Video: Pashinyan's March 1 Address

The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, has delivered a message on the occasion of the 11th anniversary of March 1.

The message states:

“Dear people, proud citizens of the Republic of Armenia,

Proud citizens of the Republic of Artsakh,

Proud Armenian diaspora,

Exactly 11 years ago today, on March 1, 2008, blood was spilled in the center of the capital of Armenia, Yerevan.

On that day, the ruling authorities used illegal force against peaceful protesters, resulting in the deaths of 8 citizens of the Republic of Armenia, and two more later died from injuries sustained that day.

Five of the victims suffered gunshot wounds, three died from the use of the 'Cheriomukha-7' special equipment, one from shrapnel wounds, and another from blunt force trauma.

Eleven years after these events, it is extremely important to provide a political evaluation of what occurred. I must note that in 2008, the actions of the ruling elite were not directed against any particular force, group, or individual; rather, the main and perhaps sole target of those acts of violence and violations was the citizen of the Republic of Armenia — their rights, dignity, and freedom.

The victims of March 1 — Gor Kloyan, Armen Faroyan, Tigran Khachatryan, Hovhannes Hovhannisyan, Davit Petrosyan, Zakhar Hovhannisyan, Grigor Gevorgyan, Samvel Harutyunyan, Hamlet Tadevosyan, Tigran Abgaryan — are not just names; they represent every citizen of the Republic of Armenia who stood up for their rights. Because the murderer, for example, when shooting at Davit Petrosyan, did not know he was Davit Petrosyan born on April 16, 1974, in Yerevan.

The murderer did not know he was shooting at Davit Petrosyan, but he certainly knew he was shooting at a citizen of the Republic of Armenia. Therefore, every shot fired at each of the March 1 victims was a shot fired at each one of us.

March 1, 2008, was not merely a phenomenon that arose that morning; it was a concentrated explosion of the long-standing injustices, electoral fraud, political killings, persecutions, and lawlessness that plagued Armenia and its people for many years.

These unacceptable phenomena unfortunately manifested rapidly in our lives after the declaration of independence of the Third Republic, when it seemed democracy had triumphed irreversibly.

And due to painful memories, concerns and fears often emerge today that after the non-violent, velvet, popular revolution in 2018 and the victory of democracy, Armenia could again fall into the same cycle it faced shortly after gaining independence.

And today, on March 1, 2019, I want to clearly state that there can be no return to the past customs and relationships. Armenia will not return to times of corruption, political persecutions, political violence, contempt and violations of rights, lawlessness and impudence.

To affirm our collective commitment to the values of the non-violent, velvet, popular revolution of spring 2018, as the leader of the Republic of Armenia, I apologize on behalf of the state to all the victims of March 1, 2008, and to all the victims of political assassinations that occurred in Armenia since independence, as well as to all citizens and political forces that have been subjected to political persecution.

I also apologize for all electoral frauds that have happened in Armenia, for the illegalities organized and coordinated by the ruling elite, for corruption, and for political assassinations — affirming that the page of resolving issues through violence is closed in Armenia, and this is how I understand the trust that citizens have given us.

Our joint mission is to make Armenia a country of law and justice, truth and values, and we will not stray from this mission by a millimeter.

This does not mean that there are no longer violations, abuse of rights, and even cases of bribery and violence in today’s Armenia. Unfortunately, such incidents still exist and may occur. But every citizen must be one hundred percent confident that the government, the prime minister, is not the protector or coordinator of any illegality, but rather an adversary and counterweight.

In the struggle against violations, abuses of rights, and nefarious actions, we will inevitably succeed in exposing the crimes committed by the ruling elite because the people and the government are united, and such unity is invincible and unwavering.

To express this kind of unity, our joint commitment to justice, legality, democracy, and the protection of rights, today at 6:30 PM, I invite all of you to march from Liberty Square in Yerevan to the statue of Myasnikyan. With this march, we will pay our respects to the victims of March 1 and all victims of political assassinations and we will resolutely say no to violence, injustice, illegality, corruption, electoral fraud, and the violation of rights.

So let freedom prevail! Long live the Republic of Armenia! Long live the Republic of Artsakh! Long live us and our children who live and will live in a Free and Happy Armenia!

Dear compatriots,

It is spring today. This spring is brought to Armenia by you.”