WNAM Monitoring: The Azerbaijani House, operating in Paris, France, made an appeal due to the decision of the Evian-le-Bain city council regarding the “Azerbaijan garden” and the danger created around the monument of the famous poetess of Azerbaijan Khurshidbanu Natavan located in the park.
Mirvari Fataliyeva, head of the House of Azerbaijan, expressed deep concern about the current situation in the appeal addressed to Jozian Ley, the mayor of Evian-le-Ban. In the appeal, it was mentioned that France is recognized as a country that values all the cultures that exist in its territory:
“However, the recent actions against Azerbaijan, especially the proposals regarding changing the name of the “Azerbaijani Garden” completely contradict the principles of justice and respect for cultural diversity.”
It was brought to attention that Khurshidbanu Natavan is one of the main figures of the 19th century Azerbaijani literature, a symbol of women’s freedom, who made important contributions to the cultural development and life of Azerbaijan’s public relations. At a time when female writers in Europe often use male pseudonyms, Natavan, who is the bearer of Islamic values, led literary meetings in Shusha, the cultural city of our country, and met the famous French writer Alexandre Dumas in 1858. Khasay Khan strengthened. The incident of Nateva building a stone road from Baku to Shikh village was mentioned in A. Duma’s book “Journey to the Caucasus”.
It was stated that such decisions create a risk of disrupting mutual understanding and cooperation relations, which are important for strengthening goodwill between the two countries. However, France should show respect for various cultural heritages and bilateral relations: “Being aware of the importance of protecting cultural symbols that contribute to mutual understanding between our countries, we call on the relevant authorities to reconsider these decisions.”
Emphasizing that culture enables countries to overcome all other obstacles, the Azerbaijani House in Paris asked for attention to this problem and hoped to solve it in accordance with the valuesof different cultures, which France proudly represents.
It should be recalled that, according to the mutual friendship and cooperation charter signed in 2015 between Ismayilli city of Azerbaijan and Evian-le-Bain city of France, “Azerbaijan garden” was opened in this city in 2017, and a monument of famous Azerbaijani poetess Khurshidbanu Natavan was erected in the park.
