Congratulatory address by President Serzh Sargsyan on Independence Day
armradio.am
21.09.2012 19:28
Your Holiness,
Dear President of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic,
Dear retired President of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic,
My Fellow Citizens,
Distinguished Guests,
I extend my congratulations on the occasion of Independence Day.
The Republic of Armenia is twenty-one years old. In this period of
time, we have passed through various crises and ordeals, and did so
with dignity, never losing our human and political posture; never
losing our bearings and never betraying our goals, the path we had
once chosen, or our ideals.
Despite the losses and mistakes, in the past years we have registered
impressive achievements. Irreversible changes have taken place in
Armenia – both in the state and in social areas, also in the people’s
mentality and mindset.
The last twenty-one years have not only affirmed the vitality of the
Armenian statehood, but also its abilities to solve problems in the
most complicated circumstances. We have been able to develop our
economy with scarce resources, still under blockade. We have been able
to restrain the Azerbaijani appetite that engorges day by day. We have
been able to form our democratic institutions that by all means still
need to be strengthened. Developing economy, safeguarding security and
deepening democracy are not one-off actions. They demand our daily
work, which must be done with thoughtfulness and tenacity.
Dear Compatriots,
The millennia-long march of Armenians goes on in a new historic era.
Yes, these are challenging times, but have they ever been any
different for us? Hardly so.
Nowadays, almost every country has its own challenges. Naturally, they
differ from region to region, from country to country. We too are
taking our share of testing. Experience gained through the years of
independence is sometimes bitter, sometimes sweet, but always
valuable. That very experience tells us that there are solutions to
the problems, and we are finding them. We already know where to look
for these solutions, and that is already one half of the task.
The peaceful settlement of the Artsakh problem continues to top the
list of our foreign policy challenges. As difficult as it is, we still
shall explore avenues for continuing negotiations aimed at the
resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh issue. If efforts of the Minsk
Group Co-Chairs have not yet yielded positive results, it’s neither
their fault, nor, moreover, is it the result of that format’s
deficiency, as our neighbors often try to present. This is the fault
of those who regularly torpedo the process and the logic of peaceful
negotiations. The most recent provocation was that same disgusting
acquittal of the murderer and his glorification. We, as well as the
international community, have explicitly and unequivocally expressed
our position on that matter. I admit that under such circumstances, it
is difficult to incline our people to reconciliation and thus even
pave the way to peace, but I also know that that is the only right
thing to do. To prepare the people for peace does not mean to be
unprepared for war and self-defense. It means not to poison people’s
minds and souls with inhumane ideas and xenophobia, not to turn into
zombies young people who have their lives to live and have a country
to enrich. For me, appropriate moral and spiritual bearing of the
children growing in Armenia is more precious than anything else.
Stealthy murder is for cowards, while our, parents’ mission is to
raise free, well-educated and brave children. It does not matter how
difficult the times are, we can not betray ourselves.
In a nutshell, the past years can be characterized as years of
loyalty: loyalty to our people’s choice, to liberty and democracy,
loyalty to our allies and partners, loyalty to our values and goals,
to our ideas and principles. Thanks to it, we have accomplished a lot
and will accomplish much more. We will do that because we have chosen
to join the family of civilized nations and not the quagmire of
xenophobia. We will do that because we have sufficient political will
and have created necessary conditions by our work.
Dear Compatriots,
I once again congratulate us all on the 21st anniversary of Armenia’s
independence. This is a great holiday in our country; this is a great
holiday for the Armenians all over the world. On this festive day, our
hearts and prayers are with our brethren in Syria: our country by the
limited means it possesses is trying to support fellow Armenians in
hardship.
Year by year, day by day we are creating a qualitatively new state.
There have been different Armenian states in different historical
stages, but each of them was unique and had its own, unique way of
development. The twenty-one year old Republic of Armenia is also
unique. We are moving through uncharted waters; probably not as fast
as we would wish to, but nevertheless steadfastly and, most
importantly, in the right direction.
The Republic of Armenia is the embodiment of the dreams of all its
citizens and Armenians world-wide, which is also the promise of making
that dreams come true!
Long live the Republic of Armenia!
Glory to the Armenian nation!