President: Fall of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic served as lesson to us

Baku. 15 March. REPORT.AZ/ "Two months later, in May, we will mark the 100th anniversary of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. We are proud of it. They could establish the first democratic republic in the Muslim world, we feel proud of it."

Report informs, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said at the 6th Global Baku Forum.

The head of state said that the Azerbaijani people proved that they want to live in a free society: "Founders of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic wanted such a society that it could protect the rights of all people. Azerbaijan Democratic Republic has a great role in development of today's Azerbaijan. They have made important decisions 100 years ago, for example, they have given the voting right to women. It happened before the European states. Unfortunately, the existence of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic did not last long, it was less than two years. The fall of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic served as lesson to us. Gaining independence is easier than to protect it. Today, Azerbaijan is a fully independent country in a true sense of the word. We have clear plans for the future. If the founders of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic could see the country's present development, they would have been proud of it. Countries can only develop when they are independent. And development of Azerbaijan realized by this way."