Below is a public statement issued by Raffi Hovannisian, head of the Heritage Party in Armenia.

Citizens and compatriots:

At this critical juncture for our nation, all Armenians and liberty-loving people around the world must come together in defense of our ancestral patrimony.

Party colors and partisan propaganda need to give way to the imperative of a united assertion of our civil and collective rights based on a true rule of law, democracy, and the national interest.

We stand with our valiant soldiers in every way, and feel as our own the sorrow of the families of our fallen heroes.

Each of us, in his or her own way and place, is on the field of battle for our freedom, dignity, and integrity.

The time for recognition of the Mountainous Karabagh Republic, by Armenia and the world beyond, has come.

And there can be no justice from without unless she comes home first.

Raffi K. Hovannisian

6 April 2016