The 120-year history of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) is replete with accomplishments and struggles on various fronts for social justice and Armenian national ideals and aspirations.
The ARF was established in 1890 with the merger of several Armenian groups under the name “Federation of Armenian Revolutionaries” (later renamed Armenian Revolutionary Federation), with Kristapor Mikaelian (1859-1905), Stepan Zorian (1867-1919), and Simon Zavarian (1866-1913) playing an instrumental role in bringing the different groups together.
From organizing Armenian villagers to stand up for their rights for agrarian reform within the Ottoman Empire, the ARF quickly moved to the forefront of Armenian political and revolutionary organizations.
The Armenian Genocide dealt a fatal blow to the Armenian communities in the Ottoman Empire. Only a few years after the genocide, the ARF was faced with yet another major challenge: the establishment of the independent Republic of Armenia in 1918, with a Turkish threat from the east, Soviet pressure from the north, and disease and hunger claiming thousands of lives from within.
In the diaspora, the ARF engaged in another major undertaking: the organization of Armenian communities from Syria and Lebanon, to France and the United States. The ARF and its sister organizations played the role of community builder and, on both sides of the Atlantic, created, maintained, and fostered the Armenian spirit.
Then came the 50th anniversary of the genocide and the political rejuvenation of Armenian communities; a full-blown struggle for recognition and reparation ensued. This struggle, in which the ARF continues to play an instrumental role, culminated in the recognition of the genocide by governments and parliaments worldwide, increased pressure on Turkey to recognize its past and make amends, and, in a broader context, strengthened the Armenian Diaspora politically.
Artsakh’s (Nagorno-Karabagh) struggle for independence, the independence of Armenia, and the security, political, economic, and social challenges facing both Armenia and Artsakh were taken up equally aggressively by the ARF. The party readjusted its priorities, and was, again, in the trenches fighting for freedom and social justice.
As the ARF Eastern U.S. Central Committee chair, Antranig Kasbarian, said in a recent speech in Boston, the ARF’s 120th anniversary is an opportunity not just to celebrate and recount the party’s accomplishments, but to critically evaluate its record. The ARF has, in its long history, taken up many—sometimes too many—roles and responsibilities, and continues to do so. Knowing to prioritize, however, has been key. At different stages of its history, he noted, the ARF has been a revolutionary organization, state-builder, movement organizer, and community builder in the diaspora.
Kasbarian stressed the ARF has been at its best when acting as a party “by the people, for the people.” He noted that in Armenia, the party became part of the governing coalition hoping that it could generate change from within, but after the Armeno-Turkish protocols it withdrew from the government and is now in opposition, partly because it has realized that for reform to take root, change from within the existing structures is not possible.
It is with this realization, and with renewed determination to become a party “by the people, for the people,” that the ARF will move forward.
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