The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) has launched its 12th pan-Armenian youth and student camp with an opening ceremony held near the Nemesis monument in Yerevan. Participants then proceeded to the statue of Aram Manukyan, founder of the First Republic of Armenia, followed by a march through the city center, according to Sputnik Armenia.
During the opening remarks, ARF Bureau member Hovsep Ter-Gevorgyan stressed that only a global Armenian mobilization can address the serious challenges currently facing Armenia. “Only through a united pan-Armenian effort can we overcome the looming problems and threats,” he declared.
He emphasized that despite ongoing efforts to sow division between Armenia and the Diaspora, events like this gathering demonstrate that Armenians are responding with unity in the face of regional and international threats.
ARF Bureau member and opposition MP Ishkhan Saghatelyan stated that this camp serves as a direct message to forces attempting to undermine the Armenia-Diaspora relationship, including those who have barred ARF members from entering Armenia in recent years.
“This is a response to those who think that by unlawfully detaining ARF youth they can prevent us from fighting for the collective rights of the Armenian people,” Saghatelyan said, as reported by Panorama.am .
He added, “This is a message to those who think they can silence us through persecution, not realizing that every blow only makes us stronger and more committed to our national goals.”
Saghatelyan also rejected claims that Armenian youth have resigned themselves to defeat or that the Diaspora has become indifferent to Armenia’s fate.
On July 13, five young people arrested on July 10 in a terrorism-related case — including Taron Manukyan, son of MP Gegham Manukyan, and Vahagn Matinyan, Chief of Staff of ARF's Supreme Body in Armenia — were released from detention.
