The spiritual fathers of the Armenian Apostolic Church, led by Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, on Monday visited the Yerablur Military Pantheon in Yerevan on the 35th anniversary of Armenia’s independence.

Yerablur has been packed since early morning, but no officials have yet visited.

Instead, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan went on Facebook invited everyone to a concert in Yerevan’s Republic Square, which will kick off at 8:30 p.m.

A group of parents of fallen servicepersons have been at Yerablur since early morning to prevent government officials from approaching the graves of their fallen children.

On September 21, 1991, based on the provisions of the Declaration of Independence of Armenia, the latter’s parliament decided to hold a referendum in the country to secede from the USSR and become independent.

The overwhelming majority of the population of Armenia—94.39 percent of those eligible to vote, or 2,043,000 people, said “Yes” to independence. And based on the results of the referendum, on September 23, 1991, the then Supreme Council (parliament) of Armenia declared the country an independent state.

In 1991, a total of 48 countries recognized the independence of Armenia. And on March 2, 1992, our country became a full member of the UN.