Armenia approves draft proposal to amend national anthem

The Armenian government has approved an initial proposal to amend the national anthem during a cabinet meeting.

Among the key changes, it is proposed to move the final verse of the anthem to follow the first verse, Caliber.Az reports per Armenian media.

Earlier, the Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, Alen Simonyan, along with two members of the ruling "Civil Contract" faction, Taguhi Ghazaryan and Sisak Gabrielyan, introduced a legislative initiative to amend the "Law on the Anthem of Armenia." Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that he was also involved in the development of the proposal.

This revision would alter the closing line of the anthem from "But blessed is he who dies for the freedom of his people" to "May Armenia always be," aligning the anthem's conclusion with what the proposal describes as a "logical and appropriate message."

Another proposed change involves the creation of a shortened version of the anthem to accommodate specific event requirements or time constraints. This task has been assigned to the Ministry of Education and Science.

Prime Minister Pashinyan expressed concern over the fact that the anthem is performed differently in various settings, with no unified standards in place. He described this as a "fundamental issue" that must be addressed as part of this project.

As a result of the changes, all events involving Pashinyan will now feature live performances of the anthem, adhering to specified quality standards.

By Aghakazim Guliyev