Armenian Revolutionary Federation

Armenian Revolutionary Federation Tashnag
Party leader	Hrant Markarjan
founding	1890
Headquarters	Yerevan
Alignment	Social Democracy Democratic Socialism
Colours)	red
Parliament seats	0/132 (Armenia) 2/128 (Lebanon) 7/33 (Nagorno-Karabakh)
Number of members	6,800
International connections	Socialist International
European party	Party of European Socialists (PES) (observer status)
Website	arfd.info

Party founders Stepan Zorian, Kristapor Miaeljan and Simon Sawarjan

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation ( Armenian Հայ Հեղափոխական Դաշնակցություն Haj Heghapochagan Daschnakzutjun , in traditional orthography Հայ Յեղափոխական Դաշնակցութիւն, Western Armenian Hay Heghapokhagan Tashnagtsutiun ) is an Armenian political party founded in Tbilisi (now Georgia ) in 1890 . The Revolutionary Federation has two roots: It was part of the reformist socialist movement , combined this with the striving for national liberation from the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire , which at that time had divided up the settlement area of ​​the Armenians . The Revolutionary Federation is a member of the Socialist International , but its principles can be described as nationalistic . The party is active in Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and the diaspora .

The party is briefly called Daschnakzutjun , so its members are called Dashnaks .

History until 1921

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation was established in Tbilisi, Georgia in 1890 through the amalgamation of various Armenian political groups that resembled those active in Russia and Eastern Europe at the same time . Its founders were the Marxist Kristapor Mikaeljan , the Narodnik Rostom (Stepan Zorian) and the Bakuninist Simon Sawarjan . Their goal was the emancipation of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire . The Dashnaks originally demanded autonomy and reforms for the areas of the Ottoman Empire settled by Armenians rather than an independent Armenia, which at that time was not seen as a worthwhile goal by all Armenians. The party began organizing in what is now Turkey in the early 1890s , and held its first major meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia in 1892. At this meeting, a decentralized approach was adopted, according to which different parts of the party could adapt their policies and strategies to local conditions.

The Dashnaks saw themselves as a revolutionary organization whose cells carried out armed actions. The best known was the occupation of the Ottoman Bank in Constantinople in 1896. In the period from 1894 to 1896 there were targeted killings of individuals. The Lebanese website of the Dashnak Party's youth organization lists: “Armenians who served the Sultan and the Turkish government. Among others Maksoud Simon Bey, the spy Ardashes, the police chief Haji Dikran, the priest Mampre Benlian, the surgeon M. Tutunjiev and others ”. In addition, "Isahag Zhamharian, Janpoladian, Atamian" were rich Armenians in Russia who refused to support the Dashnak party with money. That is why they were murdered by the Dashnakists after 1903.

In 1896 the Dashnaks took part as observers at the fourth congress of the Socialist International and presented their program. In view of the Russification policy of Tsar Nicholas II , the Dashnaks decided at their third congress in Sofia in 1906 to expand their activities to the Russian Empire . On the occasion of its fourth congress in Vienna in 1907, the party decided to join the Socialist International. This took place against the resistance of the Bolsheviks , who considered class struggle and nationalism to be incompatible.

Even before Sultan Abdülhamid II was overthrown in 1908 , the Dashnaks supported the Young Turks and the Committee for Unity and Progress . This support for the new government was based on a misunderstanding: The Dashnaks saw the Young Turks as a progressive movement and did not understand that they were nationalists who wanted to Turkishify the Ottoman Empire and suppress the national minorities. Although the Dashnaks held on to their support for the Young Turks at their fifth congress in 1909, they quickly had to lower their hopes. At the sixth Congress in Constantinople in 1911 they turned against the policy of the Committee for Unity and Progress. On the threshold of the outbreak of World War I , the Armenians were aware of the danger of being wiped out between the Russian and Ottoman empires. At their eighth congress in Erzurum in July 1914, the Dashnaks confirmed the policy they had chosen: the Armenians should stand loyally at the side of the respective state to which they belonged.

During the Armenian Genocide in 1915, the members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation were among the first to be persecuted and murdered by the Ottoman rulers for their leading roles in the Armenian communities. The role of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation in this turmoil has been viewed as extremely contradictory to this day. While the Armenian and Western sides see the justification for the use of military means to protect the civilian population as a legitimate means of self-defense, Turkish state historiography regards them as criminal rebels and terrorists. Attacks were carried out on War Minister Enver Pascha , Interior Minister Talât Pascha , Labor and Navy Minister Cemal Pasha , Grand Vizier Said Halim Pascha and Azerbaijani Prime Minister Fətəli Xan Xoyski .

After the collapse of the Russian Empire, the Georgians , Armenians and Azerbaijanis formed a Transcaucasian Commissariat in 1917 . The Georgians and Azerbaijanis left this federation in May 1918 and each established their own states. Thereupon the Armenian National Assembly proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Armenia on May 28, 1918 . The Dashnake Howhannes Katschasnuni formed the first government. The other parties refused to attend. The Daschnakzutjun denied territorial claims by neighboring states, particularly Azerbaijan. Their fighters brutally attacked the Azerbaijani people in Nagorno-Karabakh and in eastern Azerbaijan. Under the commandant Amazasp, they carried out massacres in Şamaxı and Quba, killing around 8,000 and 4,000 respectively. In the 1919 elections, the Dashnaks received 90% of the vote. In 1920 after the military defeat by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk , the Dashnak government gave in to pressure from the Bolsheviks and formed a coalition government with them, into which two Dashnaks moved. Soon afterwards the government was overthrown and a new one was formed on February 18, 1921 under the leadership of the Dashnaks. In April 1921, Armenia was occupied by the Soviet Union . The Armenian Revolutionary Federation was dissolved and banned.

See also : Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic

Today's politics

During the following 70 years of the Soviet era, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation saw itself as a party in exile and as a representation of the interests of the Armenians in the countries of the diaspora. At the national level these were particularly Lebanon and Syria and at the municipal level the French city of Marseille . After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the party was able to re- establish itself in Armenia and the Armenian-dominated Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh .

The ARF is considered to be the largest and most influential organization in the Armenian diaspora . It has a worldwide network of Armenian schools, churches, community centers, educational and cultural foundations ( Armenian Educational and Cultural Society ), scout and sports clubs ( Homenetmen ), tent camps, relief organizations ( Armenian Relief Society ), youth and student organizations ( Armenian Youth and Student Federation ) and advocacy groups ( Armenian National Committee ).

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation has always advocated a "free, independent and united Armenia". The term "united Armenia" refers to the borders of Armenia and includes " Western Armenia " (Northeast Anatolia) annexed to Turkey , as it was officially recognized in the Treaty of Sèvres and established by the American President Woodrow Wilson . Although it has always called itself a socialist party, it has actually become a predominantly left-wing nationalist and anti-communist party.

In the Republic of Armenia

Dashnak headquarters in Yerevan (2010)

Since 1988 the party has organized itself again in Armenia. On July 2, 1991, after the Armenian Republic gained independence from the Soviet Union, the party officially re-registered and became one of the larger parties and the main opponent of the ruling Armenian All-National Movement . As a result, it was banned by President Levon Ter-Petrosyan on December 28, 1994 together with the party- affiliated Jerkir , the country's largest daily newspaper. The president accused the party of criminal activities such as drug trafficking, contract killing and supporting terrorist groups. This was preceded by the decision of the Supreme Court to suspend the ARF as a party, as it would allow party membership of non-citizens. Several ARF politicians spent several years in prison. After Ter-Petrosjan lost his office and was replaced by Robert Kocharyan , the ban was lifted again in 1998. Since the late 1990s, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation was part of a three-party governing coalition in which the Republican Party and the Land of Law party were involved.

She was the Minister for Education and Science from 1998 to 1999, from 2001 to 2003, from 2006 to 2008 with Levon Mkrtchjan and after 2008 with Spartak Sejranjan . She provided the Agriculture Minister from 2003 to 2008 with Dawid Lokjan and after 2008 with Aramais Grigorjan . The party provided labor and social affairs minister from 2003 to 2008 with Agwan Wardanjan and after 2008 with Arsen Ambarzumjan .

With eleven of 131 seats in the National Assembly in the 2003-2007 legislative period, it was the most important socialist party in Armenia and the fourth largest in parliament. In the parliamentary elections in May 2007, the party was able to improve to 16 seats. In the February 2008 presidential election, Wahan Howhannisjan was the party's candidate and received 6.2% of the vote.

Since the parliamentary elections in Armenia in 2018 , the party is no longer represented in the Armenian parliament.

Parliamentary elections

choice	be right	%	Seats	rank	Position after d. elections	source
1995	-	-	1/190	-	Prohibition of party, represented in parliament by direct mandate	Nohlen, Grotz, Hartmann (2001)
1999	84,232	7.96	8/131	4th	Ruling coalition	electionguide.org
2003	134,849	11.45	11/131	4th	Ruling coalition	electionguide.org
2007	177.907	13.30	16/131	3.	Ruling coalition	electionguide.org
2012	85,550	5.67	6/131	4th	opposition	Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Armenia
2017	103.173	6.58	7/105	7th	Ruling coalition	Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Armenia
2018	48,816	3.88	0/132	5.	extra-parliamentary opposition	Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Armenia

Nagorno-Karabakh

In the parliamentary elections of June 19, 2005 in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation suffered heavy losses and only achieved three of the 33 seats in the National Assembly in the electoral alliance with the 88 Movement , after the party had previously been the second largest force with nine of 33 seats.

Lebanon

Six seats have been reserved in the national assembly there for the Armenians living in Lebanon . The Lebanese arm of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation received a majority of the Armenian votes for many years and was able to occupy most of the reserved seats. He generally avoided sensitive domestic affairs and mostly supported the respective government.

Before the Lebanese Civil War from 1975 to 1990, the party was a close ally of Pierre Gemayel's Falangist Party and often entered into lists with them. It was particularly successful in the Beirut constituencies with their high Armenian population. The refusal of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, like most other Armenian groups, to take sides in the civil war strained relations between the two parties. In numerous Lebanese cities, the Forces Lebanaises attacked the Armenian neighborhoods. This is a militia dominated by the Falangists , led by Bachir Gemayel , the son of Pierre Gemayel.

A major change occurred in the 2000 general election. Negotiations between the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and the Party of Dignity of Rafik Hariri about an electoral alliance failed because of Hariri's demand that all candidates elected on his list should form a common faction, which is a rarity in Lebanese politics. In addition, they could not agree on a common candidate for the seat of the Protestants, many of whom are Armenians. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation dared to go it alone and failed. The Party of Dignity and its allies won 13 out of 19 Beirut seats, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation retained a single parliamentary seat, its worst result in many decades.

Central goals

Map of "united Armenia" as the ARF is striving for

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation declares the following theses as its main goals.

• The creation of a "free, independent and united Armenia". The borders of the united Armenia should include both the territories of Armenia under the Treaty of Sèvres and the historical Armenian areas of Arzach , Javakk and Nakhichevan .
• The international condemnation of the hitherto unpunished genocide of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire and the return of the historic Armenian territories as well as reparation payments to the "Armenian people" result from this.
• The further goal is to bring together the Armenians who are scattered around the world on the soil of the unified Armenia that has thus arisen.
• The strengthening of Armenia's statehood, the consolidation of democracy and the rule of law, the safeguarding of the economic well-being of the people and the creation of social justice in this state structure follow from this.

Because the party is currently involved in a (Lebanese) government that does not make any territorial demands on Turkey, the Revolutionary Federation is holding back with the territorial goals for the time being.

literature

Wikisource: The Gang of Death of the Armenian People: 5. The Dashnakzagan.  - Sources and full texts

• Hratch Dasnabedian: History of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Dashnaktsutiun, 1890-1924 . Milan 1990. ISBN 88-85822-11-8 .
• Louise Nalbandian: The Armenian Revolutionary Movement. The Development of Armenian Political Parties through the Nineteenth Century . Berkeley / Los Angeles 1973.
• Andreas Oberender: Eastern Europe . Explosive mélange - terrorism and imperial violence in Eastern Europe. Ed .: Eastern Europe (magazine) . Eastern Europe 4/2016. Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag , Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3-8305-3515-7 , Against Tsar and Sultan - Armenian terrorism before the First World War, p. 49–62 (128 p., Zeitschrift-osteuropa.de [TEXT /; 60 kB ; accessed on October 19, 2017]).
• Yves Bénard: History twisted - The truth about the fate of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Manzara Verlag, Offenbach am Main 2017, ISBN 978-3-939795-68-1 .

See also

• List of political parties in Armenia

Web links

Commons : Armenian Revolutionary Federation  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Armenian Revolutionary Federation, in Armenian
• Armenian Revolutionary Federation, in English

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 31, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Armenian) 
2. ↑ http://www.idhr.am/?id=128&lng=4 ( Memento from September 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Sunday, December 09, 2018 Parliamentary Elections. In: elections.am. Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Armenia, accessed on March 6, 2019 . 
4. ↑ pes.eu ( accessed December 1, 2012)
5. ↑ ^{a b} U.S. Embassy releases study on Armenian-Americans. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on October 11, 2007 ; Retrieved December 27, 2006 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ^ Armenian Revolutionary Federation Founded, Armenian history timeline. Retrieved December 25, 2006 . 
7. ↑ ^{a b} Mihran Kurdoghlian: Hayots Badmoutioun . Ed .: Hradaragutiun Azkayin Oosoomnagan Khorhoortee. Athens , Greece 1996, p. 52-53 (Armenian).
8. ^ Eyewitness account of the start of the Armenian Genocide. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on July 7, 2011 ; Retrieved January 3, 2007 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ↑ Rüdiger Kipke : The Armenian-Azerbaijani Relationship and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. VS Verlag, Wiesbaden 2012. ISBN 978-3-531-18484-5 , pp. 23-24.
10. ↑ ^{a b c} https://web.archive.org/web/20151222133232/https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/04YEREVAN1678_a.html
11. ↑ D. Nohlen; F. Grotz; C. Hartmann: Elections in Asia. A Data Handbook , Vol. 1, 2001, p. 335
12. ↑ http://www.electionguide.org/elections/id/1273/
13. ↑ http://www.electionguide.org/elections/id/1370/
14. ↑ http://www.electionguide.org/elections/id/1474/
15. ↑ http://res.elections.am/images/doc/060512v.pdf
16. ↑ http://res.elections.am/images/doc/resulteng02.04.17.xlsx
17. ^ Federal Research Division: Lebanon a Country Study . Ed .: Kessinger Publishing. 2004, ISBN 978-1-4191-2943-8 , pp. 185 .