Just came across this video posted by the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF). The video is about Armen Hovannissian who participated in the Kabakh war in the early 1990s. Just a few words about the Karabakh war; the Armenian military forces illegally occupied Karabakh and adjacent regions that are internationally recognized within Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.
What is interesting about the video is that AYF claims that Armen Hovannissian was only 15 when he joined the military forces occupying Karabakh.
At the age of 15, Armen Hovannisian joined a group of young men from the Proshyan Village in Kotayk Province of Armenia and went to Artsakh [Karabakh] to participate in the liberation struggle.
Obviously, what they call " the liberation struggle" is actually an occupation that left about one million people homeless, and 30,000 dead.
Now, one of Armenian youth organizations is admitting that they used 15-year-old kids as child soldiers during the war. I know there is resolution 1261 adopted by the United Nations in 1999 condemning the use of children-soldiers, but I am not sure if it has a retrospective affect. Here is excerpt from the resolution:
[The UN Security Council] Strongly condemns the targeting of children in situations of armed conflict, including killing and maiming, sexual violence, abduction and forced displacement, recruitment and use of children in armed conflict in violation of international law, and attacks on objects protected under international law, including places that usually have a significant presence of children such as schools and hospitals, and calls on all parties concerned to put an end to such practices;
The other point I'd like to underline is how they take care of their war veterans. The AYF apparently has a program that supports their war veterans and helps them recover. Something that apparently Armenia cannot afford to offer, but nevertheless.
Having earned multiple medals and honors for his military service, Armen has not been able to receive any medical treatments to address his health problems until he appealed to the AYF WOS campaign.
This is a very important and essential program that needed to be adopted for our war veterans, and their families long ago. These people risked, and in some cases gave up their lives for those lands, for Azerbaijan, for us, and future generations, and they deserve to be treated as heroes, because they are! It is also essential to show, not only on a government level, but also on people's level, that we don't forget them and never will.
To show the new generations that it is vital and honourable to support your heroes, because one day we might have to liberate Karabakh by war, considering the two-decade-long fruitless peacetalks.
