The
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF or ՀՅԴ) (Armenian:
Հայ Յեղափոխական Դաշնակցութիւն — Hay Heghapokhakan
Dashnaktsutiun or Hay Heghapokhagan Tashnagtsutiun, Դաշնակ —
Dashnak or Tashnag) is an Armenian political party founded
in Tiflis (Tbilisi in modern day Georgia) in 1890 by
Christapor Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, and Simon Zavarian.[3]
The party operates in Armenia and in countries where the
Armenian diaspora is present, notably in Lebanon and the
ethnically Armenian-dominated de facto Republic of
Nagorno-Karabakh.[4][5]
The ARF advocates socialism and is a member of the Socialist
International.[1] It possesses the largest number of members
from the political parties present in the Armenian diaspora,
having established affiliates in over 200 countries.[2]
Compared to other Armenian parties which tend to primarily
focus on educational or humanitarian projects, the
Dashnaktsutiun is the most politically oriented of the
organizations and traditionally has been one of the
staunchest supporters of Armenian nationalism.[2] A member
of the ARF is called "Dashnaktsagan" (in Eastern Armenian)
or "Tashnagtsagan" (in Western Armenian). Other than by
calling each other by name, members would formally address
one another as "Comrade" (Ընկեր - "Unger" for boys and men,
Ընկերուհի - "Ungerouhi" for girls and women).[6]
The ARF became active within the Ottoman Empire in the early
1890s with the aim of unifying the various small groups in
the empire that were advocating for reform and to defend
Armenian villages from massacres that were widespread in
some of the Armenian-populated areas of the empire. ARF
members would form themselves into fedayee groups which
would defend Armenian civilians through the use of armed
resistance.[β] The Dashnaks also worked for the wider goal
to create a "free, independent and unified" Armenia,
although they sometimes subsided this goal in favor of a
more realistic approach such as advocating autonomy.
In 1917 the party was instrumental in the creation of the
short-lived Democratic Republic of Armenia which fell to the
Soviet communists in 1920.[7] After its leadership was
exiled by the communists, the ARF established itself within
Armenian diaspora communities where it helped Armenians
preserve their cultural identity.[8] After the fall of the
USSR it returned to Armenia, where it is now part of the
ruling government coalition.
Early history
See also: Armenian national liberation movement
In the late 1800s, Eastern Europe and Russia became the hub
of small groups who were advocating for reform in
Armenian-populated areas in the Ottoman Empire. In 1890,
recognizing the need to unify these groups in order to be
more efficient, Christapor Mikaelian, Simon Zavarian and
Stepan Zorian created a new political party called the
"Federation of Armenian Revolutionaries" (Հայ
Յեղափոխականներու Դաշնակցութիւն), which would eventually be
called the "Armenian Revolutionary Federation" or "Dashnaktsutiun"
in 1892.
The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party at one point had agreed
to join as well, seeing that the ARF's political ideology
was socialism. However, the Hunchakians claimed the new
party was not Marxist enough, and withdrew from the union.
The original aim of the ARF was to gain autonomy of the
Armenian-populated areas in the Ottoman Empire. The party
began to organize itself in the Ottoman Empire in the early
1890s and held its first major meeting in Tiflis, Russian
Empire in 1892.[3][9] At that meeting, the party adopted a
decentralized modus operandi according to which the chapters
in different countries were allowed to plan and implement
policies in tune with their local political atmosphere. The
party set its goal of a society based on the democratic
principles of freedom of assembly, freedom of speech,
freedom of religion and agrarian reform.[3][9]
Russian Empire
The ARF gradually acquired significant strength and sympathy
among Russian Armenians. Mainly because of the ARF's stance
towards the Ottoman Empire, the party enjoyed the support of
the central Russian administration, as tsarist and ARF
foreign policy had the same alignment until 1903.[10] On
June 12, 1903, the tsarist authorities passed an edict to
bring all Armenian Church property under imperial control.
This was faced by strong ARF opposition, because it
perceived the tsarist edict as a threat to the Armenian
national existence. As a result, the ARF leadership decided
to actively defend Armenian churches by dispatching
militiamen who acted as guards and holding mass
demonstrations.[10][11]
In 1905-1906, the Armenian-Tatar massacres broke out during
which the ARF became involved in armed activities. Some
sources claim that the massacres were incited by the Russian
government in order to reinforce its own authority during
the revolutionary turmoil of 1905.[12] The first outbreak of
violence occurred in Baku, in February 1905. Some sources
claim that it was caused by a murder of a Muslim by the
Dashnaks.[13] The ARF held the Russian authorities
responsible for inaction and instigation of the massacres
which were part of a larger anti-Armenian policy. On May 11,
1905, Dashnak revolutionary Drastamat Kanayan assassinated
Russian governor general Nakashidze, who was considered by
the Armenian population as the main instigator of hate and
confrontation between the Armenians and the Tatars. The
Armenian bourgeoisie, unable to rely on government forces to
protect their interests and properties, turned to the ARF
for protection. The Dashnak leaders argued that given
employment discrimination against Armenian workers in
non-Armenian concerns, the defence provided to the Armenian
bourgeoisie was essential to the safekeeping of employment
opportunities for Armenian laborers.[14] The Russian Tsar's
Envoy in the Caucasus Vorontsov-Dashkov reported that the
ARF bore a major portion of responsibilities for
perpetrating the massacres. According to him, their bands
would attack the Muslims and often exterminate the
population of entire villages.[15] The ARF, however, argued
that it helped to organize the defence of the Armenian
population against Muslim attacks. The blows suffered at the
hands of the Dashnakist fighting squads proved a catalyst
for the consolidation of the Muslim community of the
Caucasus.[13] During that period the ARF regarded an armed
activity, including terror, as necessary tool for the
achievement of political goals.[16]
In January 1912, 159 members, comprised of lawyers, bankers,
merchants and other intellectuals, were tried before the
Russian senate for their participation in the party. They
were defended by then-lawyer Alexander Kerensky who
challenged much of the evidence used against them as the
"original investigators had been encouraged by the local
administration to use any available means" to convict the
men.[17] Kerensky succeeded in having the evidence
reexamined for one of the defendants. He along with several
other lawyers "made openly contemptuous declarations" about
this discrepancy to the Russian press, which was forbidden
to attend the trials, which in turn greatly embarrassed the
Senators. The Senate eventually open an inquiry against the
chief magistrate who had brought up the charges against the
Dashnak members and concluded that he was insane. Ninety
four of the accused were acquitted of the charges while the
rest were either imprisoned or exiled for varying periods,
the most severe being six years.[18]
Ottoman Empire
Main articles: Sasun Resistance, 1896 Ottoman Bank takeover,
Khanasor Expedition, and Yildiz Attempt
The ARF became a major political force in Armenian life. It
was especially active in the Ottoman Empire, where it
organized or participated in many revolutionary activities.
In 1894, the ARF took part in the First Sasun Resistance,
supplying arms to the local population to help the people of
Sasun defend themselves against the Hamidian purges.[19] In
June 1896, the Armenakans organized the Defense of Van in
the province of Van where Ottoman Hamidieh soldiers were to
attack the city. The Armenakans, assisted by members of the
Hunchakian and ARF parties, supplied all able-bodied men of
Van with weapons. They rose in defense and protected the
civilians from the attack and subsequent massacre.[
In order to raise awareness of the massacres of 1895-1896,
members of the Dashnaktsutiun led by Papken Siuni, occupied
the Ottoman Bank in August 26, 1896.[21] The purpose of the
raid was to dictate the ARF's demands of reform in the
Armenian populated areas of the Ottoman Empire and to
attract European attention to their cause since the
Europeans had many assets in the bank. The operation caught
European attention but at the cost of more massacres by
Sultan Abdul Hamid II.[22]
The Khanasor Expedition was performed by the Armenian
militia against the Kurdish Mazrik tribe on July 25, 1897.
During the Defense of Van, the Mazrik tribe had ambushed a
squad of Armenian defenders and massacred them. The Khanasor
Expedition was the ARF's decision to retaliate.[19][23] Some
Armenians consider this their first victory over the Ottoman
Empire and celebrate each year in its remembrance.[24][25]
On March 30, 1904, the ARF played a major role in the Second
Sasun Resistance. The ARF sent arms and fedayees to defend
the region for the second time.[19] Among the five hundred
fedayees participating in the resistance were top figures
such as Kevork Chavush, Sepasdatsi Murad and Hrayr Djoghk.
They managed to hold off the Ottoman army for several
months, despite their lack of fighters and firepower.[19]
In 1905, members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
organized the Yildiz Attempt, which was an assassination
attempt on Sultan Abdul Hamid II in the capital of the
Ottoman Empire, Constantinople (modern day Istanbul).[19]
The Yildiz Attempt failed to assassinate the Sultan, as the
timed bomb missed its target by a few minutes. The
Dashnaksutiun also lost one of its founders, Kristapor
Mikaelian, in an accidental explosion during the planning of
the operation.
Young Turk Revolution
See also: Young Turk Revolution
Two of the largest revolutionary groups trying to overthrow
Sultan Abdul Hamid II had been the ARF and the Committee of
Union and Progress, a group of mostly Turks who had been
educated in Europe.[26] In a general assembly meeting in
1907, the ARF acknowledged that the Armenian and Turkish
revolutionaries had the same goals. Although the Tanzimat
reforms had given Armenians more rights and seats in the
parliament, the ARF was looking to gain autonomy to govern
Armenian populated areas of the Ottoman Empire as a "state
within a state". The "Second congress of the Ottoman
opposition" took place in Paris, France in 1907. Opposition
leaders including Ahmed Riza (liberal), Sabahheddin Bey, and
ARF member Khachatur Maloumian were in attendance. During
the meeting, an alliance between the two parties was
officially declared.[26][27] The ARF decided to cooperate
with the Committee of Union and Progress, hoping that if the
Young Turks came to power, autonomy would be granted to the
Armenians.
In 1908, Abdul Hamid II was overthrown during the Young Turk
Revolution, which launched the Second Constitutional Era of
the Ottoman Empire. Armenians did gain more seats in the
1908 parliament but the reforms fell short of the greater
autonomy that the ARF had hoped for. The Adana massacre in
1909 also created antipathy between Armenians and Turks. The
ARF thus decided to cut relations with the Young Turks in
1912.[27]
Iranian Constitutional Revolution
See also: Iranian Constitutional Revolution
The Dashnaktsutiun held a meeting on April 26, 1907, dubbed
the Fourth General Congress, where leaders of the ARF such
as Aram Manougian, Hamo Ohanjanyan and Stepan Stepanian
discussed their engagement in the Iranian Constitutional
Revolution.[28] They established that the movement was one
that had political, ideological and economic components and
thus were aimed at the establishment of law and order, human
rights and the interests of all working people. They also
felt that it would work for the benefit and interest of
Armenian-Iranians. The final vote was 25 votes in favour and
one absentia.[28]
From 1907-1908, during the time when the Young Turks came to
power in the Ottoman Empire, Armenians from the Caucasus,
Western Armenia, and Iran started to collaborate with
Iranian constitutionalists and revolutionaries.[28]
Political parties, notably the Dashnaktsutiun, wanted to
influence the direction of the revolution towards greater
democracy and to safeguard gains already achieved. The
Dashnak contribution to the fight was mostly a military one,
as it sent some of its well known fedayees to Iran after the
guerrilla campaign in the Ottoman Empire stopped with the
rise of the Young Turks.[28] A notable ARF member already in
Iran was Yeprem Khan, who had established a branch of the
party in the country. Yeprem Khan was highly instrumental in
the Constitutional revolution of Iran. After the Persian
national parliament was shelled by the Russian Colonel
Vladimir Liakhov, Yeprem Khan rallied with Sattar Khan and
other revolutionary leaders in the Constitutional Revolution
of Iran against Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar.[29] Relations
between Sattar Khan and the ARF oscillated between amity and
resentment. Sometimes he was viewed as being ignorant, while
at other times, he was dubbed a great hero.[29] Nonetheless,
the ARF came to collaborate with him, and alongside Yeprem
Khan posted many victories including the capture of Rasht in
February 1909. At the end of June 1909, the fighters arrived
in Tehran and after several battles, took over the Majles
building and the Sepahsalar mosque. Yeprem Khan was then
appointed chief of Tehran police. This caused tensions
between the Dashnaks and Khan.[29]
World War I and the Armenian Genocide
In 1915, Dashnak leaders were deported and killed alongside
other Armenian intellectuals during a purge by Ottoman
officials against the leaders of the empire's Armenian
communities.[30] The ARF, maintaining its ideological
commitment to a "Free, Independent, and United Armenia", led
the defense of the Armenian people during the Armenian
Genocide, becoming leaders of the successful Van Resistance.
Jevdet Bey, the Ottoman administrator of Van, tried to
suppress the resistance by killing two Armenian leaders (Ishkhan
and Vramian), and trying to imprison Aram Manougian who had
risen to fame and gained the nickname "Aram of Van".[31]
Moreover, on April 19, he issued an order to exterminate all
Armenians, and threatened to kill all Muslims who helped
them.[32]
There were approximately 185,000 Armenians in Vaspurakan. In
the city of Van itself, there were around 30,000 Armenians,
but more Armenians from surrounding villages joined them
during the Ottoman offensive. The battle started on April
20, 1915, with Aram Manougian as the leader of the
resistance, and lasted for two months. In May, the Armenian
battalions and Russian regulars entered the city and
successfully drove the Ottoman army out of Van.[31] The
Dashnaktsutiun was also involved in other less-successful
resistance movements in Zeitun, Shabin-Karahisar, Urfa, and
Musa Dagh. After the end of the Van resistance, ARF leader
Aram Manougian became governor of the Administration for
Western Armenia and worked to ease the sufferings of
Armenians.
At the end of World War I, members of the Young Turks
movement who were considered as executors of the Armenian
Genocide by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation were
assassinated in the operation named Operation
Nemesis.[33][34]
Democratic Republic of Armenia
Main article: Democratic Republic of Armenia
As a result of the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917,
the Armenian, Georgian, and Muslim leaders of the Caucasus
united to create the Transcaucasian Federation in the winter
of 1918. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk had drastic
consequences for the Armenians: the Turkish forces
reoccupied Western Armenia. The federation lasted for only
three months, eventually paving way for the proclamation of
the Republics of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. The
negotiators for Armenia were from the ARF.[35]
With the collapse of the Transcaucasian Federation, the
Armenians were left to fend for themselves as the Turkish
army approached the capital of Yerevan. At first, fearing a
major military defeat and massacre of the population of
Armenia, the Dashnaks wanted to evacuate the city of
Yerevan. Instead, the Military Council headed by the Colonel
Pirumian decided that they would not surrender and would
confront the Turkish army.[36] The opposing armies met on
May 28, 1918 near Sardarapat. The battle was a major
military success for the Armenian army as it was able to
halt the invading Turkish forces.[37] The Armenians also
stood their ground at the Battle of Kara Killisse and at the
Battle of Bash Abaran. The creation of the Democratic
Republic of Armenia was proclaimed on the same day of the
Battle of Sardarapat, and the ARF became the ruling party.
However, the new state was devastated, with a dislocated
economy, hundreds of thousands of refugees, and a mostly
starving population.[36]
The ARF, led by "Zoravar" Andranik, tried several times to
seize Shusha (known as Shushi by Armenians), a city in
Karabakh. Just before the Armistice of Mudros was signed,
Andranik was on the way from Zangezur to Shusha, to control
the main city of Karabakh. Andranik's forces got within 26
miles of the city when the First World War ended and Turkey,
along with Germany and Austria-Hungary, surrendered to the
Allies.[38] British forces ordered Andranik to stop all
military advances, giving him the assurances that the
conflict would be solved with the Paris Peace Conference of
1919. Andranik, not wanting to antagonize relations with the
British, retreated to Gorin, Zangezur.[38]
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation had a strong presence
in the DRA government. Most of the important governmental
posts, such as Prime Minister, Defence Minister and Interior
Minister were controlled by its members. Despite their tight
grip on power, the ARF was unable to stop the impending
Communist invasion from the north, which culminated with a
Soviet takeover in 1920.[7] The ARF was banned, its leaders
exiled and many of its members dispersed to other parts of
the world.[7]
Exile
After the communists took over the short-lived Democratic
Republic of Armenia and ARF leaders were exiled, the
Dashnaks moved their base of operations where the Armenian
diaspora had settled. With the large influx of Armenian
refugees in the Levant, the ARF established a strong
political structure in Lebanon and to a lesser extent,
Syria. From 1921 to 1990, the Dashnaktsutiun established
political structures in over 200 states including the USA,
where another large influx of Armenians settled.[2]
In the US, members of the ARF were not allowed to attend
Etchmiadzin branch churches. It was one of the reasons why
the ARF discouraged people to attend these churches, and
brought the representatives from the Armenian Catholicosate
of Cilicia from Lebanon to the US.[39] In 1933, Dashnaks
were suspects in the assassination of Armenian archbishop
Levon Tourian in New York City. Prior to his murder, the
archbishop had been accused of being exclusively pro-Soviet
by the ARF.[40] However, the ARF itself was legally
exonerated from any direct complicity in the
assassination.[41]
During the 1950s, tensions arose between the ARF and
Armenian SSR. The death of Catholicos Garegin of the Holy
See of Cilicia prompted a struggle for succession. The
National Ecclesiastic Assembly, which was largely influenced
by the ARF, elected Zareh of Aleppo. This decision was
rejected by the Echmiadzin-based Catholicos of All
Armenians, the anti-ARF coalition and Soviet Armenian
authorities. Zareh extended his administrative authority
over a large part of the Armenian diaspora, furthering the
rift that had already been created by his election.[22] This
event split the large Armenian community of Lebanon,
creating sporadic clashes between the supporters of Zareh
and those who opposed his election.[22]
This was part of a greater conflict that raged between the
two "camps" of the Armenian diaspora. The ARF still resented
the fact that they were ousted from Armenia after the Red
Army took control and supported the creation of a "Free,
Independent, and United Armenia", free from both Soviet and
Turkish hegemony. The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party and
AGBU, the main rivals of the ARF, supported the newly
established Soviet rule in Armenia.[22]
LEBANON
From 1923 to 1958, conflicts erupted among Armenian
political parties struggling to dominate and organize the
diaspora. In 1926, a struggle between committees of the ARF
and Hunchakian parties for control of the newly established
shanty-town of Bourj Hammoud led to the assassination of ARF
member Vahan Vartabedian. As retaliation for the murder,
Hunchakian members Mihran Aghazarian and S. Dekhrouhi were
assassinated in 1929 and 1931 respectively.[42] In 1956,
when Bishop Zareh was consecrated Catholicos of Cilicia, the
Catholicos of Echmiadzin refused to recognize his authority.
This controversy polarized the Armenian community of
Lebanon. As a result, in the context of the Lebanese civil
strife of 1958, an armed conflict erupted between supporters
(the ARF) and opponents (Hunchakians, Ramgavars) of Zareh.[22]
Prior to the Lebanese Civil War of 1975-1990, the party was
closely allied to the Phalangist Party of Pierre Gemayel,
and generally ran joint tickets with the Phalangists,
especially in Beirut constituencies with large Armenian
populations.[43] The refusal of the ARF, along with most
Armenian groups, to play an active role in the civil war,
however, soured relations between the two parties, and the
Lebanese Forces (a militia dominated by Phalangists and
commanded by Bachir Gemayel, Pierre Gemayel's son) responded
by attacking the Armenian quarters of many Lebanese towns,
including Bourj Hammoud.[43] Many Armenians affiliated with
the ARF took up arms voluntarily to defend their quarters.
In the midst of the Lebanese civil war, a shadowy guerrilla
organization called Justice Commandos Against Armenian
Genocide emerged and carried out a string of assassinations
from 1975 to 1983. The guerrilla organization has sometimes
been linked to the Dashnaks.[44]
A major change occurred in the parliamentary election of
2000. Negotiations to form a joint ticket between the ARF
and the Karama (Dignity) party of Rafik Hariri broke down
over Hariri's insistence that all candidates elected on his
list, including ARF candidates, would have to form a unified
parliamentary block subsequently - a rarity in Lebanese
politics. This would make the Armenian vote in the Chamber
subservient to Hariri's wishes.[45] In addition, Hariri
refused the ARF proposal to chose an Armenian candidate for
the sole seat allocated to Lebanon's Protestant community
(many of whom are ethnically Armenian), insisting that that
seat should go to an ally of his.[45] The ARF decided to go
it alone, although other Armenian parties joined Hariri's
list. In an unprecedented sweep, the Dignity movement and
its allies captured 13 of Beirut's 19 seats, and the ARF was
left with only 1 parliamentary seat, its worst result in
many decades.[45]
The ARF called for a boycott of the 2005 Beirut elections
after it was disgruntled when the four seats normally
reserved for Beirut's large Armenian community had gone
unopposed to Hariri's candidates.[46]
There had also been speculation that the Lebanese branch of
the ARF had broken away from the main party's political
ideology of socialism and embraced capitalism.[43] These
claims were denied by prominent ARF member and Minister of
Agriculture of Armenia Davit Lokian.[47] The Dashnaktsutiun
has an official newspaper in Lebanon known as the Aztag
Daily Newspaper.
Ethnic Armenians are allocated 6 seats in Lebanon's
128-member National Assembly. The Lebanese branch of the ARF
has usually controlled a majority of the Armenian vote and
won most of the ethnic Armenian seats in the National
Assembly although it currently holds 2 seats.[4] It has
generally avoided entanglement in sensitive domestic issues,
usually supporting whatever government has happened to be in
power. However, the ARF harshly criticized the Lebanese
government's decision in 2006 to invite the deployment of
Turkish troops as part of the multilateral UN peacekeeping
force.[48]
On August 5, 2007, a by-election took place in the Metn
district, which includes the predominantly Armenian area of
Bourj Hammoud, to replace the slain anti-Syrian minister
Pierre Gemayel. The ARF decided to support Camille Khoury,
the candidate backed by opposition leader Michel Aoun's Free
Patriotic Movement. Camille Khoury faced off against
Phalangist leader Amine Gemayel and subsequently won the
seat.[49] The ARF's move shocked the Lebanese community; the
fact that the Armenians voted for a candidate that is
strongly allied with the pro-Syrian Hezbollah militants was
the big surprise of the by-election.[49] Government
supporters blamed Gemayel's loss on the Armenians. Amine
Gemayel accused the ARF of cheating and called for the
ballot in Bourj Hammoud to be cancelled. Gemayel said that
he had fared better "among Christians", and accused the
Dashnaktsutyun of trying to "impose its will on the people
of Metn", implying that the Armenians were neither proper
Lebanese nor true Christians.[50] Lebanese politician
Gabriel Murr accused the ARF of rigging the vote as "they
always do". Murr pointed out that Aoun didn't win the
Maronite vote but that he had won the Armenian vote, which
was included in the Metn district to manipulate the
electoral results.[51] Hagop Pakradounian, a leader of the
ARF in Lebanon, and the Armenian Deputies Bloc asked for a
public apology.[52] Pakradounian and the Armenian Deputies
Bloc called comments made by Amine Gemayel and Gabriel Murr
over the Armenian community's support for the Free Patriotic
Movement racist and condemned them.[52]
Armenia
The ARF has always maintained its ideological commitment to
"a Free, Independent, and United Armenia."[53] The term
United Armenia refers to the borders of Armenia that were
recognized by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and outlined in
the Treaty of Sèvres.[54] After Armenia fell under Soviet
control in 1920, the ARF, now dispersed throughout the
Armenian diaspora, fought Soviet rule over Armenia and
rallied in support of Armenian independence. It contributed
to organizing a social and cultural framework aimed at
preserving the Armenian identity.[55] However, due to tight
communist control, the ARF could not operate in the Armenian
SSR as the political party remained banned until 1991.
When independence was achieved in 1991, the ARF soon became
one of the major and most active political parties, rivaled
mainly by the Pan-Armenian National Movement (PANM).
Consequently, on December 28, 1994, President Levon
Ter-Petrossian in a famous television speech banned the ARF,
which was the nation's leading opposition party, along with
Yerkir, the country's largest daily newspaper.[56]
Ter-Petrossian introduced evidence that supposedly detailed
a plot hatched by the ARF to engage in terrorism against his
administration, endanger Armenia's national security and
overthrow the government. Throughout the evening, government
security forces arrested leading ARF figures. Police seized
computers, fax machines, files and printing equipment from
their offices. In addition to Yerkir, government forces also
closed several other literary, women's, cultural, and youth
publications.[56] Thirty-one men, who would later be known
as the "Dro Group" (named after the Dro Committee, the group
that was allegedly behind the plot), were arrested.
Gerard Libaridyan, a historian and close adviser of
Ter-Petrossian collected and presented the evidence against
the defendants. He later stated in an interview that he was
unsure if the evidence was true, inviting the notion that
the party was closed due to its increasing chances of
winning seats in the July 1995 parliamentary elections.[57]
Several months after the elections, most of the men were
found not guilty with the exception of several defendants
who were charged for engaging in corrupt business practices.
The ban on the party was lifted, however, less than a week
after Ter-Petrossian fell from power and was replaced by
Robert Kocharyan who was backed by the Dashnaks.[7]
As of 2007, the ARF is one of the three parties in the
government coalition, along with the Republican Party and
United Labor Party. The Country of Law party was also a
member of the governing coalition, until it pulled out in
May 2006. With 16 of the 131 seats in the National Assembly
of Armenia, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation is the
major socialist party in Armenia and the third-largest party
in parliament.
In addition to its parliamentary seats, the following
governmental ministries are also headed by ARF members:
Ministry of Agriculture, Davit Lokian;[58] Ministry of
Education and Science, Levon Mkrtchian;[59] Ministry of
Labor and Social Affairs, Aghvan Vardanian;[60] Ministry of
Healthcare, Norair Davidian.[61]
On July 13, 2007, the ARF History Museum was inaugurated in
Yerevan, displaying the history of the party and of its
notable members.
Nagorno-Karabakh
Members of the Dashnak battalion celebrating the capture of
Shushi in front of the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral.After the
Soviet Union expanded into the South Caucasus, it
established the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO)
within the Azerbaijan SSR in 1923.[62][63][64] In the final
years of the Soviet Union, the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation established a branch in Nagorno-Karabakh. In
January 1991, the Dashnaktsutiun won the parliamentary
election and governed as the ruling party during the
entirety of the Nagorno-Karabakh war.[65] The Dashnaks
actively supported the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh (or
Artsakh as Armenians call it). It aided the Nagorno-Karabakh
Defense Army by sending armed volunteers to the front lines
and supplying the army with weapons, food, medicine and
moral support.[66] Shamil Basayev, commander of the Chechen
volunteer forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh war, claimed that
he and his battalion had only lost once, and that defeat
came in Karabakh in fighting against the "Dashnak
battalion".[67] After deciding not to run in the second
parliamentary elections, the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation ran in the 1999 elections and won 9 of the 33
seats in the National Assembly of Nagorno Karabakh.[65] At
the June 2005 elections, the Dashnaktsutiun was part of an
electoral alliance with Movement 88 that won 3 out of 33
seats.
Political philosophy and goals
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The principal founders of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation were socialists, and Marxist elements were
omnipresent in the introductory section of the Party's first
Program written by Rosdom, entitled "General Theory".[68]
The ARF first set down its ideological and political goals
during the Hamidian regime. It denounced the Ottoman regime,
and the unbearable conditions of life for its Armenians, and
stressed the necessity, through revolution, of "shaking off
that infamous yoke; destroying the despotic, tyrannical
regime; achieving a fraternity of nations, the right to
work, and freedom of conscience, speech, and belief", and
also, "struggling against the class of economic exploiters".
Then, the objective of the Dashnaktsutiun was formulated:
"To attain political and economic freedom in Turkish Armenia
by means of insurrection". The ARF has socialism within its
political philosophy. The Program stressed the historical
necessity of changing those conditions through armed
struggle. Without using the terms "independence",
"democracy", and "socialism", the Program expresses the
entire, multifaceted make-up of the Armenian revolutionary
movement, including its national-liberation, political, and
social-economic aspects.[69]
Despite subsequent partial modifications, clarifications,
and amendments, the above-mentioned principles and
tendencies, in their fundamental outlines, continue to
characterize the ideological world of the Dashnaktsutiun,
and its approach toward issues has remained unchanged.
In the past decades, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
has reasserted itself ideologically, and reformulated the
section in the Program called "General Theory", adapting it
to the current conceptions of socialism and democracy, the
nationalities question, the right of self-determination, and
the legitimacy of national-liberation struggles.[69] Its
goals are:
The creation of a Free, Independent, and United Armenia. The
borders of United Armenia shall include all territories
designated as Armenia by the Treaty of Sèvres as well as the
regions of Artsakh, Javakhk, and Nakhichevan (See map on
right).[8]
international condemnation of the Genocide committed by the
Ottoman Empire against the Armenians, return of the lands
which are claimed to be occupied, and just reparations to
the Armenian nation.[8]
the gathering of worldwide expatriate Armenians on the lands
of United Armenia.[8]
strengthening Armenia's statehood, institutionalization of
democracy and the rule of law, securing the people's
economic well being, and establishment of social justice, a
democratic and socialistic independent republic in
Armenia.[8]
The ARF is often criticized and accused of having a present
strategy that does not differ from the one used during the
time of the Ottoman Empire. Their tactics are viewed as
still being aimed at convincing Western governments and
diplomatic circles to sponsor the party's demands.[70]
In 1907, the Dashnaktsutiun joined Socialist International
and remained a full member until 1960, when it decided to
pull out of the organization. In 1996, it was re-accepted as
an observer member and in 1999, the Dashnaks earned full
membership of the international organization.[71]
Affiliate organizations
The ARF is considered the foremost organization in the
Armenian diaspora, having established numerous Armenian
schools, community centers, scouting and athletic groups,
relief societies, youth groups, camps, and other organs
throughout the world.[2] The ARF also works as an umbrella
organ to the Armenian National Committee of America, the
Armenian Relief Society, the Homenetmen Armenian General
Athletic Union, the Hamazkayin Cultural Foundation, and
numerous other community organizations.[2] It operates the
Armenian Youth Federation, which encourages the youth of the
diaspora to join the political cause of the ARF and the
Armenian people. The ARF-affiliated Armenian National
Committee of America,[72] and its sister organizations such
as the Armenian National Committee of Canada subsequently
have played a significant role in the campaign for the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide in their respective
countries. The ARF Shant Student Association and the ARF
Armen Karo Student Association are comprised of college and
university student members in various campuses and are the
only ARF organizations whose membership is exclusively
comprised of this group. Unlike the Armenian Youth
Federation, one can not be an ARF Shant member without being
a rank-and-file party member. In December 2006, the ARF
Shant held a panel discussion on the reintegration and
redevelopment of western Armenian lands upon their return as
a reparation for the Armenian Genocide.
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