Thousands rally in Stepanakert on 30th anniversary of Artsakh Movement

Thousands rallied at Stepanakert’s Revival Square on the 30^th anniversary of the Artsakh National-Liberation Movement.

Artsakh President Bako Sahakyan, Second President Arkady Ghoukasyan, Primate of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan, Artsakh Movement veterans, high-ranking state officials, representatives from Armenia and the Diaspora, foreign guests were present at the event.

Addressing the gathering, President Bako Sahakyan said:

The Defense Army and the Armenian Armed Forces are among the greatest achievements of our National-Liberation Struggle, our independent statehood, the most reliable guarantee ensuring our people’s and motherland’s security and its normal development, one of the most influential factors of maintaining peace and stability in the region.

Eternal glory to our heroic liberator army!

The state will further on do everything possible towards strengthening the country’s defense capacity, securing the high level of our Armed Forces’ fighting efficiency, shipping the army with modern military equipment.

In this struggle for survival, unfortunately, we have had irretrievable losses. The best sons and daughters of our people have sacrificed their lives for the sacred mission of defending the Motherland. They are not victims, they are martyred heroes who have become immortal and continue the sacred mission of being the Motherland defenders inspiring and obliging to devotedly serve the homeland, work for the glory of its development and strengthening.

All our losses are open wounds and will always remain in our people’s memory and history.

Dear compatriots,

Thirty years later the spirit and testaments of the 1988 continue to be landmarks for our people and our vision is directed solely towards the future.

We will continue to build independent democratic and social country, further cement the Mother Armenia-Artsakh-Diaspora trinity. Independent statehood is our greatest value and everybody’s responsibility is to do the maximum towards its consistent progress and reinforcement.

Over the past three decades Artsakh has passed a determined state building path. Our people efficiently fulfilled the most difficult tasks set before them. We defended our state, its independence and freedom, restored the economy almost completely ruined as the result of the war and entered the stage of sustainable development.

Currently, almost all the branches of the economy are steadily developing, people’s living standards are consistently improving. Artsakh’s international recognition is in process. Day by day our country is becoming recognizable to the world and is establishing stable ties with different entities.

During all these years we have always felt the special care of Mother Armenia towards Artsakh. Our achievements and accomplishments are impossible to imagine without the active and immediate participation of the Republic of Armenia.

Today we solve great and responsible tasks together. We are all resolute and will do our best to make the future day reliable, our homeland stronger and more prosperous.

The adversary must always know that the language of force is doomed to failure. Our people, our army and the whole Armenian people will give a worthy counter-stroke to every encroachment that threatens our freedom and security.

Glory to free and independent Artsakh!

Glory to Mother Armenia!

Glory to the heroic Armenian people!