GLENDALE—In 2017, 26 Armenian soldiers have been killed by Azerbaijani fire and landmine explosions. At least 7 out of the 26 were born in the year 1998, which made them 19 years old and 10 out of the 26 were born in the year 1997, which made them 20.

The “With Our Soldiers” Committee informs all community members that Azerbaijani aggression shows no signs of halting and hostilities at the frontlines still remain very active. Armenian soldiers are killed every couple of weeks as the ceasefire regime is violated by Azerbaijan on a daily basis.

To put things into perspective, in the last week alone, Azerbaijani forces violated the ceasefire more than 200 times, firing over 2300 shots at the Line of Contact. Azerbaijan has proven yet again that it has no respect for the ceasefire regime.

As we enter this season of family, friends, and festivities, it is also important for us to be mindful of our brothers serving for our country and protecting our borders. Therefore, with the holidays around the corner, the committee urges all supporters and community members to donate to this worthy cause so that we can once again aid the soldiers serving the frontlines and all those affected by Azerbaijani aggression.

Since the “April War” and the restart of the “With Our Soldiers” campaign, the committee has raised over $150,000 that it has dispersed to about 130 families of fallen soldiers, and through the delivery of supplies to local soldiers in Artsakh. With work currently in progress, the committee is organizing plans to once again continue supplying the frontlines with various supplies, such as weather protective goggles, power generators, and gloves as a part of With Our Soldiers 3.0 that includes other components as well.

Although there is no all out war like last April, soldiers are still dying, families are being left without breadwinners, and children are being left without their fathers. President Aliyev has enforced a political climate where xenophobic behavior towards Armenians is being promoted and those who murder Armenians are being rewarded.

We saw this recently with Azerbaijani ax murderer Ramil Safarov being promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel of his country’s armed forces. We also see this with Armenian community leaders as well as Members of Congress pursuing the path of justice for Armenians being blacklisted for visiting Artsakh.

And simultaneously, meetings between Armenian and Azerbaijani diplomats with representatives of the OSCE Minsk Group are showing slow signs of progress. Therefore, it’s up to members of the diaspora to stand in solidarity with the Armenian people and assist. The “April War” of 2016 became a test for Armenians all around the world to see how prepared we were to address the needs of our fellow brothers and sisters in the homeland.

It is absolutely necessary for our community to unite during this time of need to assist our soldiers, especially with the cold Armenia winter approaching. The ‘With Our Soldier’ Committee is prepared to personally make visits to the military bases it plans to aid.

More details will be announced in the coming weeks as plans become finalized. However, it is imperative that we have the support of our community in order to move forward with our efforts and achieve all the goals we have set out.

The AYF’s “With Our Soldiers” campaign, originally launched in 2012, provided medical services and assistance to more than 80 veterans of the Artsakh Liberation Movement. To learn more about the WOS campaign or to make a donation today, you can visit withoursoldiers.com.

Founded in 1933 with organizational structures in over 17 regions around the world and a legacy of over eighty years of community involvement, the Armenian Youth Federation is the largest and most influential Armenian-American youth organization in the world, working to advance the social, political, educational, and cultural awareness of Armenian youth.

From the website of the Defense Ministry of Artsakh and the Defense Ministry of Armenia: The names of the soldiers killed in 2017 by Azerbaijani fire and landmine explosions.

26. November 21, 2017: Sargis Melikyan (b. 1997)
25. November 21, 2017: Sargis Abrahamyan (b. 1998)
24. November 21, 2017: Gegham Zakaryan (b. 1995)
23. October 19, 2017: Tigran Khachatryan (b. 1998)
22. October 11, 2017: Chaplin Margaryan (b. 1998)
21. September 28, 2017: Seyran Sargsyan (b. 1998)
20. September 1, 2017: Hayk Khachatryan (b. 1998)
19. August 27, 2017: Artak Bisharyan (b. 1991)
18. August 14, 2017: Arman Movsisyan (b. 1998)
17. July 10, 2017: Vazgen Poghosyan (b. 1997)
16. June 17, 2017: Narek Gasparyan (b. 1997)
15. June 16, 2017: Arayik Matinyan (b. 1997.
14. June 16, 2017: Vigen Petrosyan (b. 1997.
13. June 16, 2017: Vardan Sargsyan (b. 1997.
12. May 26, 2017: Armen Harutyunyan (b. 1996)
11. May 20, 2017: Karen Danielyan (b. 1996)
10. April 28, 2017: Mher Arzumanyan (b. 1998)
9. April 24, 2017: Narek Harutyunyan (b. 1997)
8. March 31, 2017: Gor Hovhannisyan (b. 1993)
7. March 28, 2017: Artak Rafaelyan (b. 1997)
6. March 1, 2017: Nver Babajanyan (b. 1980)
5. February 8, 2017: Gegham Manukyan (b. 1979)
4. February 6, 2017: Gor Gareginyan (b. 1997)
3. January 22, 2017: Karen Ulubabyan (b. 1995)
2. January 18, 2017: Andranik Musikyan (b. 1997)
1. January 16, 2017: Garik Vardanyan (b. 1996)(wounded on Dec. 20, 2016)

ENCINO, Calif.—The Armenian Youth Federation’s ‘With Our Soldiers’ campaign has announced that it will host a commemorative event on the first anniversary of the Four Day War to honor the memory of the fallen heroes who gave their lives during last year’s conflict. The event will take place on Sunday, April 2, at 6pm at the Ferrahian Armenian School (5300 White Oak, Encino, California).

“We must remember and honor those who gave their lives to defend our country,” said Verginie Touloumian, chairperson of the committee. “This event is AYF’s way of paying tribute to our fallen heroes.”

For the past year, the AYF has also distributed over $130,000 to the families of those who died during and in the aftermath of the Four Day War. The organization is committed to continuing its efforts aimed at reaching out to those who have lost a loved one from Azeri aggression.

Sunday’s event will feature reports about the activities of the ‘With Our Soldiers’ campaign and performances in honor of our fallen soldiers. The AYF Juniors, Pilibos and Ferrahian Armenian school students, and Armenian youth from the community will perform during the event and a religious service in memory of those who gave their lives for Artsakh will be conducted.

The AYF Central Executive and the ‘With Our Soldiers’ committee call upon our community to join us in honoring the memory of our fallen soldiers. You can find more details regarding the event by following the ‘With Our Soldiers’ Facebook page.

We write to inform our community about the film The Ottoman Lieutenant, a primarily Turkish-funded production that perpetuates denial of the Armenian Genocide under the guise of neutrality. We urge you to refrain from watching this film in theaters or supporting it in any way, but we do feel it is important for our community to be aware of the fact that genocide denial is present and still a major issue, even outside of the Republic of Turkey.

The Ottoman Lieutenant, starring Michiel Huisman, Hera Hilmar, Josh Hartnett, and Ben Kingsley, pretends to be an “objective” love story set in Ottoman Turkey during World War I, but in reality, the movie furthers the currentRepublic of Turkey’s campaign of genocide denial through feel-good historical revisionism. It portrays the Armenian Genocide as a ‘two-sided’ conflict of equal suffering in the fog of war. At face value, this may signal a willingness to discuss the Armenian Genocide. However, this is a new chapter in the classic state-sponsored genocide denial which seeks to recast the narrative as two-sided suffering.

While one character in this film stated that measures were taken to stamp out the Armenian “rebels” who sided with the Russians against the Ottoman Empire, another character acknowledged that there was, in fact, a campaign to rid Anatolia of its Christian population. It seems the writers of this film aimed to take a neutral stance on the issue, attempting to represent multiple viewpoints. But let this be clear: it is not possible to be neutral on the issue of genocide, and attempting to do so merely supports the modern propaganda of the Turkish government.

A producer of the film is quoted almost verbatim repeating the contemporary Turkish state’s language of genocide denial in a Turkish daily newspaper saying, “As objective and respected to common sufferings of both Turks and Armenians, we wanted to show the audience what happened during World War I in Eastern Anatolia, a subject that has not been handled before.”

While Turks were inherently affected by the state of war in the region — along with all civilians of the Ottoman Empire — their suffering cannot be equated with the systematic massacres and campaign of extermination suffered by the Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks living on those lands.

Thankfully, some objective viewers of this film were able to see through the veil of neutrality and soft propaganda it attempts to push. Film critic Dennis Harvey, in a review featured on Variety.com, states, “Violent tensions between Armenian Christians and Turkish Muslims are already beginning to impact this remote area, soon to be exacerbated by the outbreak of WWI. But in this primarily Turkish-funded production, the historical, political, ethnic and other intricacies — not to mention that perpetual elephant in the room, the Armenian Genocide, which commenced in 1915 — are glossed over in favor of a generalized ‘Whattaya gonna do… war is bad’ aura that implies conscience without actually saying anything.”

We cannot stress enough that going to see this film in theaters will only give it support and undeserved positive attention in the long-run. In the coming days, the AYF will be writing letters to theaters and campuses hosting screenings to educate them about our concerns with this film. We recommend others join us, and we are ready to provide resources and language translations for individuals who wish to do so.

Take the creation of this film as a reality-check. Denial is real and is present, and it is now being pushed in new and subtle ways through avenues one would not expect. The Turkish narrative and strategy of evading reparations has changed multiple times in the last 102 years, and has included everything from claiming Armenians committed genocide against the Turks, to minimizing the severity and describing it with words like “civil war” and “common pain.” We must always remain vigilant, and should never tolerate any form of denial no matter how mild or well-disguised it may be. The softer form of denial this film perpetuates is the most dangerous form of all, and it often goes unnoticed.

Founded in 1933 with organizational structures in over 17 regions around the world and a legacy of over eighty years of community involvement, the Armenian Youth Federation is the largest and most influential Armenian-American youth organization in the world, working to advance the social, political, educational and cultural awareness of Armenian youth.