In Sardarapat Armenians earned right to live and to return to political arena: Serzh Sargsyan

YEREVAN, MAY 28, ARMENPRESS. On May 28, President Serzh Sargsyan with His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia, Armenian Catholic-Patriarch Nerses Bedros XIX, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan and the top leaders of the Republic of Armenia attended the celebrations dedicated to the First Republic Day held in Sardarapat Memorial. The President laid a wreath at the memorial of the heroes of the Battle of Sardarapat and paid tribute to them. In the frames of the celebrations the President attended the solemn march of the Honor Orchestra, together with the participants watched the cultural performance. As “Armenpress” was informed from the Department of Public Relations and Mass Media of the President's Staff, after the ceremony at the memorial the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan visited the National Museum of Ethnography and History of the Liberation Struggle, where on the occasion of the First Republic Day, the award-giving ceremony took place. By the decrees of the President of the Republic, on the occasion of the First Republic Day, state awards and titles were given to a number of representatives in science, education, economy, health, culture, art and sports fields, the representatives of the Diaspora, as well as a group of army servicemen. The President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan congratulated the award-winners on the occasion of the Republic Day and for being awarded. The fact that this ceremony takes place in Sardarapat, has a special counsel. Thus, we emphasize the connection and the legacy of different generations of our people. Thus, we stress that we are all made in the same orbit. It is the Armenian statehood, its history and present. The soldier, teacher, scientist, artist, doctor, we are all in one orbit - to be called the Republic of Armenia. Dear award-winners, I wish you that with your action and behavior you be worth of the heroism, that our ancestors displayed in this sacred place. Thank you for your patience, and I want to say that we, of course, deliberately invited a lot of people to give awards, because, really, I think this is a special place and a special gift to receive the awards here. Once again I congratulate all of you on receiving the awards” - said the President. Serzh Sargsyan addressed congratulatory message on the Republic Day, too. "Dear compatriots, I congratulate us all on the occasion of the Republic Day. On May 28, 1918, the fate gave us a historic opportunity to restore the independence of Armenia. The revolutionary turmoil in Russia, the events of World War I and other irrelevant factors created a situation, where we were left alone with many challenges. The Armenian Genocide continued in the Ottoman Empire, the Russo-Turkish front turned into Armenian-Turkish front. Here at that time and in those conditions a miracle happened, that in a more secular word is called heroism. That heroism was displayed by the Armenian warriors, politicians, peasants, clergy, intellectuals - a whole generation of Armenians. Unexpected, unplanned, unprepared and tragic in its depth, they turned May 28 into a national awakening. It was destined to turn Armenia – the valley of war and genocide, famine and epidemics, refugees and despair, into a free, independent, renovated and democratic country. Today we stand in Sardarapat and bow our heads upon the memory of the martyrs who supported the last piece of the land of Armenia and the last fractions of the Armenians. If in the May heroic battles and especially in Sardarapat the Armenians were defeated, the Turkish troops would freely enter Etchmiadzin and Yerevan. If after all this, at least one Armenian historian survived in the world, without much difficulty he could prove that the victory of the Armenians was objectively impossible. All the facts and the reality seemed to be against us, but we were saved here. We ourselves gained the right to live and to return to the political arena. And it was done by the most tragic of all times, but at the same time the most heroic generation of the Armenians. Eternal glory and admiration to the bright memory of all the known and unknown heroes. Once again I congratulate us all on the occasion of May victories and the Republic Day. It is a great day – a day of resurrection and rebirth. I wish everyone a festive mood and peace" – runs the President’s message.