YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 19, ARMENPRESS. The waste disposal problem in Armenia ought to be solved with the joint responsibility of the government and the citizens, caretaker Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a meeting with residents of Martuni, a town in Gegharkunik province.

“Each time I travel to provinces and I look out from the window of the car I truly feel pain because our Fatherland, our sacred Fatherland is [filled] with garbage. And the same since this morning, I look out from the window and I see much garbage. This problem must be solved with the joint responsibility of the government and the citizens. Indeed, the government, the local self-governing bodies must solve the waste disposal problem. Today one of the most pressing issues is the creation of a waste reprocessing factory, so that this garbage doesn’t get moved from one place to another. Today in Armenia, if the citizens don’t keep at least their own environment clean, nothing serious will change in our country. Revolution starts from here, because it is the change of each and every one of us. The change of power is not enough, there is a lot to change, and the change of everything starts from ourselves,” Pashinyan said.

He said he was horrified when he saw two big stores near the Noratus intersection, and only 10 meters away there was a pile of garbage the size of these stores.

“And there is an impression that this place lacks a village official, an owner, where is the governor’s office looking? It seems as if nothing has changed in this country, because this spilled garbage is disrespect towards each of us. And I will very seriously deal with the people who are in charge of collecting this garbage. They want to teach us to live in waste, they wanted to teach us to live in political garbage, we have cleaned this political garbage, and now we must clean the physical garbage, the garbage of despair. We will not tolerate the existence of any garbage within us. From all sides they want to convince us  that we are [poor] people, a small people, but we are telling everyone – no, we are not small people, perhaps we are small in numbers, but we are great people,” Pashinyan said.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan