Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan met today with relatives of the victims of the events of March 1, 2008, including Sargis Kloyan (legal successor of Gor Kloyan), Vachagan Farmanyan (legal successor of Armen Farmanyan), Ruzanna Harutyunyan (legal successor of Tigran Abgaryan), Hovsep Khachatryan (legal successor of Tigran Khachatryan), Edik Harutyunyan (legal successor of Samvel Harutyunyan), Jemma Vardumyan (legal successor of Davit Petrosyan) and Varduhi Baghdasaryan (legal successor of Grigor Gevorgyan), as reported the Department of Information and Public Relations of the Government of Armenia.

“I would like to touch upon the decision that the government adopted during its recent session, that is, the decision on providing financial assistance to the legal successors of the victims of the events of March 1, 2008. I would like to clearly state the fact that this is just support and must not be viewed as compensation in any way since the lives of citizens of the Republic of Armenia are priceless. My fundamental position on this issue is that the ultimate solution to this issue must be determined by the European Court of Human Rights. This government decision is an interim action that states the political stance of the Government of the Republic of Armenia. The future processes must continue and be implemented in the context of the decision of the European Court of Human Rights.”

The relatives of the victims stated that they have great expectations from the Prime Minister and his cabinet following the velvet revolution and expressed certainty that the changes taking place in the country will help provide the opportunity to conduct an impartial investigation and fully reveal the case of the events of March 1, 2008.

The Prime Minister and the victims’ relatives exchanged views on the course of investigation into the events of March 1 and the works for construction of a monument commemorating the victims.