Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended the event dedicated to the New Year holiday of the Yezidi community in the Aknalich community of the Armavir region.
The event was also attended by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Alen Simonyan; the Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister, Arayik Harutyunyan; the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Davit Khudatyan; representatives of the legislative and executive authorities; the Yezidi community; and guests.
The Prime Minister first toured the Yezidi Ziyarat Temple Memorial Complex, during which the story of 10 national heroes of the Yezidi people was presented, and then visited the Great Ziyarat Temple.
During the festive event, Prime Minister Pashinyan delivered a speech and congratulated the Yezidi community on the national New Year, Malake Taus. “I was reminded that I am the first head of Armenia to meet and congratulate representatives of the Yezidi community of Armenia on the occasion of the New Year in this format. This is a truly important event,” the head of state said, adding that living side by side in the same country, many residents of the Republic of Armenia do not have a very good idea of the traditions, celebrations, and ceremonies of the Yezidi people. The Prime Minister noted with joy that today a new tradition is being laid, when communication, coexistence, and citizenship, by which everyone is connected, are taking on a new expression.
Nikol Pashinyan noted that his main message today is the following: “We are representatives of different faiths, different nationalities, different nations, but we are representatives of the same people, and I am speaking here with the logic of legal correctness, because according to the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, power in the Republic of Armenia belongs to the people. Who are the people? The people are the citizens of the Republic of Armenia; the people are the totality of those citizens. This is the reason why we use this terminology in our messages: the people of the Republic of Armenia, citizens of the Republic of Armenia. Yes, we profess different religions and have different traditions, but we share one common passport. All of our passports look the same, feature the same image, and give us the same rights and responsibilities in the Republic of Armenia. The state equally protects every citizen of the Republic of Armenia because he is a citizen of that state and the founder of that state. And that state was created to protect and develop the security, well-being, and identity of its citizens.”
The Prime Minister emphasized that his words refer to all national minorities living in the Republic of Armenia and that, for him, there are no representatives of different nationalities. A citizen of the Republic of Armenia is a citizen of the Republic of Armenia with the understanding that there is the greatest respect for everyone, both religious, national, and individual ideas and feelings. According to the Head of State, this is an attitude towards a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, because the Government considers the citizen of the Republic of Armenia its employer, considers the citizen of the Republic of Armenia the subject to which it is accountable as the Government of the Republic of Armenia, and as the political majority of the Republic of Armenia.
Once again, congratulating the Yezidi community on the holiday, Nikol Pashinyan wished everyone peace, prosperity, happiness, and development.
