Serzh Sargsyan: April 24 is not only the day of our nationwide grief but also the day of our stubborn passion for life and our moral character.

President Serzh Sargsyan issued an address on the occasion of the Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day.

“Dear Compatriots,

Today we, just as many, many others all over the world, bow to the memory of the innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide. Today, we ascend silently the Tsitsernakaberd hill because the unspeakable had happened. And we engraved nothing on the walls of the Memorial, because there are no words that can express what we are going through.

Beloved Armenian nation,

In the millennia-old scroll of our history, we have gathered and accrued pages which uncover our past and open up our future, which reveal the integrity of our national identity and our uniqueness. Unfortunately, these pages are not about victories and triumphs only.

The day of remembrance of the victims of the Armenian Genocide – April 24th clad in black – is not only the day of our nationwide grief but also the day of our stubborn passion for life and our moral character. It was our unyielding memory that made possible Sardarapat in 1918, that made possible the free and independent Armenia and Artsakh, and the Armenian Diaspora standing by us.

Brothers and Sisters,

This day will pass, and we will carry on with our daily lives; however, there are moments in the spinning of times when we are especially united, unified, indivisible and indestructible. This day is one of those moments when the entire nation rallies around the unification of our homeland.

2015 commemorates not only the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide; it will also commemorate the anniversary of our memory and our resolve “to live many more millennia and a hundred years.” We stand as masters by what we created, we didn’t forget what we were dispossessed of and will never forget it because we are the masters of all of that. We are not lobotomized amnesiacs; we are the very country of Armenia.

As a symbol of our undiminishing memory and pledge of life, we aspire to build in our capital Yerevan the Saint Martyrs Church for the memory of our martyrs and innocent victims of all times. We will do it together, the entire nation, looking into the future.

Together, again, we will strengthen our State, our Armenian homeland and together, yet again, we will pass to the future generations the memories of our added victories. Together means old and young, a farmer and an intellectual, the Armenians both living in Diaspora and in our homeland and first and foremost it means a State, which will never again allow another genocidal act or action against any Armenian, against any human being.”