Prime Minister’s statement on anniversary of adoption of Declaration of Independence

YEREVAN, AUGUST 23, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan issued a statement on August 23 on the occasion of the 34th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence of Armenia.

Below is the statement released by his office. 

"Dear people, dear citizens of the Republic of Armenia,

"On August 23, 1990, the Supreme Council of Soviet Armenia adopted the Declaration of Independence. With this document, the people of Armenia announced to the world their desire to have an independent state, and recorded their will.

“Later, in 1995, the reference to the Declaration of Independence found a place and is still present in the preamble of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia.

“But, contrary to various interpretations, this does not mean that the entire content of the Declaration of Independence is included in the Constitution of Armenia and that the content of these two documents are identical.

"The clearest evidence of this is Article 5 of the Declaration, which states: "In order to ensure its security and the integrity of its borders, the Republic of Armenia creates its own armed forces, internal troops, state and public security bodies under the Supreme Council."

“Despite the wording of the Declaration, according to the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, Police forces, state and public security bodies are not subordinate to the country's parliament, but until the 2015 constitutional amendment they were subordinate to the President of the country, and after April of 2018 to the Government.

"This directly and unequivocally demonstrates that only those provisions of the Declaration of Independence are expressed in the Constitution which are expressed directly, verbatim and literally, and any other interpretation is simply not appropriate.

“Dear people, dear citizens of the Republic of Armenia,

Independence, sovereignty, statehood are the irreplaceable institutions of preserving our identity and [liberty], and in 1990 on August 23, we made the first attempt to interact with these institutions and ideology, after a long pause. The ideas and perceptions of all of us, the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, about independence and statehood have changed significantly since then, and I dare say they have become deeper and more comprehensive.

Independence, statehood, citizenship are completely different formulas of thinking, completely different dimensions, and we are stepping on those dimensions, adopting and developing these formulas, today, right now."

The Prime Minister also presented a poem written by himself dedicated to the Republic of Armenia.