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Parents and other relatives of the Armenian servicemen, who died in last year’s war in Artsakh, on Tuesday held a candlelight procession to the Yerablur Military Pantheon in Yerevan to pay homage to the fallen soldiers on the Independence Day.

The march started from the Liberty Square in downtown Yerevan.

According to Karin Tonoyan, the mother of fallen hero Menua Hovhannisyan, there is “no independence and no mood to celebrate”.

"By their death, our sons proved that they are the masters of this country. For me, the only unoccupied fortress remains Yerablur," Tonoyan said.

She noted that several mothers expressed a desire to go to Yerablur today and just be with their children.

"We want to swear to our children that we will continue their struggle and one day will regain Armenia's independence. Today, self-deception is ridiculous, to say the least, because we see every single day that our independence has been seized,” she said.

“Today we see our country's leader asking the enemy to meet him, which has never happened before and is deeply offensive. Today we see our children being kidnapped and we can do nothing about it, even the mediation efforts are being made by Russia. I can give many such examples, which show that today we have no independence,” Tonoyan noted.

Incidentally, a "colorful event" dedicated to the 30th anniversary of independence is to be held at the Republic Square tonight, which has been opposed by the parents of fallen soldiers for several days.