«I Will Never Forget This Day, Never!»: Alen Simonian Remembers Last Year’s Mourning March

The Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, Alen Simonian, made a post on his Facebook page, recalling the mourning march that took place on this day last year towards Yerablur. He also shared photographs from that march.

“I will never forget this day. When we stepped out of the government building at the scheduled time of the march, there was a ringing silence in Republic Square. It sounds strange, but it felt like everything had stopped, frozen; there was no wind, no noise, no sound of cars—only people. Armenian people, who, upon seeing us, began to approach, gather around us, coming out from the shadows of the trees and walls, surrounding us. The square inexplicably filled up in a minute. There was no need to speak or say anything; everyone knew everything, understood. There was pain and torment on every face; people had come to say that we exist, that we will not be destroyed, that we are together.

Throughout the entire march, emotion, pride, and pain choked us simultaneously, the mask hiding the tears. The sea of marchers walked on, bringing faith to all of us. I will never forget this day, never,” he wrote.

It is worth noting that on that day, citizens and relatives of the fallen had also gathered at Yerablur, expressing their opposition to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan entering the site. However, despite unprecedented security measures, Pashinyan managed to enter Yerablur. Citizens participating in the mourning march chanted “Nikol, Prime Minister” as they ran over the graves of the fallen.