Below is a declaration issued by the AYF on Sept. 9, 2009.
The Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) has been a fixture in the United States since 1933. For over 76 years, the AYF has instilled the principle of justice in Armenian American youth. Tragically, today the government of Armenia is compromising the right of Armenians around the world to achieve justice for the 1.5 million murdered during the genocide.
It is unacceptable for the Armenian government to sacrifice the achievements of those who lived, worked tirelessly and selflessly, and died for Hai Tahd. We must not let the past be disgraced nor the future mortgaged.
The announced protocols for the formation of diplomatic ties between Armenia and Turkey question the factuality of the Armenian Genocide and relinquish any claims to western Armenia. These are pan-Armenian issues that should not be surrendered by the Armenian government.
It is up to us, the youth of our nation, to forcefully send a message to Armenia that our rights can not be ignored. As such, we call on all Armenians to converge on the Permanent Mission of Armenia to the United Nations in New York City on Sat., Sept. 19 at 12 noon for a demonstration.
Let our voice and the voice of those who sacrificed before us be heard.
For more information, contact the Central Executive by emailing ce@ayf.org or calling (617) 947-0426.
BRavo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Super!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am not even Armenian, But I have supported the Armenian Genocide Resolution since I got involved with the Cyprus situation. Its high time the motherlands stop ignoring the wish and aspirations of their supporters in America. This demonstration was so important because the Armenian GOv. is now doing what the cowardly sold out Greek and CYprus Gov. that is reach an accomodation with Turkey that will eventually destroy both countries. The Obamma admin. told the Greek Community, in April, to withhold their demands and resolutions against Turkey because Armenia and Turkey are reaching a historic accomodation and the Greek issues would have to be buried as well as to not antagonize the Turks. The Greek GOv. has been playing the Greek Americans like suckers. I am glad to see the Armenian Americans aint going to take this bullshit from their own.
I am going to make calls to all my friends and associates in New York to be at the demonstration. I hope you do not mind having a Group of Greeks supporting you as well… I hope this effort on behalf of the Armenians will also spill over to the Greek Americans and get them to start taking action against the traitors and agents in the Greek GOv. who are doing the work of Turkey.
JJS
Seattle, Wash.
I am also Greek and I applaud the Armenian-American activists who are demonstrating against the so-called “soccer diplomacy” of the Turks and their allies. If only the Greek-American orgs had done the same back in 1999 when the corrupt Greek gov’t engaged in so-called “earthquake diplomacy” by demonstrating against Greek gov’t diplomatic posts in USA, then maybe the Cyprus situation and the violations of the Greek Aegean Sea by the Turkish military would not be as bad as it is today, where the Greek gov’t shamelessly bows its heads to Turkey and sells out the Cyprus Cause to Turks.
I also say BRAVO!!! to the Armenian-Americans
I also ask if it would be bad manners to bring Greek flags to the demonstration, if we want to show solidarity can we come and join? Because regardless we want to respect each others wishes as good allies and friends.
Thanks
–Sarkaflya, Brooklyn, NY
It is beyond belief for me to imagine that any Greek and Armenian officials could possibly believe
anything that the murderous and criminal government of Turkey has to say. The Armenian government should have seen as an example the failure of Greece in its “friendship” with Turkey.
The Turks have made no concessions on anything (responsibility for genocide and atrocities,
Cyprus, etc..) The Turkish government continues its aggression against Greece and occupation
against Cyprus while continuing its violent campaign against the last remnants of the Greek
community in Turkey. The concessions are all made by Greece which is a surrender.
Greek officials of internationalist leanings stupidly pursue policies of appeasement against
criminal Turkish political and military leaders. The result has been humiliation and failure.
Armenian officials are likely following the same path of failure as Greece.
So long as Turkey maintains the support of unscrupulous American, European, and Israeli
government officials murder and racism will remain the official policies of Turkey. Greeks
and Armenians have as much chance in reaching an accomodation with Kemalist Turkey
as Jews would have with the Third Reich.
Theodore G. Karakostas
Imagine, responses from three Greeks! Their thoughts are appreciated and I think they could behoove the Greek/Armenian issues with letters to the editors of their local newspapers to educate the general American public of these matters and how it is that most Greeks and Armenians have to come be born in the United States. More importantly it counteracts the positive spin of Turkey’s ally factor. No discredit to that fact but the truth is known and needs to be said, if we don’t keep it alive there’s no reason for the next generation to do it. I call it being ‘Jewy’ and I state that with a respectful and complimentary sense, the Jews have accomplished much because they remain highly vocal and relentless in their causes and everyone can and should learn from that.
Enclosed is my Letter to the Editor as printed in the Lowell Sun Newspaper on Sat. Sept. 12, 2009. Obama must recognize Genocide: It was a great disappointment for Armenian-Americans when President Obama, who pledged five times before becoming president that what happened to the Armenian people between 1915-1923 by the Turkish Government was clearly a Genocide, whom failed to repeat those words. On April 24th, just before returning from Turkey in early April, he refused to use the “G” word on the well documented Armenian Genocide. Therefore, just as other past presidents who promised to recognize the Armenian Genocide, he used the Armenian People to get their votes. My parents lost their families under Turkish rule. What troubles me is I have to wonder what kind of a Democracy we are living in, when the truth is being put aside just because Turkey is a NATO ally. Does anyone doubt there was a Jewish Genocide? It is a great dissapointment that our foreign policy is being dictated by a foreign power. Stephen T. Dulgarian – Chelmsford, MA.
Mr. John Soudas, thank you for your just support and the other two Greek gentlemans as well with their important and enlightening posts. My own grandmother, grandfather with my great grand parents, uncles, aunts, their children and also my mother’s extensive families were all annihilated in Western Armenia along with the 1.5 Million Armenians from 1915-1923 by the then Turkish government headed by Talaat Pasha. Today Turkey by getting their full support from the US is as if want to open their illegally closed borders with Armenia with a set of deadly pre-conditions against the sovereignty of Armenia and Nagorno-Karapagh’s self determination of the Armenian people. Our Armenian highlands must be returned to the heirs of the Armenian people as reparations of the systematic annihilation and the Genocide of the Armenian people. There must not be any signatures signed by the Armenian Government otherwise they will undoutedly answer big time to the coming generations of the Armenian people. If Nagorno-Karapagh goes so will Armenia. These so called politikaly inclined negotiations with Turkey’s set and unjustifiable pre-conditions on the protocols must never be signed by Armenia. We want Turkey to open their borders and have amicable neighbourly relations with Armenia; but not with the dear price of politically diminishing Armenia and Nagorno-Karapagh from the world’s map. What the Turks started in 1915 and systematically annihilated 1.5 Armenians in Western Armenia and literally stole Armenian lands which today they call it Eastern Turkey, now Turkey is continuing the Genocide politically and crudly setting pre-conditions on the protocols that are basically calls for the death of the Armenian nation. To both Armenia and Nagorno-Karapakh. They still are and continuously want Armenia to be wiped-off the world’s map to satisfy their dreams of Pan-Turkism.
If Turkey along with the made up Azerbaijan nation which existed only less than 100 years ignore the self-determination of the people of Nagorno-Karapagh even after we won the war 18 years ago; then Armenia must question the viability of the self-determination and the rights of the Turkish people in Cyprus.