Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his spouse Anna Hakobyan traveled to Gyumri to attend the festivities dedicated to the 28th anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Armenia.

In the Black Fortress of Gyumri, Nikol Pashinyan joined President of the Republic of Armenia Armen Sarkissian, President of the Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakyan, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Karekin II and National Assembly Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan to attend the Hero of Our Time award ceremony. The event was also attended by members of government, MPs, marz governors, foreign states’ diplomatic accredited in Armenia and other dignitaries.

The prizes were awarded to the following 13 participants of the Hero of Our Time TV show, staged by the Center for Public Relations and Information of the Office of the Prime Minister: tea producer Rita Martirosyan, cheese producer Arman Mikaelyan, biofuel producer Stepan Avagyan, Volterman Azat Tovmasyan, carpenter Samvel Gasparyan, semiprecious stone maker Artak Bojikyan , tea producer Astghik Galstyan, potter Ruben Gevorgyan, greenhouse manager Artak Garanlgtsyan, manufacturer of cosmetics Arpine Barseghyan, manufacturer of instruments Ludwig Mikaelyan, restaurateur Ward Avetisyan and director of Vardenis Kar Lena Yeranosyan.

These are people who changed their life or their environment, launched their own business, associating their future activity with Armenia. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan handed a figurine to one of the participants, tea producer Rita Martirosyan. The Head of Government made a speech, in which he stated, in part:

“Dear President of the Republic of Armenia,
Dear President of the Republic of Artsakh,
Your Holiness,
Dear National Assembly Speaker,
Dear members of government,
Deputies of the National Assembly,
Guests,

Today’s event is dedicated to Armenia and the Armenian people.

Today we are paying tribute to our people’s talent, their creative power, their ability to believe in their own strength. The most important feature of the new Armenia is that we are faced with the task of constantly generating new heroes.

On the whole, the question of who is a hero in the Republic of Armenia, who young people should strive to be like, has always been topical in Armenia. No answer is usually given to this question.

It is indisputable that the first and greatest heroes are our soldiers standing on the border, and the officers, our armed forces, our generals. Yesterday, the President of the Republic awarded many soldiers ranks and medals. It is undeniable that the heroes of our time and of all times are the people who created the art and culture of our people. It is undeniable that our heroes of all times are our scientists, our many statesmen and politicians, but in order to generalize the image of New Armenia, we need to add another important touch to this panorama.

This is the image of a person who works and creates. These are people who have the courage to control their destiny. These are people who have the courage to control their own fate and the fate of their homeland themselves. These are people who do not expect to receive anything from anyone, they are people who are ready to give, share their talent, their knowledge, their skills, build the well-being of their family and others, the well-being of their homeland.

We started, carried out and prepared the political revolution with one slogan - we told all citizens of the Republic of Armenia that the future of Armenia depends on one person, and it is you who are the people. And today, during this period of the economic revolution, we send the same message to all citizens of Armenia - the prosperity of our country, the economic development of our country, as well as the power of our army depend on one person, and each of us is this person, because we don’t need forget that the army is strong in its rear, the army is strong in its economy, the army is strong in its work, the army is strong in a prosperous people.

Our task is for the Republic of Armenia to be a country of prosperous citizens, and it will be a country of prosperous citizens, where people have enough self-esteem, where people believe in their strengths enough, and people build the prosperous present of their family, their environment and their own homeland, and well-being is enough to guarantee the future.

Well-being should already be in the present, and this event is about that prosperous present, which we will not build, but already build and create the heroes of our time. I want to say that the most difficult was to choose 13 out of 45 participants, all of them are equally heroes of our time.

And, yes, we pay tribute to every working person, every creative person, and I personally bow to those who know that the future of Armenia depends on one person, and that person is themselves, and they are ready to work and work for this future .

Now I will give the name of the laureate. Honestly, we called it the main award, and the winner of this award, in my opinion, is a collective image of the heroes of all time. This is a man who decided to make a revolution in his life: this man moved from town to village.

We have several such members here. This is a man who, as the mother of the family, did not consider that she had nothing to do and she could not do business. She believed in herself and created a business. This award also belongs to those families, husbands, sons who do not limit the ability of their wives or mothers to express themselves, and this award also belongs to the winner's family. This award also symbolizes the collective creative image of our people, our nation, and the name of the winner of this award is Rita Martirosyan.”

Then all the project participants took to the stage. Addressing them, Nikol Pashinyan noted: “As the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, I thank you for your work, thank you for believing in your strength, thank you for considering work to resolve your problems and the problems of our country.

Not everyone, of course, but I met many of the people present here and saw them at work, in everyday life, and the existence of these people in the Republic of Armenia, I want to say, increases my confidence as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia that we will solve everything tasks that confront us.

In general, optimistic forecasts have never been made at different stages of the Republic of Armenia. Pessimism was the main forecast of Armenia, but the existence of these people, in my deep conviction, is a fact. By the way, many of them started working in the last 15 years, from 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, and these people, in my opinion, bit by bit created a victory of optimism in the Republic of Armenia. And I thank you for the victory of optimism in the Republic of Armenia and among the Armenian people. You won, you are the heroes of our time.”

* * *

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan convened a festive reception in Gyumri on the 28th anniversary of Armenia’s independence. At the reception, the Premier issued a congratulatory message on the occasion of Independence Day.

“Dear President of the Republic of Armenia,
Dear President of the Republic of Artsakh,
Your Holiness,
Dear National Assembly Speaker,
Dear members of government,
Foreign diplomats,
Statesmen, distinguished guests,

Today is September 21 - one of the most important days in our people’s history, a great holiday, which marks the independence referendum held on September 21, 1991, where 98% of Armenia’s population voted for independence.

This is a process that reached its climax on September 21, 1991. This process began in 1988 with the Karabakh movement, when our people in the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh expressed a desire to be free, united and strong. Far before the referendum of September 21, 1991 – on August 23, 1990 - the Declaration of Independence of Armenia was adopted to herald de jure the Armenian people’s journey to independence.

Immediately after gaining independence and recognition as a subject of international law, our people faced serious challenges in the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh. In fact, the conflict that had started several years ago turned into a full-fledged war in which the Armenian people were able to win thanks to their unity and unbreakable will. This victory was made possible, first of all, owing to our freedom-fighters who volunteered to defend their homeland. They fulfilled their mission with dignity and did not allow the enemy to trample their homeland, after which a much more complex process of state building began.

And we saw a lot of disappointments during the years of independence, we saw emigration, we saw economic and political difficulties; we witnessed a bitter process, when media outlets kept asking what would be the result if a referendum on independence was held 5, 10, 15, or 20 years after 1991.

I myself was convinced that at all times, whenever a referendum on independence was held, our people would say “yes” to independence. I never doubted this, but I must note that during this period there were many doubts, and, in the end, the answer to this question was also given, because I believe that in April-May 2018, we saw a new a referendum on independence, and the hundreds of thousands of citizens who took to the square, took to the streets in the Republic of Armenia and the Diaspora, confidently said a decisive “yes” to the independence of the Republic of Armenia.

It was a new referendum on independence, which showed that over the past 27 years, the Armenian people did not give up their will for independent statehood, sovereignty, democracy, but instead had became more decisive, more confident and stronger on their feet.

Today is September 21 that we have celebrated for 28 years, and we have gathered here to once again confirm that the independent state of Armenia will henceforth exist on this planet forever, and that the Armenian people have enough will, enough wisdom, enough knowledge, enough talent and enough determination to create and bear the burden of statehood on their shoulders, and to live freely and happily in this statehood as proud citizens of a free country.

And therefore, long live freedom, long live the Republic of Armenia, long live the Republic of Artsakh, long live we and our children as we now live and will live in a free and happy Armenia. Long live our grandchildren, long live our great-grandchildren, long live the grandchildren of our grandchildren and great-grandchildren who will live in a free, happy, strong, invincible and victorious Armenia.”