YEREVAN — Armenia began on Saturday an official three-day mourning period for thousands of Armenian soldiers and several dozen civilians killed during the recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire.

All flags on public buildings across the country were lowered to half-mast and memorial services will be held in all Armenian churches on Sunday to pay tribute to victims of the six-week war during which the Armenian side suffered massive territorial losses in and around Karabakh.

Thousands of people led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan marched to the Yerablur military cemetery in Yerevan where many of the Armenian soldiers killed during the hostilities were buried.

“The entire nation has been through and is going through a nightmare,” Pashinyan said in a video address ahead of the memorial march.

“Sometimes it seems that all of our dreams have been dashed and our optimism destroyed,” he added.

Pashinyan urged Armenians to join the procession and demonstrate that “we are going to live on” despite the “severe consequences” of the war.

Pashinyan reiterated that he accepts, in his capacity as prime minister, “full responsibility” for the Armenian side’s defeat and resulting heavy casualties. At the same time, he sought to deflect blame at Armenia’s former leaders.

“We need a more in-depth analysis of the reality because what happened could not have been the consequence of mistakes committed by one or several persons or over several years,” he said. “We need to … admit that we made mistakes for many years and our mistakes were of systemic, conceptual and substantive character.”

The prime minister again made clear on Saturday that he has no intention to step down and will not bow to the pressure from “elite circles.”

1 comment
  1. Both Catholicizes are dead wrong. They should not interfered in politics at all.
    Last 28 years when oligarchs were ruling, they didn’t say anything. Pashinyan should not resign. When and if he does guess who is coming back, the oligarchs, the former rulers who looted the country and build properties all over the world and mines in Africa. People are acting according to their heart, rather than their head-brain. On December 22, 2020 they will be in the streets. This action except chaos will produce nothing. A small country with 17 registered political parties and over 50 not register ones. A soup alphabet of opinions. Even the president of Armenia who apparently lobbied to get Israeli embassy opened just one week before October 27th 2020 war is as guilty as the two Catholics and guess what, he was also asking Pashinyan to resign, no shame, no respect, like oligarchs and those who are asking for Pashinyan’s resignations.
    The outcome is grave, bad, sad and disastrous, worse than a Greek trajedy.
    Yes Pashinyan should have gone to the parliament and ask for their approval, but you really think with all those political parties and various opinions they would have approved anything? I bet you no. At least Pashinyan took the step had the courage and stopped the war, which prevented Armenian soldiers to get killed by the drones.
    This is an International chess game between 2 super powers and Armenia could not do anything at all. Check back and see our history’s last 2000 years.
    Pashinyan should not resign.
    Mr. Oshin is right.
    Don’t be naïve, think realistically.

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