Wednesday, May 31 2023 12:41

ArmInfo. President of the Republic of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan attended the opening of the  Armenian Forum for Democracy along with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and representatives of the top leadership of the country, the press service of the President reports.  According to the source,  speaking at the forum, the President, in particular, emphasized: 

"I am delighted to welcome the participants and guests of the  Armenian Forum for Democracy. This comprehensive event, which is  already becoming a tradition, is another proof and testimony that  Armenia has irrevocably and firmly set foot on the path of  establishing democracy and democratic institutions, and it is  irreversible.  

Since the day of its establishment, our Republic has declared its  commitment to democratic and universal values and principles.  Throughout more than three decades of independence, the victory of  democracy was being created amid numerous and various obstacles in  our country: vicious phenomena in the state administration apparatus,  semi-war situation, and grave security challenges.  

But to the credit of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, we can  confidently state that democracy is already an established fact in  our country.  

Of course, the war of 2020, the subsequent external and domestic  political turmoil and challenges were a serious ordeal for democratic  values and ideas in Armenia. But most importantly, in this situation  the Armenian authorities, not pulling back from the essence and  principles of democracy, pursued the most democratic and acceptable  way of resolving the issues. I mean the extraordinary parliamentary  elections held in 2021 which became the most effective and  transparent way of expressing the will of our citizens.  

Dear attendees, 

The title of the Democracy Forum is already binding for the  statesmen, representatives of executive and legislative powers, and  our citizens who follow the course of the forum as democracy is not  only a set of freedoms but also responsibility. A free citizen, a  free state and public figure, a representative of civil society,  bears much greater responsibility in a free and democratic state than   in any other system.  

This is an undeniable truth, since in the end the citizen said yes to  the existence of the independent Republic of Armenia in the  Independence referendum, the issue of the leadership of the country  is again determined by the citizen with their vote in the  parliamentary or other elections. That vote is responsibility which I  believe is one of the most important pillars of democracy, and in the  2021 parliamentary elections, our citizens, with their free  expression of will, fully undertook that responsibility with their   vote.  

Dear participants and guests of the Forum for Democracy 

I also wish to address a reality that gives rise to various  interpretations. It is no secret that in the face of external  challenges of our country, the Karabakh conflict, democracy has been  subordinated to security issues for years.  

The establishment of democratic institutions was neglected at the  highest level and an attempt was made to present it as a threat. I  wish to emphasize that such an opposition is not only baseless, but  on the contrary, democracy is one of the primary tokens of the  strength and power of the state. After all, Armenia's independence  referendum, Armenia's first presidential and parliamentary elections  were held amid a war imposed on us, so our statehood is in a sense  also the birth of democracy.  

The same holds true for today also where the wounds of the 2020 war  are still fresh, the country is still coming to its senses after  severe losses, it seems that democratic institutions have been pushed  into the background, but as I already mentioned, the Armenian  government found the solution through democracy itself. I believe  that democracy is the weapon with which we can and should present   ourselves to the world.  

To sum up my speech, I would also like to emphasize an important  fact. Democracy implies peace as without it, it is impossible or very  difficult to have well-established democratic institutions. And in  this regard, Armenia is steadily moving towards democracy and peace."