UPDATE - Azerbaijan marks National Flag Day

REVISES DECK; ADDS REMARKS OF AZERBAIJANI OFFICIALS, DETAILS

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA (AA) - Azerbaijan on Monday celebrated the 102nd anniversary of its national flag after more than a month of gains in its efforts to liberate lands under nearly three decades of Armenian occupation.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu celebrated the day on Twitter.

"Happy National Flag Day to brotherly Azerbaijan! The glorious Azerbaijani flag is waving again in the lands liberated by its heroic army. Live in happiness with your tricolor flag, dear AZERBAIJAN!" Cavusoglu said.

Azerbaijan's First Lady and Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva also marked the day in a social media post.

"I congratulate all our fellow countrymen on the occasion of the National Flag Day of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Our hearts will always be filled with pride for our flag and Motherland! May our tricolor wave in the sky of the sovereign, powerful Azerbaijan forever!" she said on Instagram.

Meanwhile, Jeyhun Bayramov, the country's foreign minister, hailed the day on Twitter.

"November 9 marks #NationalFlagDay in #Azerbaijan! On this remarkable occasion which coincidences with the most significant days in our history, we congratulate all Azerbaijanis! May our Flag wave over all liberated territories of Azerbaijan!" Bayramov said.

Azerbaijan marked the day following Sunday's announcement of President Ilham Aliyev on the liberation of Shusha, which has been under Armenian occupation for over 28 years.

Shusha, which was occupied by Armenian forces on May 8, 1992, is strategically important in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, also known as Upper Karabakh, which is an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan. It is located on the road to Khankendi, the region's largest city.

Many people across the country marked the day by marching on the streets with Azerbaijani and Turkish flags and chanting the slogans "Karabakh is Azerbaijan."

The tricolor was adopted on Nov. 9, 1918 as the national flag of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) which existed for 23 months from 1918 to 1920.

- History of tricolor flag

Present-day Azerbaijan is considered the successor of the ADR, which claimed to be the first secular and democratic Muslim-majority country.

"The flag once raised will never fall!" became the motto of the country's independence struggle in the 20th century. They were the words of Mammad Amin Rasulzade, a statesman, prominent public figure and a founder of ADR.

In 1991, when Azerbaijan regained its independence from the Soviet Union, the country's Supreme Council announced on Feb. 5 that the blue, red and green flag with an eight-pointed star and crescent would be the new republic's national flag.

On Nov. 17, 2009, President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree to declare Nov. 9 the National Flag Day of the country. The day was also declared an official holiday.