On the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Armenia, a congratulatory message was sent by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan.
This is reported by the Department of Information and Public Relations of the Prime Minister’s staff.
The message reads:
“Dear people, dear compatriots,
Today marks the 31st anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Armenia. On 21 September 1991, a referendum on independence was held, in which 2 million 56 thousand 758 people participated, which was 95.5 percent of the total number of voters.
The following question was put to the referendum: ‘Do you agree that the Republic of Armenia should be an independent, democratic state outside the USSR?’ 99 percent of the referendum participants — 2 million 42 thousand 627 people — answered Yes to that question.
The day of the referendum was a true celebration in Armenia, when, starting from 1988, we had voiced all the truths smouldering within us, formulated all the accusations known to us, displayed all our dreams, and to all that it was necessary to say Yes, and we said Yes.
It is unequivocal and beyond doubt that on 21 September 1991, if not all the citizens who said Yes, then at least the majority, understood that this was not merely a mark made with a pen on a ballot paper, but a dividing line, on this side of which the subject becomes a Citizen, the Homeland becomes a State, the slogan becomes Responsibility.
The generation that said Yes on 21 September 1991 bore that responsibility fully and with dignity, carrying on its shoulders the weight of war, economic difficulties, and social despair. And today, on the day of the 31st anniversary of Armenia’s independence, first of all I want to express my words of humility and reverence to that generation, above all to our martyrs, who gave their lives for the sake of Independence, for the sake of Statehood, to those people who, responding to the call of the newly independent country, sacrificing their own lives and well-being, also said Yes to Independence.
It is on the shoulders of these very people — volunteers, police officers, soldiers — that our newly independent state has leaned. But not only on them, but also on all those compatriots of ours who endured and were the rear for our nascent and forming army, and not only on the day of the referendum, but every day, every God-given day said Yes to Independence, sometimes rejoicing, sometimes lamenting, sometimes in despair, sometimes proud, sometimes defeated. But herein lies the essence, that the Yes of 1991 was not a mood, but a decision, and that decision has not changed because of any social or political difficulty, any failure or setback.
Dear people, dear compatriots,
Today too it is 21 September, and today too there is a referendum on Independence. The referendum of 1991 took place, but it has not ended, and the referendum on Independence is taking place today.
Our martyrs, who gave their lives for the sake of the Homeland, said Yes to Independence, and it is very important that our knees do not buckle from the bitterness of their loss. The soldier standing unwaveringly at the border says Yes to Independence, and it is extremely important that his Yes finds its echo not only in our hearts, but also in our deeds.
Every day, every God-given day, whether official or peasant, serviceman or businessman, teacher or worker — whether we want to or not, whether we are aware of it or not — we are participants in a referendum, in the referendum on Independence.
And it is important that we say Yes to Independence, say Yes to Sovereignty, say Yes to democracy, and reaffirm that Yes, as necessary, in that part of the 29 thousand 800 square kilometre State-Homeland where that Yes will be most needed. And let us not hesitate, let us not tremble, let us not doubt, because every day, every God-given day they try to sow new doubts, new fears within us, and all that for the sake of one thing — that we renounce our Independence, that we renounce our state.
Dear people, dear compatriots,
I congratulate us all on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Armenia.
Yes to Independence, Yes to Sovereignty, Yes to the Republic of Armenia.”
