ARF Archives Open to the Public for First Time

Aram Arkun

 

For the first time in their history, a substantial portion of the archives of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and the first Republic of Armenia, held in the Hairenik Building in Watertown, have been opened to the public. On the evening of October 25, leaders of Boston-area Armenian organizations were invited to the Papken Suni Armenian-American Social Club for a wine-and-cheese reception and a first look at the archives next door. The event was intended as an educational part of the celebration of the centennial of the first Republic of Armenia.

The Tragedy of Armenia's First Prime Minister: Too Blunt and Now Forgotten

Gil Troy

 

Hoping to be the George Washington of the Caucasus, Hovhannes Kajaznuni helped found the first Republic of Armenia one hundred years ago, only to end up trashed by some Armenians as its sniveling Neville Chamberlain, hailed by others as Armenia’s truth-telling Isaiah, but mostly forgotten today.

The Armenian state is one of the world’s youngest, founded after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. The Armenian people, however, trace their history back 3,000 years – and should be celebrating the centenary of their Republic, founded in May, 1918.

First Republic Centennial Conference in Columbia University Releases Final Program and Details

The First Republic of Armenia Centennial Conference is rapidly approaching, with the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Eastern Region United States sponsoring the event next week, May 11-12, at Columbia University in New York City.

The conference is co-sponsored by the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), the Armenian Review, and the Columbia Armenian Students’ Association, on the occasion of the Republic’s centennial.

As noted previously, the conference will include noted speakers from around the globe, who bring a wealth of knowledge on various topics related to Armenia and its past, present, and future. For a full listing of panels, speakers, and topics, please see the schedule below.

National Assembly Fails to Elect Prime Minister in Armenia; General Strike Ahead

With hundreds of thousands of people gathered at Republic Square beginning early morning hours on Tuesday, Armenia’s National Assembly convened an extraordinary session at noon to elect a new prime minister, for which opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan was the only candidate who after a dramatic almost 10-hour session did not receive the majority of votes to occupy that position.

In the end, with businessman Gagik Tsarukian’s alliance’s 29 votes, the Yelk factions nine votes and six votes from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Pashinyan received only 45 of the 53 votes needed to secure the prime ministership. The Republican Party of Armenia announced that its lawmakers would not support his candidacy. Only one Republican member, Feliks Tsolakyan, broke ranks with his party and voted for him.

Two members of the Tsarukian alliance did not attend the parliament session, with one Republican Party of Armenia member, Grigor Avalyan, announcing his resignation from parliament ahead of Tuesday’s session.

The National Assembly has seven days to convene another vote, which by all estimation will take place on Tuesday. If on that day the legislature fails to elect a prime minister, the parliament would have to organize snap parliamentary elections, under the Republican Party of Armenia’s leadership.

Virabyan, Matiossian, and Astourian to Present at the ARF’s First Republic Conference

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Western United States, in collaboration with the California State Northridge Armenian Studies Program, has organized a two-day academic conference, “Armenian Statehood Reborn: Achievements and Reflections,” to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the first Republic of Armenia. The conference will take place on Saturday, May 5 and Sunday, May 6 at the Plaza del Sol Hall on the campus of CSU Northridge.

During this two-day academic conference, the program will feature presentations by Dr. Amatuni Virabyan, Dr. Vartan Matiossian, and Dr. Stephan Astourian, among others.

A Deplorable Attack to Silence a Colleague

Ara Khachatourian

 

I am trying to wrap my head around news that my colleague, Raffi Doudaklian, with whom I have worked side-by-side at Asbarez for years during the heyday of the Artsakh war, the early days of our independent republic and whose column we published in our newspaper, was brutally beaten by unknown assailants in Bourj Hammoud, Lebanon earlier this week.

Doudaklian is now executive director of the Tufenkian Foundation,  which focuses on humanitarian efforts in Artsakh, border villages and of late providing housing for wounded soldiers. He was visiting Lebanon last weekend, accompanied by the Artsakh director of Tufenkian on foundation business.

Centennial Minus One: The Complicated Trek of May 28 in the Armenian Diaspora

Ara Sanjian

 

In exactly one year from now many Armenians across the globe will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of an independent republic in Armenia during the final months of the First World War. Depending on when they locate the ultimate collapse of the last Armenian medieval kingdom, most Armenians will tell you that this proclamation on May 28, 1918 marked the return of an independent Armenian entity to the world political map after a hiatus of nearly six to nine centuries. They will also add that this proclamation was the most unfailing sign of the rebirth of the Armenian people, only three years after the genocide it had suffered in the Ottoman Empire.
In 2015, the government of Armenia succeeded in bringing together almost all influential organizations in the far-flung Armenian Diaspora to impressively mark and on a worldwide scale the centennial of the darkest page in modern Armenian history. Preparations for the genocide centennial had begun in earnest four years earlier – with the Armenian president establishing on April 23, 2011 a state commission to coordinate the events dedicated to the 100th commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.

Yes, We Can’t! The Apathetic Business of the Armenian Elections

Nelli Babayan

 

When voters re-elect an incumbent, it usually means the country is on the right track. Well, not everywhere and especially not in Armenia, which held parliamentary elections on April 2.

Armenia’s foreign debt has tripled since 2008; instead of an agreement with the European Union, it joined the Eurasian Union with no tangible benefits; increasing brain drain has shrunk the population; 30% of Armenia’s population lives below the poverty line; and in 2016, the escalation of the frozen conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh almost exploded into full-scale war. Yet, the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), which has been ruling together with the incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan since 2008, has managed yet again to cement its rule with an unprecedented share of votes.

Armenia: Voters Opt for More of the Same

Marianna Grigoryan

 

Armenia’s governing party consolidated its grip on power following parliamentary elections marred by widespread allegations of vote-buying and voter intimidation.

The governing Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) was the clear victor in the April 2 elections, as expected, winning over 49 percent of the vote and an apparent absolute majority of seats in parliament (55 out of 105). An alliance led by populist oligarch Gagik Tsarukyan was the runner-up with 27 percent of the vote. Two other parties secured seats in the legislature: the Yelk Alliance won just under 8 percent of the vote; and the nationalist Armenian Revolutionary Federation, just under 7 percent.
Another bloc, featuring political heavyweights like former defense minister Seyran Ohanian, 2013 presidential contender Raffi Hovannissian, and former foreign minister Vartan Oskanian, won just over 2 percent and will not be represented in the new parliament.
The Central Election Commission reported that turnout was about 61 percent.

Regime Change from the Ground Up

Serouj Aprahamian

 

Following a tense, 14-day renegade takeover of a Yerevan police station, Armenians throughout the world have increasingly been discussing conditions in their fragile republic. While virtually everyone, including the president of the country himself, agrees that radical change is needed, the jury is still out on how to achieve it.

Sasna Tsrer: The ARF Position in Context

Haig Kaiserian

 

Like most Armenians who followed the developments in Erebuni over the past two weeks, I am deeply passionate about the status of Armenia—our nation, as well as its inhabitants.

On July 17, an armed group calling themselves the “Sasna Tsrer”, primarily made up of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabagh/NKR) war veterans, stormed the Armenian Police Yerevan City Patrol Regiment Building in the suburb of Erebuni, announcing the start of an “uprising.” They took officers as hostages, demanding immediate regime change with the resignation of President Serzh Sargsyan and the release of “political prisoners”, especially the leader of the “Founding Parliament” movement, Jirair Sefilyan, himself an Artsakh war veteran.

In Search of the ARF’s 1908 Istanbul Headquarters

Varak Ketsemanian and Daniel Ohanian

 

Of the plethora of contexts from which the history of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) is inextricable, that of the late 19^th-/early 20^th -century Ottoman Empire is among the most important. As a prominent political party, the ARF came to the forefront of Ottoman politics particularly after the July 1908 Constitutional—or Young Turk—Revolution, in which it played an important role. While it had had underground cells, secret meeting places, and an organizational network in Istanbul (Constantinople) since its founding in 1890, it was the political liberty brought about by this revolution that allowed the ARF to operate openly in the imperial capital.¹

Prime Minister Sarkisian Resigns and President Sarkisian Vows Sweeping Changes

Sargis Harutyunyan

Ruzanna Stepanian 

 

President Serzh Sarkisian on Friday, April 4, 2014 insisted that he did not force Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian to resign and pledged to significantly change the composition of Armenia’s government. 

In his first public remarks on the unexpected resignation, he exposed his dissatisfaction with Tigran Sarkisian and members of the current cabinet, who must also step down in accordance with the Armenian constitution.

Armenian Pension Reform Overturned By Constitutional Court

Astghik Bedevian

Anush Mkrtchian

 

In a surprise verdict, Armenia’s Constitutional Court overturned on Wednesday a controversial reform of the national pension system that has triggered angry street protests by young workers affected by it.
Ruling on a joint appeal lodged by leading Armenian opposition parties, the court said that the key provisions of a corresponding government-drafted law that took effect in January are unconstitutional.

Armenian Genocide Denial is Not a Crime, Says the European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Dec. 17 that denial of the 1915 mass killings of Armenians as genocide falls under freedom of expression, following an appeal from a Turkish politician to his conviction in Switzerland, reported the Hurriyet Daily News.

Turkish Workers’ Party (İP) Chairman Dogu Perincek, who had described the Armenian genocide as an “international lie,” had complained that Swiss courts had breached his freedom of expression, based on Article 10 covering freedom of expression.

On Accountability: the ARF and Its "Ties that Bind"

Suzanne Khardalian

I am happy to say that my previous article titled “A Frank Discussion about the ARF” (*) has elicited reactions, both positive and very angry. Well, I would not be exposing a big secret if I said that was exactly my intention. I did not intend to upset people, but instead to initiate dialogue and put forward arguments about issues on which discussion is needed and about which formation of a consensus for future action cannot be delayed.

Repatriation Absent in A.R.F. Discourse

Nora Injeyan

 



The recent article "ARF Conference Concludes in Yerevan" provided a general overview of the conference and the main issues concerning the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF). As a member of the Armenian Youth Federation and a supporter of the ARF, it distressed me greatly to see one glaring omission from the list, and for that matter, most contemporary discussions: repatriation.

ARF Conference Concludes in Yerevan

On Aug. 24-26, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau held a conference in Yerevan to discuss four key topics: organizational problems, the situation in the Caucasus and its implications on Armenia, the country’s domestic realities, and the relationship between the diaspora and Armenia. ARF delegates and representatives from various Armenian communities in the diaspora, as well as from various regions of Armenia, attended the talks.

The Sultans of Swindling

Khatchig Mouradian

 



“To dispossess the people unyieldingly, the government has created monopolies (tobacco, salt, railroads, mines), that aim at snatching from the worker’s pocket a part of his earnings and handing it to European or local capitalists.” (*)

Contrary to what many readers suspect, this diagnosis was not written with the Armenian government in mind.

Far from it!

Levon Thomassian's "Summer of '42"

Benjamin F. Alexander

Throughout the twentieth century, nearly every episode of Armenian history had a Dashnak [A.R.F.] and an anti-Dashnak version. The life of Drastamat Kanayan, more commonly known as General Dro, was no exception, especially where his actions in Germany during World War II were concerned. As was revealed publicly right after the war ended, Dro and several other Dashnak notables, with no known formal party sanction, made overtures to the Nazi high command and formed an Armenian Legion to assist the German regime. Other Armenians were also involved with the Nazis. What did they do, and why did they do it? Ambiguities have lingered.