go to Shaki and visit Shaki as well not only Baku
not only Baku is a gem but Shaki is another gem in Azerbaijan
you know before going to Baku
i had been around the world i had visited so many cities
i have been around the world
but visiting Azerbaijan and Baku was one of the dreams in my life
and i am so glad that i lived longer to have the opportunity to go to Baku and
azerbaijan in nineteen ninety seven i believe and for the second
time
with the honourtable Monte Kwinter
and i hope to go back again and visit Baku and other cities of azerbaijan
in nineteen eighteen as you've heard this story the history of
the Republic of Azerbaijan
uh... the republic was created by Mahammad Amin Rasulzade and Khoyski
was i guess the first president or the first prime minister
of Azerbaijan i believe the first prime minister and Khoyski's family comes from
the southern azerbaijan from the city of
Khoy as you know that why he was called Khoyski
and Mahammad Amin Rasulzade also had a great affiliation with the southern
azerbaijan and to Iran as well he participated
uh... extensively in the in the constitutional uh... revolution in iran
in nineteen oh five so he was a great man he was a journalist he was a democrat
he was a nationalist he was a great human being
and it was very sad that his republic didn't last for more than two years
so today we are here to celebrate not only here but all over the world
they are celebrating that ninety-fifth anniversary of this wonderful country so
on that occasion i've got a scroll greetings from
Premier Kathleen Wynne and i would like to request the honorable Monte Kwinter to
read the scroll and present it
to Iskandar bey thank you Reza and on behalf of government of Ontario the
Premier has sent a message i'm pleased to extend
warm greetings to everyone
attending the azerbaijan republic day celebration
today as a azerbaijan in ontario and across the globe
commemorate the ninety-fifth anniversary of Azerbaijan Republic Day
i feel privileged to be premier of a province
rooted in diversity and creativity
values embraced by our government
itsi our differences and unite strengthen us and is the creativity and talent of
our people
that makeup Ontario such as vibrant dynamic place to live
this is an ideal occasions to reflect with pride
on the Azerbaijani identity and to celebrate your rich cultural artistic
heritage
the citizens of this great province are please to join you
the marking this important day in celebrating your community's many
contributions
to Canada's multicultural success story
please accept my very best wishes for a meaningful
and memorable celebration signed by kathleen wynne premier
thank you so much
salaam aleikum
i also say
shalom aleikum
those of you who know me and a lot of you do
you know i'm jewish
but this morning
in case you didn't know but this morning
i know Monte was there we were down at the UJA
walk-a-thon
for israel
we here in the city
and this country of canada always prided ourselves
on the multicultural ethno-cultural nature of our country and how we all get
along so well
and we all come from different countries around the world different nationalities
and different ethnicities and different cultures
and you know what makes us so proud at the end of the day most of all is that
we are all canadian
and that is the most important tie of all that binds us all together that we
can all be proud canadians are proud of the country
that we
call home
now that doesn't mean
of course
that we forget where we come from
and i gotta tell you one thing quickly
i have a lot of responsibilities as a member of parliament but the one that i
enjoy the most is when i get to go to citizenship swearing-in ceremonies
where people are coming from all over the world i know some of you're new
citizens
and they are coming
to escape persecution oppression racism
and they come to this great country of canada
for themselves yes
but more importantly for their children
for hope for their children for a better life
and that is what yes that deserves a round of applause absolutely
and that is what Canada is all about we all have hope
and that is what i was talking about
that is hope
just let me conclude by saying
of course on behalf of our prime minister the Right Honourable Stephen Harper
i want to wish Azerbaijan
a very happy
ninety-fifth
uh...
day of
commemoration
and independence and i also want to thank
of course the Azerbaijani Youth Network
for organizing this wonderful event because my friends that is is what it's
all about it's about youth
cuz youth is our future and
that is what gives us such great hope God less you all God bless Canada
and as the member of parliament mentioned
and brought greetings from the from the government of canada by the Right Honourable
stephen harper
we all wished
that one day will open Azerbaijani embassy in Ottawa
and there is one and we wish
that he's going to be canadian embassy in baku azerbaijan as well and we're
ready to work with you and with the government of canada on that
dear honourable guests
dear distinguished guests
dear turkish azerbaijani community and friends of Turkish Azerbaijanis
twenty eighth of may is celebrated
as the Republic Day in Azerbaijan
the day when Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan was declared
act of independence of Azerbaijan was adopted in nineteen eighteen
first democratic republic in the orient
the federation of canadian turkish associations congratulates and joins the
azerbaijani community
in canada
for the celebration
of the anniversary of Azerbaijan national independence day
the turkish canadian community
all across canada
stands in solidarity
with the people of azeri turkish heritage
and support the
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan
on behalf of executive committee of federation of canadian turkish
associations
i wish you a successful and memorable
flag raising ceremony today
thank you for coming
all right thank you everyone for coming again we're going to be raising the
flag we'll play the Azerbaijani anthem
i'm gonna ask the kids
to come to the flag we'll be raising the fight with the kids
they are our future they are the next generation
and i think it's an honourable moment for them