The article by journalist Colin Freeman points out that after Nagorno-Karabakh fell into the control of Armenian separatists in the early 1990s, legendary Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hacibeyli's bust was used as target practice by gunmen.

“Now, with Shusha liberated by Azerbaijani forces during last year's renewed hostilities, Hacibeyli's bullet-scarred bust once again looks out over the town square, where the Azerbaijani flag now flies from the nearby town hall. Also restored are busts of Khurshidbanu Natavan, an Azerbaijani poet, and Bulbul, a famous singer, likewise dusted off after decades of safekeeping in Azerbaijan's Museum of Arts,” the article notes.

“These monuments stood here before the war of 1988, but the Armenians fired on them to show their disdain for Azerbaijani culture,” the author cited an official of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry as saying.

Freeman stresses that the Azerbaijani Army defeated the Armenian armed forces during last autumn’s six-week war.

The author also notes that Armenia was forced to sign a Russia-brokered ceasefire deal.

“Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev now plans to return hundreds of thousands of displaced citizens to recaptured parts of the region, regarded internationally as legitimate Azerbaijani territory,” he adds.

The author also reminds that President Aliyev declared the liberated Shusha city as Azerbaijan’s cultural capital.

“The president has already visited Shusha several times, opening three new hotels and promising that after decades of Armenian “savagery”, Shusha will now become a tourism haven,” Freeman says.

“Shusha will become one of the cultural capitals not only of Azerbaijan, the region, but also of the world,” the author cited President Aliyev as saying.

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