Video: The Captives Will Forgive Us for Staying in Captivity for an Additional Month or Two, But They Will Not Forgive Us If We Compromise the Independence of Our Country for Their Freedom

“The issue of captives is being used today against our state and people to impose disproportionate concessions. Those boys are fighting in the prisons of Baku for the independence and sovereignty of Armenia. Yes, they will forgive us for staying in captivity for 1 or 2 additional months, but they will not forgive us if we compromise the independence and sovereignty of our country for their freedom,” said Nikol Pashinyan during a meeting in the village of Armavir.

“After the war, running away would have been the easiest solution, but we are not cowards. We did not escape, we are not escaping, and we will not escape. We believe that if history has placed this cruel burden on our shoulders, then we must carry this burden to the end,” Pashinyan stated, adding that today we bear the consequences of the lost years that deprived Armenia of 25 years of establishment.

“Today, many brag about the victory in the first Artsakh war, but where was the enjoyment of that victory for the people? That victory was so that a few could fatten their necks, it was so that some could become billionaires, it was so that they would enslave their own people, so that the victorious people would fear to step outside their homes. We are facing the consequences of a victory that many, led by the three presidents of Armenia, squandered in brothels, eateries, their mansions, and bank accounts. We will not allow the scoundrels to accuse us of anything; we are not the accused in this story, we are the accusers,” Pashinyan stressed. “We request that our velvet mandate be replaced with a steel mandate to place the traitors in their rightful places,” he added.

Speaking about the defeat in the war, Pashinyan said, “We lost because the citizens of Armenia lost for 25 years in their own country. That defeat was manifested in the form of uneducated children, entrepreneurs unable to act, citizens deprived of their voice, hungry and bare-footed soldiers. Today, those who stole the soldier's bread are speaking about soldiers and in the name of soldiers. Who are you to speak in the name of soldiers, you scoundrels who stole the soldier's bread? We will not allow you to speak on behalf of the people or the soldier,” Pashinyan concluded.