Citizen’s day can be the day when the citizen has a State. This is what leader of the Union for National Self-Determination political party Paruyr Hayrikyan said during a March 29 press conference, touching upon the government’s decision to declare the last Saturday of April as Citizen’s Day.

“First of all, do you know what it means to be a citizen? What is the difference between a citizen and a person and the difference between a citizen and an individual? A citizen is a person who has a state,” he stated.

Hayrikyan stressed the fact that citizens of Armenia already have a citizen’s day, and that day is the 21st of September. “The 21st of September 1991 is citizen’s day. On this day, the people of Armenia became citizens of Armenia as a result of national self-determination. This is citizen’s day. They can call it the day of change of power, but there were citizens already,” he concluded.

During its March 28 session, the government decided to celebrate the last Saturday of April as Citizen’s Day, after which Nikol Pashinyan suggested holding a public discussion on the options for the celebration on his Facebook page.