Today, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan participated in the events dedicated to the start of the work of Aragatsotn, Kotayk, Gegharkunik and Tavush divisions of the Patrol Service of the Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The events were attended by Minister of Internal Affairs Vahe Ghazaryan, Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan, MPs, governors, Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin, Chargé d'Affaires of the US Ambassador to Armenia Chip Laitinen, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Armenia Masanori Fukushima, other officials.

At the beginning of the events, a minute of silence was observed in memory of the soldiers who died as a result of the tragic incident that took place in the Gegharkunik Province on January 19.

Addressing the audience in Aragatsotn Province, Prime Minister Pashinyan noted. "Some repercussion of the events show that we need to go deeper and understand the problems in their depth, in addition to the superficial problems. And the problems are actually not the ones that appear on the surface, but those that are expressed in various spheres, they are, so to speak, DNA level problems. These problems often arise from the lack of willpower to break out of the logic of “patching” the problems.

I want to emphasize that the Patrol Police is one of the clearest manifestations of our will to overcome the logic of “patching”, because when we talked about the establishment of the Patrol Police in the Republic of Armenia, it was of fundamental importance that everything in the Patrol Police should be new, starting with vehicles, clothes, but above all - the thinking. We need to bring new thinking with the Patrol Police and any new organization in general.

This is how we act in the field of education, this is how we act in the field of the rule of law, this is how we act in the field of the Armed Forces. This is an extremely important approach, and I want us to be guided by this logic when planning and implementing our next step, because, as it is said in the Testament, "New wine shall not be put into old wineskins."

Now it is already obvious that the reforms carried in the Police, Rescue Service, Internal Affairs system, which are of the utmost importance for us, are proceeding very successfully and we must resolutely raise the quality of these reforms."

Nikol Pashinyan emphasized the fact that many mistakenly thought that this was a reform against the policeman. "This is not a reform against the policeman, this is a reform for the policeman, this is a reform carried out by civil reformers together with police reformers. But this is not a reform for the policeman, this is a reform for the citizen, because with this we have to raise the legal system service provided to the citizen to a new quality.

Returning to the change of thinking, I want to emphasize the following. in that “patchwork” thinking, calling a person to maintain order is considered bad in some sense, while the new thinking should record that calling a person to maintain order, law, legality, morality is primarily for the sake of the person, because when you, for example, order a disorderly driver to maintain order, first of all, you are doing him a favor. When you don't allow a person who has consumed alcohol to continue driving, you are first of all doing him a favor, because in the next step, his family members, his neighbors, his friends, the citizens of the Republic of Armenia will most likely be killed or hurt by his actions."

The Prime Minister reminded of a horrific incident that happened last year in Aragatsotn Province, when four minors, including the driver, drove a car onto the highway, as a result of which three minors were killed. "Such a case could happen to any citizen of the Republic of Armenia. This is a problem that should be pondered over, because a significant part of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia learned driving in the backyard of our houses, with the cars of our parents and relatives, and then gaining a little more confidence, even going out on the highways with the permission of their elders. And if someone did harm to those old-minded persons not allowing those children to go out on the road, it would be a favor for a person with the new thinking.

Today, we send the Patrol Police to the service with this assignment and this order to strictly follow the law and order and at the same time strictly follow the protection of human rights, the protection of their dignity, the respect of their dignity and at every step to do good to people with the logic that calling a person to maintain order, applying appropriate legal punishment and sanctions, even using force against a lawless person, is good for the person, the individual, the citizen, the public, the state.

With this message I send off you to the service today. I wish everyone success”.

At the event held in Kotayk Province, the Prime Minister first thanked all the people who supported the process of introducing the patrol police in the Republic of Armenia and noted: "I want to thank our international partners who have supported and encouraged the process during this time. Here I must emphasize that the material support provided by our international partners, although very important, is not the most important factor. It is much more important to have access to the standards provided by international partners that exist in the developed world.

Our task is to align our state and public services, and in general our state, our relations, our legal system, the most modern balance of our rights and responsibilities, duties and opportunities, to the most advanced, most modern standards in the world. This is our milestone that we are setting before us and we will continue this path in all areas.

When we talk about our standards in working discussions, I say that we should follow as an example those countries with 3-10 million population, which today are among the developed countries of the world. This should be the example we should have before us.

I am coming here from Ashtarak, Aragatsotn Province, and before I got here, I actually did not see any destroyed roads. I saw mostly improved roads or those being repaired. I keep seeing markings suddenly disappear and so on. Many people can say that’s not a big issue. No, it's not good, it's too bad, because we should be guided not by the logic of approximately, but by the standard, because it shows our approach to ourselves, to the work we do, and shows that we do not realize very well the impact of our daily behavior on general, public, state situations and problems.

I would like our patrolmen, newly recruited police officers, not to be guided by that principle, not to be guided by the logic of approximately, but to be guided by principle. That principle is law and legality. You start the service in every yard, in every village, in every street to prove that everyone in the Republic of Armenia is equal before the law, because if suddenly everyone is not equal before the law, it means that in the Republic of Armenia there are first-class people, second-class people, third -class people. No, there is no classification of citizens in the Republic of Armenia, and everyone is equal before the law. You will be the forerunner of ensuring this equality, starting today."

The Prime Minister gave special thanks to the women who serve in the Patrol Police because, in his opinion, they are the contributors of that new standard and that new way of thinking. "I want to especially thank the members of their families, their environment, for encouraging them to go and not to be afraid of hard look, opinions, and doubts. And we must continuously increase the involvement of women in the Patrol Police, in general, in the police, in the army, in the state service, in economic life, in public-political life."

Concluding his speech, the Prime Minister wished the patrolmen good service for the sake of the Republic of Armenia, for freedom and legality, for democracy and equality of all before the law.

During the launch of the Patrol Police in Gegharkunik Province, Nikol Pashinyan noted that what he said in Aragatsotn and Kotayk Provinces was not something regarding just to the provinces, but a general thing to say about the Patrol Service and the Republic. "I want to repeat just one thing. I wish success to our patrol police officers starting duty today and I want to believe that the level and quality of legality will also change in the Gegharkunik Province during their activities.

It is very important to emphasize that in 2022 we have had a tangible decrease in the number of traffic accidents, victims and injuries not only compared to 2021, but also compared to 2019. We do not compare with the statistics of 2020, because for several months there was no normal traffic at all, there was a lockdown due to Covid. We also link this with the reforms we are implementing in the Police, the Ministry of Internal Affairs was created, with the launch of the Patrol Police in 4 more provinces. We hope that, despite the fact that the number of cars and road users has grown at a very high rate and is growing, thanks to your service, the number of victims, injuries, traffic accidents will decrease. I want you to keep this in mind in your service, that the more principled you are in every situation from the point of view of the law, the more people’s lives you will save, the more you will free new people from injuries, losses, stress, disability and so on."

Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that Gegharkunik is perhaps the only province where the patrol service will be carried out in two stages. "At this stage, we are, so to speak, launching the Patrol Service as usual, as in other provinces. Coastal and water patrol service will be launched in the next phase. Of course, I assume that we will give its start as soon as we implement the land patrol service of the entire Republic, or simultaneously with it, or a little after that.

I think that, when this complete plan is implemented, a significant change in the quality of the legal system will take place in our country. Yes, one should be very principled in relation to law, legality. At the same time, we must remember that we are dealing with people, citizens who are with their children on the roads, in their yards, in their homes, with their families. Protecting their dignity is also your job. They must be under your care.

This is how the Police should be, which has a red line, and that red line is the law. No one should have the chance to cross that red line. I would like to say that our greatest opponent in this struggle is the criminal mindset, the criminal thinking, which has expression in all spheres, from state relations, to the law enforcement system, to even the state and military service. That criminal mentality is our number one enemy.

What is the reason of disasters in our country in many cases? Because people often say let's not say this one thing, we are not delators. Reporting a crime, reporting a defect, and dealing with its correction is not only the job of law enforcement, but also the job of any system and any citizen. I want the Patrol Police and, in general, our Police to form a very strong and serious tradition of cooperation with the citizen, because we all have to start from the reality that what the Police does, what the Patrol Police does, is for the sake of the citizen, it's for the sake of the state, it's for the sake of law."

The Head of the Government again wished success and good service to everyone, emphasized the few women who serve in the Patrol Police. "We should consider it particularly important that, following their example, the number of women in the Patrol Police should gradually increase. This is also a very important change of thinking. I would like to thank the women who serve in the Patrol Police today and are not afraid that they may be the only woman in an environment of many men. I want to thank their family members for supporting their decision and standing behind them. Rest assured that the government, the ministry, and I'm sure your colleagues will support you and make you feel fulfilled in the service, and you will also make others feel fulfilled in the service. The equality of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia before the law should also develop and strengthen with this logic."

In Tavush Province, the Prime Minister noted that it is the last point of today's process, when the Patrol Service of the Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is launched. "I have to express my conviction that with the launch of this service, we will have a new level of legal system, citizen-state, citizen-police relations both in Tavush and in other provinces. What I said today in Aragatsotn, Kotayk, Gegharkunik Provincess, of course, does not only apply to the given provinces, but also applies to the entire republic and to all police officers in all places. I would like to repeat that by calling someone to maintain order, you are not doing him harm, but on the contrary, you are doing him and other members of the public a favor, ensuring whose rights and security is your primary responsibility.

I want to wish, instruct and command to keep away bribery. This is very important, because corruption destroys the country, corruption deprives the country of its future, and you should know this.

In the police system, patrol officers are among the highest paid, but now, with the formation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, we will, in fact, do the same process in the entire Police, including the rescue service. What do I mean? Patrol officers undergo six months of training and then take a qualification exam. When I approached the patrol officers in Gegharkunik Province, I noted with pleasure that some of them had not previously served in the police at all, some had previously served in other military service, and some had previously served in Police units, and they were standing next to each other. There were also those who were transferred from the traffic police to the patrol police. I hope that this fusion of different experiments, different biographies, different paths will bring a new quality.

We have now also started a process of formation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, by which, in fact, the entire structure of the Police will change. Very soon we will have the Police Guard, Criminal Police, General Department of Public Order Protection and Patrol Service. These will be the pillars on which our primary legal system rests."

At the end of the speech, the Prime Minister wished success to the Police and the citizens dealing with the latter. "We need a new quality of relations through mutual respect, respecting each other's dignity, but also implementing the inviolability of the law."

The Prime Minister got acquainted with the technical capabilities and equipment of the vehicles of the Patrol Service.

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In Ashtarak, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also familiarized himself with the improvement works of Komitas city park within the framework of subsidy programs. It was reported that paving of paths, asphalting, improvement of the playground, installation of benches and other works were done in the city park. The cost of the project was 83 million drams, 70% of which was co-financed by the community and 30% by the government. It was also reported that within the framework of the 2023 subsidy programs, it is planned to carry out major repair and improvement works of the Ashtarak city park with a total cost of 505 million drams. In particular, an amphitheater, singing fountains and other infrastructures will be built.

In Ashtarak, the Prime Minister laid flowers on the monument in the park commemorating the victims of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.