Tuesday, January 29 2019 11:38

ArmInfo. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended an Army Day-dedicated festive event, which marked the 27th anniversary of the formation of the Armed Forces of the  Republic of Armenia.

As the press service of the Prime Minister informs, Nikol Pashinyan addressed the event with a congratulatory message, in which he stated as follows:  " An Indian  thousand-year-old riddle asks: What is it that you do not notice as  long as it has not gone away? The answer is as follows: health. And  the meaning of the saying is that you must keep your health strong,  because if it goes away, you can no longer bring it back.

Hopefully you did not think that I had mixed the papers and read the  text of the speech on Health Worker's Day. What does this saying have  to do with the 27th anniversary of the Armenian Army? The connection  is that security is like health: as long as it exists, it is  perceived as something self-understood and assumed to be. On this  solemn day of our Army's anniversary, I believe it worth noting once  again that the security we have is not just an apple fallen from the  sky, but a reality that has been achieved through the efforts of  thousands of freedom fighters:  those officers who gave up their  career in the Soviet Army and came back to protect the motherland;  the first soldiers of our newly independent state, who defended their  homeland at the cost of their health and life, sacrificing sometimes  their wellbeing and prosperity. And if we get health from God, our  security, in this case the external security is provided by our armed  forces, our army.

What does the Armenian army mean? It implies thousands of soldiers,  contract servicemen and officers spending at least half year away  from their families and relatives with sleepless nights in combat  positions, ready to take on the blow and retaliate at any cost,  including their own lives and health.  What is the Armenian army? It  implies army positions a few thousand meters high in the mountains,  or otherwise down in the plains where the temperature can exceed 50  degrees, and soldiers, officers who never look back, but look ahead  What is the Armenian army? It is a tremendous job of commanding,  staffing, providing logistics, intelligence and supplies that can  never stop just as one cannot stop breathing, whether asleep or  awake.  Our Army is the pulse of our country, which does not stop for  a second, whether the country is sleeping or awake. We often ignore  its presence in everyday life just as we do not notice our breathing.   The 27th anniversary of our nation's glorious army is being  celebrated today, and we have gathered here to pay homage to our  martyrs, all our freedom fighters, officers, soldiers, whose  sacrifice is at the heart of our statehood and independence. We have  gathered to our respectful attitude to all those parents and women  who are waiting with pride and patience for their children or  husbands to be back from service.  We have gathered today to reaffirm  our covenants to our ancestors, our heroes and martyrs, our legendary  military commanders and soldiers. We will never give up our homeland;  we will never concede this victory to anyone.  Therefore, long live  the Republic of Armenia! Long live the Republic of Artsakh! Glory to  the victorious Armenian Army! Congratulations on the 27th Anniversary  of the Armenian Army.  Thank you." 

On the occasion of Army Day on January 28, together with President of  the Republic of Armenia Armen Sarkissyan, Artsakh Republic President  Bako Sahakyan, Catholicos of All Armenians His Holiness Kakegin II,  National Assembly Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan, as well as accompanied by  National Security Council members and the leadership of Defense  Ministry and Armed Forces, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited  Yerablur military pantheon to pay tribute to the memory of those  soldiers who fell for Motherland's independence.

The Prime Minister laid flowers at the graves of Vazgen Sargsyan,  Andranik Ozanyan, at the memorial of missing freedom-fighters. Nikol  Pashinyan also laid a wreath at the monument commemorating our  freedom-fighters.  Nikol Pashinyan was introduced to the Yerablur  Military Pantheon Museum project and inspected progress in  construction and engineering activities.