President Emomali Rahmon yesterday took part in a solemn event and a festive gathering dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the 16th session of Tajikistan’s Shuroi Oli (Supreme Court — 1937–1994 legislature of the Tajik SSR and Tajikistan) of the 12th convocation that took place at the Qasri Arbob in Bobojon-Ghafurov district of Sughd province.
The Tajik president’s official website says that in a statement delivered at the meeting, Emomali Rahmon congratulated all the participants and all the people of the country on the anniversary of the vital and historic session, “which is the starting point of the restoration of constitutional authority, peace and tranquility, political stability, national unity, the creation of an independent state of the Tajiks and the ensuring of today's achievements of the people.”
Recall, the 16th session of the Shuroi Oli that opened in the northern city of Khujand on November 16, 1992 three days later elected Emomali Rahmon as the Supreme Council's chairman. This gave him the status of Tajikistan’s leader.
Rahmon emphasized that the process of statehood of the Tajiks started from that meeting, and from this point of view, “the 30th anniversary of this fateful event is considered a truly great and historical holiday for the noble people of Tajikistan.”
“After achieving independence, the Tajik nation, instead of starting to build a modern national state after a thousand years of statelessness, was dragged into the vortex of political opposition and forced civil war,” Rahmon said, noting that such a situation demanded that the Shuroi Oli session be convened in order to prevent bloodshed, restore the constitutional structure, ensure the rule of law in society and peace and tranquility in the country, because there is a danger of the disappearance of the state.
Tajiks and the disintegration of the Tajik nation had reportedly become a terrible reality of the day.
The president stated that “thirty years after the adoption of these documents, we can say with satisfaction and pride that this was the only reasonable and correct way that we – the representatives of the people – took in order to protect the independence, freedom, territorial integrity and capital of the nation, we chose unity and future progress and development of our homeland.”
“Thanks to the historic XVI Session of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Tajikistan, we stopped the imposed civil war, freed the state from destruction and the nation from disintegration, restored peace and tranquility and national unity, laid the foundations of modern statehood – established a democratic, law-based, secular and social state and ensured stable economic development,” he said.
Rahmon considered the proud people of Tajikistan as champions of peace, creativity, prosperity and progress of the homeland and emphasized that if the people of Tajikistan, young and old, did not support our policy for thirty years, we would not have achieved peace, tranquility, progress and development, i.e. we would not reach up to these days.
During the speech, the head of state also spoke about the first years of statehood and governance, the transformation of Tajikistan into a unified country, the adoption of state programs and strategies, the introduction of sectorial reforms, the establishment of diplomatic relations with the countries of the world, beneficial relations with world-renowned organizations and institutions, the choice of the open-door policy in the foreign policy of the Government, constructive efforts and initiatives and measures to improve the standard of living of the people.
