No more March 1, unarmed citizens expressing their protest peacefully will not be shot in their capital, Avinyan

Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan has sent a message on the occasion of March 1.

“Dear compatriots, 13 years ago, our state and society underwent a severe shock when the protest of compatriots contesting the official election results faced gunfire from law enforcement. Since that day, our reality entered a phase of deaf tension, where a group of individuals, driven by narrow clan and personal interests, decided that power belonged to them and seized it from the people without regard for means. In this way, the state was alienated from the people, and the citizen felt on their own skin that their absolute and inviolable right to life was not only not protected by the state but was also subject to its direct encroachment.

This injustice was the reason behind the revolution of 2018, when the public refused to submit to tyranny, the alienation of the state, and the imposition of personal power. Through the revolution, the Armenian public decisively determined that there would no longer be a March 1 in Armenia, that unarmed citizens peacefully expressing their protest would not be shot in their capital, and most importantly, that power would not belong to a small group of individuals, would not be transferred through backstage agreements, and would not be dictated secretly and by narrow clan interests.

Today, attempts are being made to solve political issues by undermining Armenia's democracy, circumventing the constitutional and legal procedures of people's power, and overcoming the free will of the people by taking advantage of the emotional state of the public. However, these attempts are completely doomed to failure because, with the everlasting memory of March 1, 2008, and the guarantee of the 2018 revolution, power in Armenia will be formed exclusively through the free expression of the public and through constitutional means — through free, fair, and transparent elections,” Avinyan's message stated.