Address of the Third President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on the occasion of Victory and Peace Day
For years we were celebrating May 9 as our cherished Triple Holiday. Regrettably, two of those holidays, which were the testament of our glorious victories of the last decades – the liberation of Shushi and the anniversary of the creation of Artsakh’s Defense Army – were wasted because of the antinational policies of the current rulers of Armenia. However, losses are not irreparable. We had glorious victories and those victories call the generations to accomplish new daring deeds, to reinstate our victorious holidays.
Today, we are celebrating the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War and recall proudly the heroism and outstanding acts of dedication which the valiant sons of our nation from Armenia and Artsakh carried out during the Great Patriotic War. The sons of our nation passed that perilous road with honor: Only two decades after the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian people living in Soviet Union sent nearly half a million soldiers and officers to fight the enemy. They were joined by our brothers from Diaspora and nearly 100,000 Armenians were fighting in the World War II in the armies of the allied forces.
The World War II was one of the most brutal chapters in the history of the human race which claimed almost 50 million lives, while the peoples of Soviet Union brought to the altar of victory nearly 27 million lives. The Armenian people were the immediate participants of these events and together with other peoples of the USSR paid a huge price and brought their commendable contribution at the battlefields.
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Eighty years ago, our fathers and grandfathers celebrated victory in the fight against the common enemy – fascism, tyranny, and xenophobia. They defended our Fatherland, our homes, our dignity and our God-given right to live free and independent, and they prevailed. However, fascism is still alive; it acquires new forms and hides behind the ambiguous slogans. Many nations, including us, Armenians, in the 21st century are forced to fight neo fascism in all its manifestations.
Unfortunately, even today the Armenian people are compelled to fight Azerbaijan’s state sponsored national hatred, its genocidal policies, the unpunished destruction of our spiritual and cultural heritage, the eradication of the historical factual evidence.
The lessons of the Great Patriotic War teach that there can be no bargain with the evil, the evil must be defeated. We are obligated to defend the values which 80 years ago took millions of lives to defend.
Today, we bow with gratitude to the memory of the brave, to those who paid with their lives to bring victory and peace.
Eternal Glory to our Heroes!