We are closing a year that was difficult in many respects. The Armenian people, both in the homeland and in the diaspora, lived through many anxious days during the past year, and the culmination of the calamities striking the Armenian nation was the Artsakh war that broke out on 27 September and its tragic, painful resolution filled with losses.
However difficult it is to realise that we are living through one of the heaviest periods of our history, today’s vital imperative is not to retreat, but rather to gird ourselves with will and determination, to shake off the negative charges, to be strengthened by hope and to seek ways to emerge from this grave situation as quickly as possible and with the least possible damage.
To emerge from this difficult situation, the Armenian people must take into account several fundamental points, the most essential of which are:
– The strengthening of the security of Armenia and Artsakh.
– The restoration and rearmament of the Armenian army.
– The consolidation of the economy, which has experienced fluctuations as a result of the war and the “Covid” pandemic.
– Paying additional attention to the field of technology and, through the achievements of that field, the renewal and strengthening of the army’s security system.
– The strengthening of the democratic foundations, considered the most essential value for Armenia and the Armenian people, thanks to which it will be possible to achieve the consolidation of a politically stable authority acceptable to the majority of the country.
We are an ancient people; our nation’s history, the path we have traversed, our achievements and the sufferings we have endured have become a driving force for us.
We have been able to rise from pain, to stand up from the plains of death and to continue along the path traced by our forefathers who believed in eternity.
Today the imperative is the same, and it is clearer than ever that today’s pain, suffering and retreat will be followed by our new achievements, which will likewise inscribe a new chronicle of our people’s victorious will.
Certainly, in all of this, the fundamental role and place will be filled by the principle of our unity, without which today’s grief and losses will continue to haunt us.
With faith, hope and new blood for struggle, as Chairman of the ADL Central Board, allow me, emerging from the vortex of our grief, to hope that the coming year will unite the entire Armenian people around the sacred work of building a just and secure future, in the name of the ideal of our nation’s eternity, wishing you all a peaceful and healthy New Year:
On this occasion, I also wish to express my reverence to our martyrs, who heroically sacrificed themselves for the survival of the homeland and the nation, to extend my condolences to their families and loved ones, wishing them peace and consolation:
Yours,
Mike Kharabian
Chairman of the ADL Central Board
31 Dec., 2020
