RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent a congratulatory message on the occasion of RA Independence Day.

"Dear people,

Dear compatriots,

Today marks the 31st anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Armenia. On September 21, 1991, the Independence Referendum was held, in which 2 million 56 thousand 758 people participated, 95.5 percent of the total number of voters.

The following question was put to the referendum. "Do you agree that the Republic of Armenia should be an independent, democratic state outside of the USSR?" Ninety-nine percent of the referendum participants - 2 million 42 thousand 627 people - answered yes to that question.

The day of the referendum was a real celebration in Armenia when since 1988, we had voiced all the truths that were misplaced inside us, we had formulated all the accusations we knew, we had demonstrated all our dreams, and we needed to say Yes to all of that, and we said Yes.

It is clear and indisputable that on September 21, 1991, if not all citizens who said Yes, at least the majority, understood that this was not just a note made with a pen on the ballot paper, but a borderline beyond which the subject becomes a citizen, the homeland becomes a state. The motto becomes Responsibility.

On September 21, 1991, the "Yes" generation bore that responsibility fully and with dignity, bearing the weight of war, economic hardship, and social despair on their shoulders. And today, on the 31st anniversary of Armenia's independence, I first of all want to say my words of humility and reverence to that generation, first of all to our martyrs who gave their lives for the sake of independence, for the sake of statehood, those people who sacrificed their lives and well-being for the sake of the newly independent country. have also said Yes to Independence.

It is on the shoulders of these people - volunteers, policemen, soldiers - that our newly independent state rested. But not only to them, but also to all our compatriots who endured and supported our new and forming army, and not only on the day of the referendum, but also every day, every God's day, they said Yes to Independence, sometimes rejoicing, sometimes lamenting, sometimes despairing , sometimes proud, sometimes defeated. But the point is that the Yes of 1991 was not a mood, but a decision, and that decision was not changed by any social and political difficulties, any setbacks and failures.

Dear people,

Dear compatriots,

Today is also September 21 and today is the independence referendum. The 1991 referendum was held but not over and the Independence Referendum is happening today.

Our martyrs who gave their lives for the Motherland said Yes to Independence and it is very important that our knees do not bend due to the bitterness of their loss. The soldier standing on the border says Yes to Independence and it is extremely important that his Yes finds its echo not only in our hearts but also in our deeds.

Every day, every God's Day, official or peasant, soldier or businessman, teacher or worker, whether we like it or not, realize it or not, we are participants in the referendum, the independence referendum.

And it is important to say Yes to Independence, to say Yes to Sovereignty, to say Yes to democracy and, as necessary, to reaffirm that Yes in the part of the 29,800 square kilometer State-Motherland, where that Yes will be needed the most. And let's not think, and let's not worry, and let's not doubt, because every day, every God's day, they try to instill new doubts, new fears in us, and all that for the sake of giving up our Independence, to give up our state.

Dear people,

Dear compatriots,

I congratulate all of us on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Armenia.

Yes to Independence, Yes to Sovereignty, Yes to the Republic of Armenia."