Serzh Sargsyan: “I am proud of our army”

Former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan today showed up at a parliamentary ad hoc committee hearing regarding the April 2016 “Four Day War”.

Sargsyan was president of Armenia when fighting broke out along the Artsakh-Azerbaijan border, claiming the lives of hundreds on both sides.

The committee was created last May at the behest of 47 MPs.

Before he showed up, Serzh Sargsyan put forward one precondition, that he be provided a copy of the videotaping of the entire session.

Sargsyan also told Committee Chairman Andranik Kocharyan that he didn’t want to discuss any matters construed as state secrets.

Mary Harutyunyan, who heads Sargsyan's office, wrote to Kocharyan that if the committee was going to reveal any state secrets to Sargsyan, heretofore unknown to him, he would refuse to participate.

According to the Law on State and Official Secrets, if a citizen of Armenia is not a holder of state secrets, any dealings with such secrets must be on a volunteer basis only.

Harutyunyan also stressed that if the committee is to discuss information that Serzh Sargsyan was officially privy to while in office, the committee has an obligation not to publish it, as the termination of the right to state and official secrecy does not release the citizen from the obligation not to disseminate such information.

Before the committee session got underway, Serzh Sargsyan made the following statement:

The issue of the April war should in no way divide our people, weaken our unity and endanger our defense capabilities.

Four years ago, we were deceived by the enemy.

During the four-day extensive hostilities, Azerbaijan used almost all the weapons in its arsenal, but the Defense Army and thousands of volunteers who came to its aid a few minutes later heroically defended their territories and thwarted the enemy's intentions.

I am proud of our army. In April 2016, our boys fought with great courage.

As Commander-in-Chief, I have repeatedly said that in April, our soldiers and commanders bravely surpassed their heroic fathers and grandfathers in the Artsakh Liberation War. They defeated and stopped the advance of the elite units of Azerbaijan, and according to the intelligence of some of us and some of our foreign partners, they inflicted even more losses on the enemy than we had.

My thoughts and prayers are with every family that has lost their sons in the war. I mourn the death of our martyred boys with deep sorrow and regret that it is impossible to save everyone in this and any other war. The land is saved with blood. Glory to all those whose blood is soaked in the soil of the homeland. The relatives of our soldiers who died for the homeland should live with the greatest pride for their sons and in no case be provoked. No one has the right to confuse their thoughts with dirty doubts and hurt their souls once again. First, our immortal boys who have chosen to die consciously will not forgive such people.

The soldiers of the Armenian army once again taught a lesson to the enemy, inflicting heavy losses and temporarily restraining Azerbaijan's belligerent aspirations. However, the day will come when Baku will try to do the same again, and when they take that step, it will be impossible to save everyone again. The reason is not that our army is poorly managed.

If we want to have no losses, we must give up our national goal of living a free and dignified life in our own homeland.

Negotiations with the enemy on the diplomatic front after the war should bring peace and ensure the implementation of this agreement, but not at the expense of the vital interests of our people. This is not a live show for social networks, this is an international real-life policy with behind the scenes actions.

We do not have the right to be divided on issues of national importance, especially regarding the Artsakh issue. It can be very costly for our state and people. Let's be vigilant and consider any such attempt from this point of view.

I myself have questions about all the rules of war, some forces to sow dark doubts about the victory of the Armenian army in the society, various speculations, the purpose of setting up a parliamentary commission of inquiry into the April war and a number of other topics.

We will reflect on these later and draw conclusions.

Today, at the sitting of this committee, I am going to look directly into the eyes of the committee members and say what I know and what I think.

The committee has already heard testimony from current and former officials including former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan.