18 October 2010, 23:30
Independence Day of Azerbaijan passes without public celebrations
October 18 is celebrated in Azerbaijan as the Day of State Independence. On this day in 1991, the Azerbaijani parliament adopted the Constitutional Act on restoration of independence of Azerbaijan.
Today the country has an ordinary working day, and no state actions are planned on the occasion of this date. As reported by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, only a few TV channels and local press have paid attention to the state holiday; and opposition parties have held actions in this regard.
In the opinion of Ali Kerimli, leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), the incumbent authorities are deliberately ignoring the Independence Day, because "they have nothing to do with it." At the same time, he said, those deputies, who had strained their efforts to adopt the Independence Constitutional Act, are undeservingly forgotten.
Earlier, Ali Gasanov, head of the public-political division of the President's Administration, explained the deprivation in 2005 of the State Independence Day of the day-off status by the fact that "independence is celebrated on the Republic Day - on March 28, when in 1918 the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic was proclaimed.
Author: Faik Medzhid Source: CK correspondent
