SARKISIAN WARNS AZERBAIJAN ON ARMENIAN ARMY DAY

Asbarez
Jan 28th, 2010

YEREVAN (Combined Sources)-In a thinly veiled warning to Azerbaijan,
President Serzh Sarkisian said on Thursday that a military assault on
Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh would trigger "serious counterattacks"
with strong elements of surprise.

Sarkisian and his leading political opponents praised the Armenian
Armed Forces as the country marked the 18th anniversary of their
official establishment. They visited the Yerablur military cemetery
in Yerevan to pay their respects to Armenians killed in the 1991-1994
Karabakh liberation struggle.

"Today the Armenian army is the iron guarantee that ensures our
survival and development and is a sobering deterrent against any
hot-headed adventure," Sarkisian said in a written address to the
nation dedicated to what is a public holiday called Army Day.

"The author of any provocation must definitely expect serious
counterattacks and big surprises from the Armenian army," he said.

"Failure to realize that is at least naivety."

Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian, who is a prominent war veteran,
issued a similar warning earlier this week. He said Armenian forces
have significantly beefed up defense fortifications around Karabakh
in recent years and are prepared for renewed fighting regularly
threatened by Azerbaijan.

Sarkisian visited Yerablur together with other Armenian leaders to
lay a wreath at the tomb of Armenia’s first defense minister, the
late Vazgen Sarkisian. He also used the occasion to decorate and
promote several senior army officers.

"Today you are awarded for your achievements, and it’s thanks to
your achievements that our country becomes stronger both politically
and psychologically," he said during the award ceremony. "With
these awards our country and people express their appreciation and
gratitude to those, who devotedly serve the Republic of Armenia, who
have devoted their lives to the mission of defending and maintaining
peace in our country."

In his written remarks, Sarkisian had underscored the army’s pivotal
role in maintaining the balance of peace in the region. "The prevention
of war is the greatest victory for any normal country that respects the
rights of nations and states, and the Armenian officers and soldiers
are doing it effectively," he said.

Prime Minister, Tigran Sargsyan, echoed the president’s sentiments.

"Each of us is visiting Yerablur with pride because we have a
victorious army," he said. "We must do everything to have a strong
army that is a reliable guarantor of the security of our state and
the Armenian people."

"The borders of our Motherland are peaceful today, and our people
create their free life in Armenia and Artsakh thanks to the devoted
service of our brave soldiers and commanders," he said, praising the
army as the "pride of our people."

His Holiness Karekin I, Catholicos of All Armenians, issued his own
statement on the occasion, blessing "the officers and soldiers of
the Armenian Armed Forces and all Armenians throughout the world on
the occasion of Army Day."

"We ask the Almighty to grant success to the brave and amiable officers
and soldiers in their service to our country," Echmiadzin said. "May
the Lord bless and strengthen our army, grant peace and reconciliation
to our native land and to all the Armenians throughout the world. "