On Sunday, April 22, thousands of people gathered in Glendale to march in protest of a parliamentary vote that made Serzh Sargsyan Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia; a role he assumed following his two consecutive terms as President. Following Sargsyan’s transition into the role of Prime Minister, tens of thousands publicly protested the continuation of the regime of President Serzh Sargsyan in Armenia and other parts of the world, including Glendale, California. Soon after, Sargsyan stepped down, ending his brief role as Prime Minister.
On Tuesday, May 8, the opposition and “Velvet Revolution” leader, Nikol Pashinyan, was named Armenia’s Prime Minister by a Parliamentary vote of 59-to-42. This is a victory for the people of Armenia.
In addition to those in Armenia, the Armenian Diaspora is celebrating this historic moment. At their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, May 8th, 2018, Glendale City Councilmembers Ara Najarian, Vartan Gharpetian, Vrej Agajanian and Mayor Pro-Temp Paula Devine joined in the release of a statement. Mayor Zareh Sinanyan, also present, phoned into the meeting from Armenia, where he had traveled to witness first-hand the historic event.
“On behalf of the City Council of the City of Glendale, we would like to extend our congratulations to Nikol Pashinyan on his recent election as Prime Minister of Armenia.
We extend our best wishes to Prime Minister Pashinyan with the hope that all his visions of prosperity and liberty become a reality in the near future.
As the city that holds the largest number of Armenians per capita within the diaspora, we are proud of the people of Armenia for the manner in which they were able to manifest their desire for change.
With that, we congratulate the people for what has become known as Armenia’s Velvet Revolution, and look forward to witnessing Armenia flourish.
May God bless Armenia, its leaders, and its brave people.”