Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his wife Anna Hakobyan attended the award ceremony titled “The Hero of Our Time” at the Karen Demirchyan Sport and Concert Complex.
President Vahagn Khachaturyan, President of the National Assembly Alen Simonyan, President of the Constitutional Court Arman Dilanyan, Supreme Judicial Council Chairman Karen Andreasyan, Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan, members of the Security Council, the Government, MPs, governors and other officials were also present at the event.
At the beginning of the award ceremony, Prime Minister Pashinyan made a speech, in which he particularly said,
“Honorable President of the Republic of Armenia,
Honorable President of the National Assembly,
Honorable President of the Constitutional Court,
Honorable Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council,
Dear members of the Security Council, the Government,
MPs,
Dear attendees,
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“The Hero of Our Time” award was established in 2018 and was implemented for the first time in 2019. From the very beginning, there has been some quiet, later louder discussion, sometimes even criticism, which is now voiced louder, about whether calling this award ceremony a “Hero of Our Time” is intended or perhaps automatically belittles the real heroes who sacrificed their lives to the Motherland and who stand in the leading positions of protecting the Motherland.
I have to unequivocally give a negative answer to this question. On the contrary, in my opinion, this award ceremony and this point of view of the issue is a logical continuation of the formula of heroism that we have always had in mind and continue to have in mind: this award is complementary because the heroism of the soldier and the front line does not ultimately reach its logical conclusion without the heroism of the rear, because there is no soldier without a strong rear. Today we want to emphasize this factor. A soldier is strong with a strong rear, and the stronger the rear, the stronger the soldier, because the funds that are generated and spent for security are generated primarily in the economy. I want us to record this very well and loudly.
I will give the most recent example. this year, for the first time in the history of the Third Republic, the 13th salary was paid in the army at 100 percent rate. Thanks to whom? It is primarily thanks to the taxpayers, thanks to the people who, despite all the ongoing crises, continue to work, because the country’s institutionalization and the activities of the army, security, police, state security bodies are ensured, so to speak, by those who add value.
Today, this award ceremony has exactly this meaning and context. We last held this awards ceremony on September 21, 2020, just before the war. After that, we had planned to restore the award ceremony again, but each time for some reason we decided to postpone it. This time we have decided not to delay because, as I have had occasion to say, we have no right to deviate even a millimeter from Armenia’s development agenda on any occasion and for any reason.
On the contrary, we hereby record our determination, our will to strengthen the Republic of Armenia as a state, because the Republic of Armenia is the axis around which we build our strategies, our tactics, and which enables us to implement these strategies and tactics to a more or less extent.
Of course, this day is primarily about those people who have not yet achieved much in the field of economy and as tax payers. But this award ceremony is meant for encouraging those people. This is about people who have decided to take responsibility for putting a stone on a stone in this country, creating a unit, creating value, and have already recorded certain success, bidding first of all with their courage, their creativity and their resoluteness for joining the great army of taxpayers who every year enrich the state budget of the Republic of Armenia with new billions, which predetermines the conditions under which our soldiers will serve, which predetermines what weapons our soldier have, what clothes he wears, what shoes he wears and what food he eats.
I want to specially emphasize that, especially in today’s conditions, when we have the problem of the Lachin Corridor in Nagorno-Karabakh, I consider the implementation of this award ceremony more appropriate. In 2022, an unprecedented amount money, around 164 billion AMD of support from the state budget of the Republic of Armenia was provided to Nagorno Karabakh. Moreover, by tomorrow’s decision, it will already reach 168 billion. That’s not the members of the Government who created that money. That money was created by thousands of people who manage, create and today we will give an award to just a few of them, just 13 people, but this award belongs to every citizen who conducts economic activity, works, creates and pays honest taxes in Armenia, every entrepreneur, every company.
Thanks and glory to the Republic of Armenia, glory to the soldier who will protect the Republic of Armenia not only by his persoanl heroism, but will also have such a strong rear that heroism will not be the sole monopoly of the soldier. Heroism is a responsibility that each of us must share in his place: a state official at his workplace, a tax payer at his workplace, a scientist at his workplace, a teacher at his workplace. Our times will become truly heroic times if each one of us does not get tired of taking, bearing, carrying his share of heroism.
I am grateful.”
The awards were given to the 13 participants of the “The Hero of Our Time” TV program prepared by the Information and Public Relations Center of the Prime Minister’s Office.
The 13th main prize was awarded to Armen Darbinyan, the founder of “Astronaut” company, which conducts electronics and engineering courses and produces UAVs. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan handed over the main prize statuette and noted: “From the speech of the “The Hero of Our Time” award winners, the following image formed in my mind, it seemed to me that we are forming a collective image with this award ceremony, because there is an impression, I thought of the previous award ceremonies, that our award winners continue one another. It seems that people are voicing thoughts in different pieces, on different topics, but in reality they are continuing each other. It seemed to me that with this award ceremony, we are shaping the dream of the Republic of Armenia of the collective image of a citizen, and each of them with their image, their work, their approach, their words is a very important part, sorry for the comparison, the puzzle of that collective image. When listening to them, I also realized that I should take notes from their speeches, and managed to make two. The author of one of those posts was from Shinuhayr, who said: “The best ideas are born from the worst conditions” and our latest award winner; “The concept of something being impossible is unacceptable for us.” I think these two quotes express the tip of the day”.
Prime Minister Pashinyan invited all award winners and all participants of the “The Hero of Our Time” program to the stage and thanked them for their creative work.
INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT OF THE OFFICE OF THE PRIME-MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
