A segment of the capacity crowd at the ARF Day Celebration
126 youngsters join the ranks of the Armenian Youth Federation Junior organization.
GLENDALE—An overflow crowd of more than 1,500 community members, organizational representatives, political and religious leaders filled the Glendale High School Auditorium on Sunday to mark the 126th anniversary of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. This year’s festivities were dedicated to Artsakh and included a special ceremony, during which 126 youngsters join the ranks of the Armenian Youth Federation Junior organization.
In an informative and compelling address, the evening’s keynote speaker Armen Sargsyan, a member of the Artsakh National Assembly representing the ARF faction and a former minister of culture, sports and youth affairs of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, detailed the ARF’s consistent and unwavering involvement with Artsakh’s liberation movements dating back to 1918.
Artsakh war veteran Shahen Aghababian officiates the pledge ceremony for 126 new AYF Juniors
Sargsyan detailed the Artsakh liberation struggles of the 1918 independence era, when Karekin Njdeh and other spearheaded the defense efforts against Turks and Azerbaijanis. He continued by listing other instances under Soviet rule, when Armenians of Artsakh rose up to demand reunification with Armenia, all the way to 1973, when, he said, a decision to reunite Artsakh with Armenia was taken, but then Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev rejected the decision.
During all these times, whether through active involvement or outside support, the ARF played a crucial role in the advancement of the self-determination of the Artsakh people, until 1988, when with the demonstrations that sparked the modern-day Artsakh Liberation Movement were not only abetted but also spearheaded by the ARF.
The Chamlian choir performs
In his remarks, Sargsyan turned his attention to the current challenges facing the people of Artsakh, as well as the peace process, saying that calls for concession of land in exchange for peace, a position being advanced by Baku, are unacceptable. He called any concession of territories, without mutually beneficial gains would be dangerous and absurd. He said the struggle for Artsakh, and the victories that have been achieved are part of our national aspiration of a Free, United and Independent Armenia.
Delivering the ARF Western US Central Committee’s message, its chairman Daron Der Khachadourian echoed similar sentiments, by rejecting the so-called “Land for Peaceâ€
