INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF ARF YOUTH AND STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS CONCLUDES IN YEREVAN

Asbarez
Dec 28th, 2009

YEREVAN (ARF Press Office)-On the weekend of December 18-20, an
international conference of the highest bodies of the ARF’s youth
and student organizations took place in Yerevan.

Representatives from the leadership of 6 of the ARF’s student
associations, 17 of its youth organizations, and 17 of its junior
groups were in attendance at the conference. The total number of
delegates was 49, with participants from such distant countries as
Canada, the United States, France, Greece, Egypt, Lebanon, Iran,
Artsakh, and Armenia.

The 3-day meeting examined the most critical issues facing the Armenian
youth today. It reviewed some of the obstacles for the ARF’s youth
and student organizations around the world and formulated concrete
strategies for overcoming them, placing specific emphasis on the need
to carry out work which strengthens ties between youth in Armenia
and the Diaspora.

Conference participants also focused their attention on the
recently signed Armenia-Turkey Protocols, once again, expressing
their opposition against the many preconditions inherent within the
agreement. The conference unanimously demanded that the Armenian
government immediately cease its participation in the Protocol
process and adopt a position in its foreign affairs which respects
the dignity and rights of the Armenian people. It was stressed that
relations between Armenia and Turkey must be based on the latter’s
recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the right of Armenians to
have restored the lands from which they were removed and exiled.

On the issue of Artsakh, the meeting made clear that the only
alternative to independence is Artsakh’s official reunification with
the Republic of Armenia. There is no other alternative to these
two options. The conference affirmed that the destiny of Artsakh
must remain within the hands of its population and that Armenian
youth around the world stand ready to defend its security, rights,
and freedom. The meeting also called on the international community
to immediately take steps to halt Azerbaijan’s hostile threats and
constant war rhetoric.

The Georgian government’s biased policies toward its Armenian
population were also examined by the conference and deemed to be both
unacceptable and reprehensible. The continued suppression of the rights
of the Armenians in Javakhk and the destruction of cultural-historic
monuments in Tbilisi are the most recent manifestations of this
anti-Armenian tendency. The solution to this unhealthy condition is
the autonomy of Javakhk within a federated Georgia and the guaranteed
protection of the cultural rights for all Armenians living in Georgia.

Conference attendees also reaffirmed their commitment to continue
struggling for the establishment of social justice, protection of
human rights, and development of genuine democracy for all citizens
within the Republic of Armenia.

The highest international conference of ARF youth and student
organizations called on all Armenian youth worldwide to remain vigilant
against foreign pressure, to consciously follow political developments,
stand up against the domestic and international suppression of Armenian
people’s rights, and to vehemently express its will in these trying
times for our people’s destiny.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress