VIDEO: Winning Doesn’t Always Mean Defeating Others - Pashinyan’s Speech

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Armenia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan delivered a speech at the main event held in Republic Square, Yerevan:

“Honorable President of the Republic, Honorable President of the National Assembly, respected members of the government and the Security Council, dear members of the National Assembly, esteemed representatives of the judiciary, beloved parents and relatives of our martyrs, dear attendees, I first ask you to honor the memory of all our martyrs who gave their lives for the homeland and its independence with a minute of silence. Thank you.

... The lines of Hovhannes Tumanyan perhaps aptly express the juncture at which our homeland – the Republic of Armenia – finds itself, which is now 30 years old: What will we see if we look back at the 30-year history of our independent state? We will see successes and failures, victories and defeats, tears and joy, inspiration and despair, admiration and disappointment, wars, victories in war, and defeats in war.

The weight of the 2020 44-day war hangs over this square, and perhaps this fact is the symbol of the crossroads that Tumanyan spoke of. How do we live after this disaster? How do we look into the eyes of the children, widows, fathers, and mothers of the fallen? How do we make sure that their sacrifice is not considered in vain?

This framing is probably our greatest challenge, to articulate the milestones of our life and future at this 30-year mark of independence – for the decades to come of our independent state. My envisioned articulation is as follows: History has shown, it has proven that victory in war does not always translate into victory, likewise defeat in war does not always result in defeat. We must transform our defeat into victory, but we must also transform our definition of victory, because history has shown that to win, it is not always necessary to defeat others. To win means to conquer despair, to conquer the impossible, to conquer fate, to conquer death.

And where are the martyrs? They fell so that Armenia would live, they fell so that Artsakh would live. And as long as Armenia lives, as long as Artsakh lives, they are alive. When the Republic of Armenia develops, when Artsakh develops, their sacrifices have reached their goal, because we are talking about the homeland of their children, their brothers, and sisters, and also of their children’s homeland.

I want us to see today the presence of our martyrs beside us, to see them as symbols of life and not of death, to turn them into a symbol and guarantee of living and winning – of conquering death, conquering despair, conquering the impossible.

For a long time now, we have been discussing what project should eternalize the memory of all martyrs from the Artsakh wars, to symbolize their presence, their living beside us. And we have decided to establish a Park of Life in the Botanical Garden of Yerevan, where trees will be planted to symbolize the vitality and presence of all victims of the Artsakh wars, where the culmination of the park will be the Tree of Life, symbolizing the lives of all our martyrs and their homeland.

This will not be a monument; it will be a park of life, where children will run, make noise, and play, where young people will spend time, and adults will stroll and converse, and this park will be about the fact that all these people fell for the life of Armenia and Artsakh. The survival of Armenia, the survival of Artsakh, a peaceful and developing Armenian statehood must become the victory they created.

Here, right here, in the heart of this illuminated square, trees surrounded by the flag of Armenia and preserved by the honor guard will be transferred to the botanical garden, symbolizing the launch of a new era in the history of the Republic of Armenia, the beginning of an era of peaceful development.

Long live Armenia and thrive; long live Artsakh and thrive – for the sake of the martyrs who fell so that you could rise: Who fell so that you could rise. Congratulations on the 30th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Armenia.”