At the end of his working visit to the Kingdom of Belgium, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the St. Mary Magdalene Church in Brussels.
The Premier was met by numerous Armenian community representatives who gave him a hearty welcome, wishing him every success for Armenia’s wellbeing.
Addressing the audience, Nikol Pashinyan stated in part:
“Dear Compatriots,
I want to talk about the basic meaning of the non-violent velvet revolution in Armenia and the most important changes. Before the revolution, many people who had de jure Armenian citizenship did not consider themselves to be Armenian citizens de facto, because when speaking about Armenia, while mentioning the Republic of Armenia or the Government of the Republic of Armenia they had a feeling of frustration which used to depreciate the value of Armenian passport and citizenship.
This is our greatest achievement: regardless of whether all Armenians have de jure Armenian citizenship or not, they feel proud as they are dignified and victorious citizen of Armenia. And I am empowered to do so in every part of the world, at every corner of the globe by addressing Armenians, every representative of the Armenian people this way: my dear people, proud citizens of the Republic of Armenia, all of you are proud citizens of the Republic of Armenia.
The essence of our revolution is as follows: our homeland, your homeland was annexed and taken away from you; our homeland, your homeland has been returned to you and you are the supreme power in the Republic of Armenia.
And I want to state that what matters most in the current situation is the following: our homeland has been returned to the people, to each of you, and our task is to have each one in our place, each one in our capacity and be the master of our homeland. This is our chief mission.
I want to highlight another key factor: many Armenians are said to have witnessed this political process. I want to note that no Armenian has witnessed this process because every Armenian has been a full participant of it, and everyone has taken a share in our victory. You, all of you, are the co-authors of this victory, because it would have been impossible without your tremendous support.
Many international partners acknowledge that they cannot understand how it could happen in Armenia. They say no research center in the world, no analyst could predict that such a thing is possible in Armenia and they ask me to explain how it happened. This was a simple reason for the fact that 95 percent or more of Armenians worldwide stood firmly in the defense of revolution’s values, and the corrupt government simply realized that there was no point in resisting, and that the people’s victory was inevitable. The popular victory and the unconditional capitulation of the then authorities took place because our nation was united as ever. And this unity should continue to be used as a decisive factor for future victories for the sake of the Armenian people, the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh.
You have won, and this victory can never be taken away from you. So, the time has come for us to be together and live in the Republic of Armenia and shoulder the burden of future victories for the sake of Homeland’s welfare and happiness.
And I am urging you to talk about going back to Armenia every day in your families; no matter when it comes – within a month or a year, five or fifteen years. Your children need to hear every day that your goal is to return to Homeland, to live in Armenia and build a more powerful and prosperous Armenia.”