Armenia is once again facing a decisive moment in which statehood and national identity are under threat, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Supreme Body of Armenia said in a statement issued on Republic Day.
The statement called on Armenians to “wake up, unite and defend national values through collective resistance.”
“This is a struggle for identity and statehood, this is a new Sardarapat. We will stand for Armenian independence, restore our national dignity and not allow the fate of Armenians to be dictated by outsiders,” the statement said.
The authors of the declaration argued that Armenian identity is currently under attack, claiming that the Armenian Apostolic Church is facing persecution, people have become refugees and Artsakh has been lost.
The ARF statement described May 28, 1918, as a turning point in Armenian history.
“On May 28, a people that had survived genocide replaced a death sentence with the creation of statehood,” the statement noted.
It added that during the battles of Sardarapat, Bash-Aparan and Gharakilisa, Armenians proved that no force in the world could defeat the will to live on their own land.
According to the statement, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation took on the “superhuman mission of state-building” under extremely difficult conditions.
It highlighted the role of First Republic figures including Aram Manukyan, Hovhannes Kajaznuni, Garegin Nzhdeh, Dro and Ruben Ter-Minasyan in shaping Armenian statehood during a period marked by famine, war and displacement.
The statement concluded that the spirit of the May battles remains alive among Armenians today.
“We exist, we will fight, and we will win,” the ARF declared.
On May 28, 1918, the Armenian National Council declared the establishment of the independent Republic of Armenia. Just three years after genocide and mass displacement, the Armenian people managed to organize, fight defensive battles, achieve victory and establish statehood.
