STEPANAKERT (Armenpress)—The President of the Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakian made a congratulatory statement on Friday, marking the anniversary of Artsakh’s liberation movement, the day that the people of Artsakh took to streets to demand independence. President Sahakian’s entire address is below.
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“Dear compatriots,
On behalf of the Artsakh Republic authorities and myself personally I cordially congratulate you on this significant state holiday.
27 years ago on this very day the course of our nation’s history changed fundamentally and a new period marking the revival of the independent Armenian statehood began.
The Armenian people who survived without statehood for centuries and for this reason undergone great ordeals eventually managed to unite all the forces and stand to protect their violated rights and freedoms.
It was a powerful national outburst that had been maturing over centuries and which was already impossible to squash. One idea, one body, one fist: that is how an Armenian appeared before the world in the historical 1988.
That strong and unshakable unity and solidarity led our people to victories that we have dreamed of for centuries. Today all of us, every Armenian, on a daily basis must do everything possible to secure the victories won by the holy blood of our perished heroes.
Such a historic opportunity was given to our generation and we must do everything possible to achieve our ultimate goal – together, shoulder to shoulder build a strong, developed and prosperous Motherland, which is one for all the Armenians.
Dear people of Artsakh,
I once again congratulate all of us and wish peace, robust health, great successes and new victories for the heroic Artsakh and our people.”
I was at the opera square at the first meeting on 19 Feb 1988. Delegation from NK just returned from Moscow and they came to the square right from the airport. They told that Gorbachev did not accept them and they had a conversation with Yakovlev. Yakovlev said “vi nachinayte rebyata a mi podderjim” – means “you just start dudes and we will support”… After that Silva Kaputikyan said “The first reaction of Azerbaijan was the following. As you know the second secretary of the communist party of each soviet republic is a Russian national appointed from Moscow. So this second secretary in Baku said that this problem can be solved only by bloodshed”. Few days later Moscow TV program “Vremya” showed an Azeri peasant sitting on a stone who said “Armenians are very bad and barbarian people and we oat to kill them”. And after a couple of days the Sumgait massacre happened.
Dear Armenians, your country once more becomes a playing card and change money in the hands of Kremlin. This more than dirty and bloody game continues up until now. Many Russian military and political leaders became rich and Armenia finds itself in the bloody hands of war lords who are strangling the country up to it’s death.
Everybody knows that, what is the solution, Armenians don’t have many options