YEREVAN (A.W.)—Moments ago, Serge Sarkisian resigned from his post as Armenia’s Prime Minister after nearly two weeks of protests, demonstrations, and acts of civil disobedience across Yerevan and other parts of the country calling for his resignation.
“I turn to you as the country’s leader for the last time,” Sarkisian said in a short statement. (Read the Armenian Weekly’s translation of the statement here)
“Nikol Pashinyan was right. I was wrong. There are a few solutions to the current situation, but I am not one of them. I am resigning as the country’s leader, and leaving the post of Armenia’s Prime Minister,” the statement went on.
“You have won, proud citizen of the Republic of Armenia. And no one can snatch this victory from your hands,” Pashinyan, who was released from detention prior to the announcement, wrote on his official Facebook page. “I congratulate you, victorious people,” his post concluded.
More to follow.
Congratulations to all nations on this universe
wishing you all to breathe free…
Armenian Honest, persistent
‘Democratic Genes’ at last, prevailed.
“Armenians Dedication, Honesty”
Will be the model for all nations to live free…
Freedom is needed like bread, water, fresh air…
Arriving from far breezes of the sea …
Sylva~MD~Poetry
April 23, 2018
Written immediately
The resignation of the corrupted fellow is one major step forward for the nation and its people, however, Armenians should not be carried away there is serious and focused work to be done to clean the mess which is accumulated over the years on many fronts.
At some point elections should be declared and Armenians should make their free choice as to their representatives in parliament.
Democracy, freedom, justice, transparency, social security and economic welfare are few of the basic ingredients to be restored and cultivated from now on.
Those who have committed political and economic crimes against the people should be held accountable and if found guilty should be condemned and should be punished.
I salute and congratulate Pashinian and the thousands of the proud Armenians who took to the street and peacefully rallied for their own freedom, their families, their sons and daughters against a corrupted and violent gang of unlawful oligarchs.
Now it is the time of reflection and containment in order to make the proper decisions for the social and economic welfare of all Armenians alike.
Haig Karayan.
Amen.
I think that now would be the right time for Armenia to elect its own Patrice Lumumba or Salvador Allende. No more of these business-as-usual types.
Wrong, Mr hots. Armenia has to stop with this expectation that some knight on a white horse is going to ride up and save the nation. Remember, Serge Sarkisian himself was portrayed as such an individual in the early days. It is the nation’s citizens who have the responsibility of saving the nation – for a start they could stop voting for corrupt politicians and stop consuming the products of businesses owned by the oligarch “legal criminals”. The fact that the country’s best known oligarch is head of the country’s opposition party, struts around the world shaking hands with foreign politicians and diplomats while cozying up to the Armenian Church at home, shows how far-reaching reforms will need to be.
No thanks to all the Armenian political parties and Diasporan organizations who silently and disgracefully stood by Serge and against the Armenian people.
This was an unexpected but remarkable development.
Now hopefully cooler and clearer heads will prevail and a positive lasting solution will be found and reached to for the benefit of the country and the Armenians worldwide, in Armenia and the Diaspora.
There is a huge burden on the shoulders of the current leaders; whether they are in the majority or minority.
Hope and pray that they come together and make the right decision.
The leaders should take their time. This is a critical time.
We are at the dawn of a new page. Hopefully it will be bright and exudes confidence and hope.
Vart Adjemian
YESSS. Next.
Great opportunity for the Peoples of Armenia.Your hard fought freedom is to be congratulated. Our prayers are with you & your unity with the People & Countries who share & cherish your goals. People who will work with you in an unselfish, cooperative way to achieve the good & FREE life that you deserve.
As much as I’m not a fan of how Serzh Sargsyan ran the internal affairs of Armenia, I will give him credit for writing this in his resignation letter and for everything else that he has done in terms of foign policy that guaranteed Armenia a foot in the eurasian customs union and a trade treaty with EU, making Armenia the ONLY post Soviet country to have this ability (The list of his legacy is long, like the chess game he played against Turkey on open boarders and won): We thank him for his serves like a respectable Armenian would do to another, and look forward to a bright future, filled with hard work and sweat. This is the time of the people now, to rise and take action in bettering our Nation. NO MORE Pointing at the government for their failures, NO MORE!
“Nikol Pashinyan was right. I was wrong. The situation has several solutions, but I will not take any of them. That is not mine. I am leaving office of the country’s leader, of Prime Minister.”
I hope and dream that one of the losers in this glorious people’s revolution will be Soviet-style cynicism that cripples progress towards representative democracy. These two weeks we have been witness to a new type of Armenians, those who dream about the future and take non-violent action to achieve their goals. They don’t want to live under authoritarian rule and want Armenia to be truly “azad” not only from foreign but also domestic enemies.
Glad to see this change, finally and it was also a surprise. We in the diaspora were quiet for 10 years because we considered that Armenians in Armenia keeping and forming the nation is more pressing, but unfortunately Serjh did not make the Armenians proud either. As a diaspora Armenian, I saw nothing in the past three presidents that made be proud or made me ‘identify’ with them either. The next leader of Armenia needs to serve the Armenian nation and its interests before any other nation, including Russia, the “security” guarantor of the region. It doesn’t mean that we work “against” Russia, just that we must must have our own demands and expectations for the future of our nation from Russia. And although secondary, this service to the nation should also include and consider the needs of the diaspora who are interested in being part of the nation. One thing I know, the previous governments were completely insensitive to the needs of the diaspora up until now. Real progress, success and prosperity can be achieved only when this changes. And next, I want to see an Artsakh war hero Jirayr Sefilian released from the kangaroo court ruling, regardless if he is or isn’t part of the ARF.
What a wonderful news! Finally, after years of struggle, our freedom-loving people won. This is a victory for our great nation, for the future of our homeland. Long live freedom and democracy; long live the Armenian nation.
People all around the world are amazed at the uniquely civilized and peaceful manner that Armenians were able to conduct this revolution. They are calling it a model for other nations struggling for democracy. This reminds me of 1988, when we surprised the world with the way we could conduct a successful revolution in a brilliant and civilized fashion. We did it then, and we did it now. This should make every Armenian proud.
Here is a headline that made me proud:
“Armenia’s Peaceful Revolution Is a Lesson for Putin”
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-04-23/armenia-s-revolution-is-a-lesson-for-putin
Yes, what just happened in Armenia gives hope to other nations struggling against tyranny, not the least in Russia. Just as in 1988, when our powerful protests inspired others in the Soviet Empire and eventually led to its collapse.
Even Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, was amazed at our people. This is her reaction on her Facebook page:
“The people who have the strength to keep respect toward each other despite crucial differences and stay united even in the most difficult moments of its history is a great people. Armenia, Russia is always with you!”
https://www.facebook.com/maria.zakharova.167
Be proud, my fellow Armenians.
The brave people of Armenia should serve as models to empower the Diaspora to get rid of OUR OWN mafias who have hijacked many if not most of our traditional organizations and are damaging Hai Tahd, Hayastan, Artsakh, Arevmdahayastan and the global Armenian community. NOT ONE of the official Diaspora organizations stood by the people of Armenia UNTIL Serzh stepped down. Let us continue to hope for positive change even though the apparatchiks in Arevelyan Hayastan are all still in place.
Serjik is finally gone. When an entire nation celebrates because you are gone, you probably should kill yourself.
Some people in Armenia and Diaspora have this illusion that Nikol Pashinyan, Armenia’s Ghandi, will come to their rescue and all the problems that they may have been experiencing will disappear with a strike of his wand. This is the same stooge who was acting ‘fifth wheel’ during Levon’s rule in the early 90’s. These same naive people, crowd, or supporters of Pashinyan, seem to forget how Levon Ter Petrosyan was ready to hand over Artsakh back to Azeris on a silver plate in ’94, and Pashinyan was right beside him acting as an instigator, crowd warmer, and cheeleader. Today, Pashinyan, in his speech to his supporters at Republic Square, told the crowd that he was going to prosecute the acting Prime Minister, Mr. Karen Karapetyan, when he ‘becomes’ the next prime minister of Armenia. This man is high on something. Someone needs to remind this clown that there is such a thing called Constitution.