Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan issued a message on Citizen's Day, celebrated in Armenia on April 26.
The message reads:
Dear people, dear citizens of the Republic of Armenia,
Today we celebrate Citizen's Day and I congratulate you all on this holiday.
What is this holiday about and what is there to congratulate?
Citizen's Day is about the fact that the people, that is, the collectivity of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, are the ones who hold power in our country.
This has been an indisputable reality in the Republic of Armenia for 7 years now, because elected authorities at all levels have been formed as a result of the people's elections. Since the People's, non-violent, velvet revolution of 2018, not only has no election at any level been rigged in Armenia, but the fact that such a phenomenon ever existed in Armenia has even been forgotten.
This is a great occasion to congratulate. Our Government is the guarantor of the people's free expression of will, but the people must also protect their right to free expression of will through their own free expression, and this is extremely important.
This holiday is about Citizen's Freedom, and the Citizen of the Republic of Armenia is free: freedom of assembly, speech, and the press have been guaranteed since the People's, non-violent, Velvet Revolution of 2018, to the extent that many citizens consider it a threat to their freedom. But here too, the Government and the ruling majority have little to do, and self-regulation mechanisms must ensure the further development of the culture of freedom. The Government has guaranteed and will continue to guarantee Citizen's Freedom.
Citizen's Day is about prosperity, and since the People's, non-violent, velvet revolution of 2018, Armenia's economy has grown by 43.5 percent, and the state budget has received an additional $4.2 billion in revenue, a primary indicator of prosperity in the country, prosperity that is based on legal and creative work.
Citizen's Day is about intolerance towards corruption, and since the People's, non-violent, velvet revolution of 2018, anti-corruption institutions have been established in Armenia: the Corruption Prevention Commission, the Anti-Corruption Committee and the three-instance court, as well as the institute for the confiscation of illegal property and the protection of community interests.
The primary initiator of anti-corruption cases and the leader of the anti-corruption struggle is the Government and the ruling majority. Systemic corruption has been eradicated from Armenia, and a daily struggle is being waged against network corruption, and more and more public support is needed in this struggle.
Citizen's Day, most importantly, is about the state and statehood, because there is no Citizen without the state, because the state is the identity of the Citizen.
Dear people, dear Citizens of the Republic of Armenia,
Immediately after the People's, non-violent, velvet revolution of 2018, tension has accumulated around this nuance drop by drop, because the key meaning of the Revolution must be fulfilled. The key change in citizen-state relations, the Revolution, before and after, is as follows: Before the Revolution, the state was the owner of the Citizen, after the Revolution, the Citizen is the owner of the state. This key change must become not only a consciousness, socio-psychology, tradition, but also a daily practice for us.
This change is happening, but not without obstacles. And this is a path that, by passing through, we will be able to ensure our highest goal - the survival of our independent state, the Republic of Armenia.
That path passes through complex junctions of foreign and domestic politics, sometimes through collapses and tragedies. But we are passing through that path without losing sight of the core identity of the Citizen, the interest of the state. Our policies have been and continue to be built around that interest.
This is a difficult but inevitable path - the path of independence, sovereignty, state consciousness and peace, and we will pass that path without expecting applause.
Glory to the martyrs and long live the Republic of Armenia.
Long live the Citizen of the Republic of Armenia.
