ARMAVIR–An exhibition entitled "The ARF and the Armenian Cause," opened on June 20 at the Sardarabad Ethnographic Museum–located at the Sardarabad Memorial-Complex in Armavir–Armenia. This will be the first of a series of exhibitions dedicated to the national liberation struggle of the Armenian people.
The opening ceremony was attended by numerous guests–including members of the Armenian Parliament. Armen Roustamian of the ARF Armenia Executive Council noted the significance of the exhibit opening in Sardarabad. Roustamian spoke briefly of the ARF’s role in the liberation struggle–which took shape in the beginning of the previous century and continues today in Artsakh. Roustamian presented the museum with a copy of the recently published second volume of the ARF Album/Atlas-Houshamadyan.
In his remarks–ARF Bureau member Albert Ajemian spoke of the intentional efforts to diminish the role of the ARF in the liberation struggle–which was prevalent during the Soviet era and during the first years of Armenia’s independence from the Soviet Union.
On display at the exhibition are materials–pictures–documen’s–and publications depicting heroes–martyrs and memorable events of the ARF since 1890.
One of the items on display is the coat of arms of the Armenian Republic hand-made by Raffi Titizian during his imprisonment in Canada. Also on display are issues of the underground "Baykar" publication of the ARF–which was in circulation in Artsakh in 1990. Other displays deal with Khanasor and Bank Ottoman and the decades-long efforts of the ARF at the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide. A separate display is devoted to the struggle in Artsakh and its martyrs–including the hundreds who were members of the ARF.
The exhibition will run for two months and expects a huge number of visitors–who will be vacationing in Armenia this summer.