Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today convened a rally at Republic Square to commemorate the March 1 victims and outline ways of addressing the internal political situation in Armenia. The rally started to the sounds of Armenia’s national anthem. Nikol Pashinyan delivered a speech at the rally. Below is the transcript of Prime Minister Pashinyan’s remarks.
“Dear people,
I am asking you to observe a minute of silence in memory of our brothers and sisters killed in the Artsakh war. Thank you.
Today is March 1, and I would like to ask you to observe a minute of silence in memory of the March 1 victims. Thank you.
We are going through challenges times. We have many reasons to be anxious. But I want us to fill the Square with energy, joy, victory, optimism today – on the first day of spring. I know there are speculations that people have been brought to this square, and so on. There is one way to answer that question: look at the way people are communicating with this rostrum from the first to the last row.
So, today, on the first day of spring, we will show that as always we will keep together as proud, victorious, optimistic and happy citizens of the Republic of Armenia.
Dear people,
Proud citizens of the Republic of Armenia,
For 13 years now, public events have been held in Armenia on March 1. First, the events of March 1, 2008 took place, followed by gatherings held to commemorate those events and honor the memory of 10 victims. March 1, 2021, however, we meet in a completely different situation: I mean the tragic aftermath of the second Karabakh war, the fact that thousands Armenian soldiers have been killed, the huge number of missing people, the fact that many of our brothers and sisters remain in captivity, the ongoing propaganda of violence, the armed forces and attempts to involve the judiciary in political processes have posed new challenges.
These are security, foreign policy, regional and internal political challenges, and the future of our country and people depends on how well we will manage these challenges. We have now reached a point where we are running out of opportunities to make mistakes. During the past 31 years of independence, we have made many mistakes - all types of mistakes that were possible in theory and in practice. We did so during the last 2 years and 10 months, too. I mean, after the revolution. I mean our government and myself. And I want to apologize to all of you, to all the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, to all the Armenians of the Diaspora, to all the citizens of the Artsakh Republic for the mistakes I have made.
I have been thinking a lot about where I went wrong. I can cite specific cases, of course, but more importantly, why we made a mistake, why our government, our political team made a mistake. Strange as it may seem, one of the biggest reasons for our mistakes was that we were too much loved as a government. We were so popular that in order to justify that popular love, our love for the people and the Homeland, we wanted to do everything accurately and perfectly. And the search for perfection led to inactivity in many cases.
We sometimes had to choose between the worse and the worst. But we refused to make that choice, considering that the people had not brought us to power to choose between the worse and the worst. The people have brought us to power so that we could make a choice between the better and the best. And as we were trying to make a choice between the better and the best, it turned out that the presence of the worse and the worst was so ingrained, so deep that the choice was irreversible, and the best choice was to opt for the worse. And yet, unfortunately, our government was not the only one to make mistakes. As the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, as the head of the country, I want to apologize to our people for all the mistakes of all the authorities of the Third Republic. But I do not want this to sound like regret, I want it to sound like a sign of determination that we, the proud citizens of the Republic of Armenia, will not give up, will never give up in our struggle for a free and happy Armenia.
We have to show so much will and perseverance, so much love and determination in our daily efforts; we will look back on all the mistakes we have made since independence. Not only will we redouble our efforts to have a happy and strong country, but we will do our best to make those efforts effective. But it is likewise important that in such a difficult situation, we have the will to preserve and defend those values and achievements we have had since independence.
As we talk about mistakes we say that we have made many big and minor mistakes, but this does not mean at all that we have not had any achievement. Our greatest promise is to preserve and build on those achievements. An important achievement is the reinstatement of the people’s power in our country; the right of the people to exercise their rights, the crises faced should not be resolved at the expense of the constitutional power, but, on the contrary, through the re-establishment of the people's power. The right of the people to form a government should not be endangered by anything, but, on the contrary, should be strengthened. In other words, only the people have to decide who will be in power and who will not be in power in the Republic of Armenia.
This is just the essence of our current crisis: they want to take away the power of the people. We have gathered in the square to say that we will not allow it. We will not allow that. We will not allow our hard-earned achievements that we recorded throughout many decades of struggle and hardship to be destroyed. And you, the people, the citizens of the Republic of Armenia will continue to be the highest authority in the Republic of Armenia.
No matter who will stand here as a leader addressing the people, he or she can only be one that the people will choose through their free and sovereign will. We, the people, the citizens, the government will simply not allow any other way to come to power. We just will not allow it.
Dear people,
March 1, 2008 was a turning point in that struggle for power. On March 1, 2008, the then rulers of Armenia used the army against the people and decided to shoot the citizens of Armenia. It is crucial to state that there are several people being charged on the March 1 case who are running a trial today. And yes, I have to say that in my opinion the March 1 case has been revealed.
Many wonder how the March 1 case can be considered uncovered as the murderers have not been exposed. My opinion and personal assessment is that, it is true, the shooters have not been identified, but the murders, the background in which it took place, have been revealed, and I do believe that it will be evidenced during the court trial.
The circumstances need to be examined and assessed by the court as part of judicial proceedings. This is the reason why all possible and impossible means are being used by the defense team of the people accused in the March 1 case to delay the trial as much as possible, so that evidence is not properly examined. I mean the nuances of that case.
Why are they procrastinating, because they hope to be reinstated in power just as they once seized the power which belonged to the people? What we say over and over remains the same. And the key point of the truth revealed in the March 1 case is that the authorities of 2008, yes, took out the army against their own people, used the army to prevent the expression of our people’s will. And it is in this context that murders have taken place.
As I have repeatedly said, the perpetrators did not target specific individuals; they targeted the citizen of the Republic of Armenia so that he or she would not even think of having power in the Republic of Armenia. The perpetrators of the murders have not been identified yet, because immediately after the events of March 1, the investigative bodies collected the shotgun shells from the scene and replaced them with bullets and cartridges fired by other people in other places. In other words, the then government did everything to conceal the potential evidence of the murders and other illegal actions. Why? Perhaps, we will get the answers to these questions during the March 1 trial. That is why everything is being done to prolong the process.
I say all this not only to emphasize the meaning of the day, but I want to say that the same people - absolutely the same people - are still trying to take out the army against the people, the legitimate government elected by the people. And I simply cannot assess the statement of the General Staff of the Armed Forces in any other way.
I want to say that the statement of the General Staff, without any setbacks, is the result of the influence exercised by the 2008 authorities on the military. I am saying this without any hesitation. This is not a guess, but specific evidence. Among others, Serzh Sargsyan, using his influence among the Armed Forces and some generals, is trying to urge them to stand up against the state and the people.
But now I want to say that this statement of the General Staff of the Armed Forces is absolutely illegal, because the Constitution of Armenia clearly states that the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia should maintain neutrality in political matters. The General Staff of the Armed Forces has adopted an oppositional political position in breach of the applicable regulations and violating the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia. I want to remind you of a very important circumstance. During the revolution of 2018, when some servicemen showed political activity, our party, the Civil Contract party, made the following statement on April 23, 2018: “All servicemen on military duty must immediately return to their place of stationing. No rank-and-file, non-commissioned or commissioned officers should take part in peaceful acts of disobedience. We see your support in the exercise of your service duties. At the same time, we remind that the army, the military must be apolitical, not interfere in the country’s home affairs.” We made this statement on April 23, 2018, calling on all politically active servicemen to return to their service.
Today, the well-known political forces are trying to involve the Armed Forces in their anti-popular campaign. But that will not happen. On the contrary, the statement issued by the General Staff makes the removal of Onik Gasparyan from the post of the Chief of the General Staff inevitable. This is inevitable, because the Republic of Armenia cannot have such a chief of General Staff that makes political statements, moreover, he does so at the instigation of Serzh Sargsyan and the former authorities - the Republicans - who want to stifle the popular will under the larvae of tanks.
But, on the other hand, I want to say again that this circumstance should not give rise to vendettas in the Armed Forces. Thank God, so far the army and Onik Gasparyan himself has not crossed the red lines. And I want to make sure they will not do so. But I reaffirm that Onik Gasparyan must resign from the post of Chief of General Staff. I want to say that there will be no vendetta in the Armed Forces, because it does not matter who signed the aforementioned statement.
The decision to make such a statement and collect signatures was made by Onik Gasparyan at Serzh Sargsyan’s instigation - I would not say by order - because I have to state it right here that when the Chief of General Staff appointed by me carries out the orders coming from the Rejected person, it is just the greatest betrayal. But I say again and let us understand correctly: Onik Gasparyan was the one to initiate the process and put on the table a statement with the signatures of generals. After signing, the decision to publish that paper was made by Onik Gasparyan, too. And I say again, Onik Gasparyan must leave, while the others must return to their service.
I want to say that some inspired the soldiers to turn the army into a scapegoat. They instilled the idea that the government wanted to try and arrest our servicemen, otherwise to make scapegoats of the military. Can you imagine, 40, 50, 100, 500 people have been persuaded that they will be judged, whoever the government catches, left and right, will judge. They did this. I must say directly, just a few culprits, who need to be identified and exposed.
Please do not accept my statements de jure, but I have to give a political assessment. Yes, all this, this narrative is used to hide only a few cowards behind the heroes. We know who the heroes are… we know who the cowards are. And you will not be able to turn our heroes, the people’s heroes against the people.
