Thursday, 28 January 2021
Message by Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan on 29th Anniversary of the Armenian Army
Dear compatriots,
We are celebrating the 29th anniversary of the Armenian Army in challenging conditions, but I do believe that we are incomparably wiser today in doing so.
Both our centuries-old history and the recent events once again testified to the national army’s irreplaceable role in ensuring our people’s survival. The Armenian armed forces were formed in a historically non-standard environment, when the army had to take shape during the first Artsakh war.
Unfortunately, the reforms carried out in the army over the past two and a half years were unable to reinstate the impaired military balance with the enemy. The Armenian army had to fight to the death in an unequal battle, but managed to preserve its backbone.
In the latest Artsakh war, on an individual level, the Armenian army showed such examples of courage that will not only be remembered, but will become study models in modern warfare. The self-sacrifice of our soldiers, their ingenuity even in hopeless situations, their creative thinking and the high training standard come to prove that the strongest basis for having a well-organized army is available and all we need is to develop it from an institutional perspective.
I bow to the memory of our fallen servicemen and express my deepest respect to their parents and relatives. I assure those servicemen who became disabled in action that the government is committed to addressing their problems to the highest possible standard.
The defeat suffered in the war should not overwhelm us; instead it should become a turning point in our thinking in terms of correcting the mistakes of the past and looking to the future anew.
We have no right to ignore the welfare of our heroic soldiers; we have no right to ignore the memory of the selfless defenders of our homeland; we have no right to neglect our compatriots who have contracted disabilities. We are bound by duty to convert our army’s fighting spirit and energy in the nearest future into a nationwide drive for rebuilding state institutions in order to create a professional army.
Extending congratulations to everyone, in particular, to the staff and soldiers of the Armed Forces, I wish you peaceful skies and safe service. You are the cornerstone of our statehood; our homeland’s security has always been measured and will be measured by your courage.
