YEREVAN — On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the creation of the Armenian Armed Forces, President Serzh Sargsyan, accompanied by Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, President of the NKR Bako Sahakian, and the highest leadership of the Republic, on January 28 visited the Yerablur Military Pantheon and paid tribute to the memory of those who gave their lives for the independence of the country.
Sargsyan awarded more than 200 military servicemen and freedom fighters with the highest awards of the Republic of Armenia, medals and orders, and bestowed on them high military ranks for the courage manifested in defending the borders of the Fatherland, valor, boundless dedication, as well as for their contribution to the army building and enhancement of the battle readiness of the troops.
The president congratulated the servicemen and the freedom fighters on the occasion of the holiday and on receiving high state awards.
In his remarks, the president said, “We are grateful to you for the enormous work you have done and which is called the service to the Fatherland. First, we shall commemorate those immortals who are being awarded today posthumously. We, as a nation, stand by the parents who raised these heroes and send to their families the words of compassion and support. Those boys died defending their families, their friends and us all. They died so that Armenia can live, so that aspirations of our people live on and become a reality. They became immortals and together with us will continue the millennia-long and incessant march of the Armenian nation.”
He added, “I congratulate those present in this hall and those who in our Armed Forces carry on with the dedicated work of their fallen brothers in arms.”
He paid tribute to the late Vazgen Sargsyan, Amrenia’s first defense minister. “Twenty-five years ago, by the order of Vazgen Sargsyan, our Army became a state structure. From that day on, we were fighting in the self-defense war at the state level. From that day on, the new and glorious history of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia is being written. Many of the pages and heroes of that history have already appeared in history books.”
