BY DR. HARUT MEKERDICHIAN
Translated from Armenian
The establishment of a the independent Republic of Armenia in 1991, created a new opportunity for the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. For more than 70 year, the ARF was the torchbearer of the ideal of Armenian Independence and this new historic milestone would provide the ARF the opportunity to advance its principles, once again in the homeland, and lay the groundwork to fight for and advance the rights of Armenian people, by creating a base from which it would be able to realize its organizational mandate in service to the people.
The ARF’s return to Armenia gave its members new hope and inspired them with the possibility of realizing the dream to once again fight for Armenian independence. ARF members believed that returning to the homeland and planting the ARF flag there would reinvigorate the organization and enable it to advance its mission and ideals. This, in turn, would also provide an opportunity to reorganize the Diaspora, giving it a new impetus and purpose for serving the aspirations of the Armenian Nation.
However, the ARF’s return to Armenia in August, 1990, not only did not yield the expected results, but also opened the doors to internal organizational challenges that gave way to ideological disagreements and policy decisions.
In the early years, (1990-1998), the first Artsakh War, as well as its extenuating circumstances, among them the government-mandated closure of the organization in Armenia and the ouster of its leaders from the homeland, became a way to veil internal organizational issues. At the same time, because of its involvement in the Artsakh War, the ARF was experiencing a groundswell of support and enjoyed a positive public image. However, beginning in 1998, with the ARF’s active involvement in the government that would continue with successive administrations, the organization deviated from its principles, ideology, values, traditions, and morals, that were established through the century-long dedication and service of its members.
The ARF became a party driven by power and neglected the rich legacy it inherited from its founders.
By becoming part of the government, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, lost its political, economic, ideological, and sometimes event moral, compass, becoming a lever used by the non-democratic administrations of the time. This shift caused the ARF to lose its independence, and freedom as an organization to create and advance a government with a national agenda, which had been the foundation of the party for 100 years. In other words, the ARF’s tenet and mission to become the conduit to advance the rights and ideology and to become the voice — the beacon — for freedom and justice, had wavered in the organization.
Simultaneously, a policy to keep the Diaspora at arms length was taking shape. During the ARF’s 20th World Congress, resolutions calling for political galvanization and advancing the ARF’s revolutionary ideals were quietly slipped into drawers. Instead a policy of “false nationalism” was being advanced, which, over time, created dissent and anger in the ranks, as well as long time supporters of the ARF, who grew disenchanted by continuously being let down by the party in which they believed, and began distancing themselves.
In response, the ARF’s leadership employed a stern “iron fist” policy toward members who voiced dissent or concern about the party’s course of actions, and by citing this or that by-law provision, they began to summarily “clean up the ranks,” all the while ignoring the fact that the party had long abandoned its ideological roots in favor of becoming a political organization interested in acquiring power. The ARF had become an autocracy, with a democratic facade, and it became adept at suppressing the rights, expression and the will of its membership. (It is worth noting that the ARF desperately lacked(s) intellectuals. The guidance and perspective provided by the likes of Zeitlian, Maroukhian, Dasnabedian or Papazaian, to name a few, no longer existed. The intellectuals who remained were either expelled or resigned from the ranks, and those who remain are either weary of or object to the leadership, and have opted to not be active).
Instead of advancing the ideals and principles of the ARF after returning to the homeland, the yoke of communism began to infiltrate the ranks of the party, the natural progression of which was the complete discrediting of the ARF among the people of Armenia.
This policy shift also had its negative effects in the Diaspora. In communities across the Diaspora, the ARF has lost its influence and status, thus weakening the Diaspora. Granted, due to the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East, the Armenian communities there have shrunk, but that does not mean that the community that has remained should not rally behind the ARF. The facts, however, are different. For example, during successive Lebanese Parliamentary elections, some 80 percent of the population turned out and voted in favor of the ARF roster. During the most recent elections a mere 50 percent only voted for the ARF bloc. Also, how then can we explain the Armenian community in France (more than 500,000) where the ARF is practically absent or its influence, non-existent.
During these developments and in stark contrast to other Diaspora communities, the Western United States, quantitatively and exponentially has grown and is experiencing an awakening. It is regarded today as the most powerful and organized Armenian Diaspora community. That aspect is partially the result of decades of meticulous and dedicated hard work by successive ARF Central Committees, which have continuously worked to not only preserve the Armenian identity, but served anchored the party’s ideology by attempting to unite all facets of the community under the umbrella of serving our homeland and Nation.
The aforementioned issues eventually found and seeped their way into the activities and progress of the Western United States.
It is no secret that today, the Western U.S. branch of the ARF is embroiled in internal organizational issues. Why and how was the Western Region backed into this corner?
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As mentioned above, over the last 30 years, the Armenian community of the Western Region United States, exponentially has grown, and the community here is deemed as one of the most organized and diverse in the Diaspora. However, these days, the community is not necessarily in an enviable position.
The Western cultural and societal norms, as well as freedoms inherent in the United States, make it difficult for those ARF members living in this country to become subordinates to the demands and tactics advanced by the ARF Bureau, as it is done in other communities around the world.
For more than 15 years, the Western U.S. was one of the only regions of the ARF that stood up to the injustices in the party. It said NO to leaders who arbitrarily interpreted the by-laws and fought against those who maintained and advanced the totalitarian rot within the organization. It preserved the ARF Program and the ideals and principles it has embodied, working hard to return the party to its ideological roots, all the while not turning its back on the Armenian communities in Lebanon and Syria, as well as the homeland where Armenians needed assistance.
Despite the fact that the ARF Bureau chose to air the internal issues confounding the organization in the Western U.S. on television, print publications and social media, the purpose of this article is not to rehash these issues or counter the claims that have thus far been made. Rather, this article seeks to address the general realities that led to the Western U.S. Region to be viewed in a different light.
The main source of disagreement between the Western U.S. Region and the Bureau stemmed from the this region’s continued insistence that the ARF pursue and maintain its independence as an organization. For example, the Western U.S. emphasized, and continues to do so, that even if the party chose to cooperate with Armenia’s authorities (Kocharian, Sarkisian, Pashinyan), the ARF must remain independent politically and financially, and reject any effort to oppress the people. The Western Region has also stressed to the Bureau that the values of the party should not be compromised for electoral political gains. In instances when the Bureau attempted to look the other way or sweep matters under the rug (the murders for ARF members Boghos Boghosyan and Hratch Muradyan, corruption in Armenia or in the party), the Central Committees in the Western U.S. and other concerned members raised their concerns and called on the Bureau to correct its course. In other words, the Western U.S. has sought to prevent the ARF in Armenia from becoming a power hungry political party and forget its historical mission.
However, the Western Region’s concerns were viewed as enmity or opposition toward the Bureau and the Supreme Council of Armenia, which were being governed from Armenia. Their reaction was to label this region and its members with baseless and often childish accusations.
By labeling the Western U.S. region to be “out of control” the Bureau went to work. For 15 years, the Bureau heavily leaned on its “iron fist” logic and by its arbitrary interpretation of the by-laws, it attempted to “purify” the ranks in the Western Region. Thus began the slew of expulsions, newly-concocted disciplinary actions and punishments, ignoring pleas, creating obstacles and slandering of members. Despite it all, the Western U.S. region remained vigilant and continued to defend the inherent rights of each ARF member and call for fairness during conventions and meetings with the Bureau (it should be noted that a significant portion of the electorate during the World Congress represent the Armenia, Artsakh and Javakhk regions, which are all dependent or subordinate to the Supreme Council of Armenia. Therefore, through inflated rosters of party members there and applying pressure on one or two other regions, the Bureau can secure the two-thirds of the votes needed to advance its agenda).
The Bureau’s attempts were in vain until it found its so-called “Trojan Horse” in the region. By aligning itself with a group of party members whose personal ambitions and interests superseded the party’s practices and principles, the Bureau began to disrupt from within the organization, which had experience growth in the past 30 years. By violating the spirit and the party’s written and unwritten rules, the most notable of which is the concept of organizational decentralization, and by ignoring all democratic principles, the Bureau directly interfered in the internal affairs and governance of the organization in the Western U.S.
All signs pointed to the Bureau having decided to hand over the reins of the Western Region to its loyal followers at any cost. The organizational process was no longer important at this point.
By December 2020, it was no longer possible for the party to function successfully in the region. in a carry out healthy party activity in the region. After long and inexplicable delays in convening a Regional Convention and electing a new Central Committee, the Bureau, without consulting the sitting Central Committee, appointed a new Central Committee comprised of its loyalists. Thus, because of this extreme and damaging step, the reality of two Central Committees was created, which violated not only the ARF by-laws but also U.S. laws. Delegates who were elected to take part in the Regional Convention now canceled by the Bureau and other ARF members concerned with the state of the organization in the region, convened the legitimate Regional Convention and elected a Central Committee.
It was apparent that the Bureau’s calculations did not add up.
In 2021, the chairman of the ARF Bureau at the time, announced, during a gathering in Glendale, that this matter will be resolved in the court of law. Following this statement, the Bureau’s loyalists went to work and began filing various lawsuits against the Central Committee, bringing unprecedented embarrassment to the ARF as a whole.
We anticipated that the Bureau would come up with an impartial blueprint that was aimed at resolving the organizational discord in the Western U.S. Region and respect the rights of its members as envisioned by the By-laws. Unfortunately, however, the Bureau chose the opposite approach.
The Bureau has deemed that the Western U.S. region is “ungovernable.” However, we believe that today, the Western U.S. Region is the entity that truly is defending and protecting the principles, values and ideals of the ARF. Our members have made great sacrifices to ensure that our mission continues. They are not driven by positions or personal gain.
We believe that the fundamental tenet of the organization has been breached, because implementing and following the by-laws stems from purpose and discipline, and not as a tool to silence members. Discipline does not mean to blindly follow decisions of bodies, especially when those decisions contradict the spirit and meaning of the rules governing the organization.
We also believe that the concept of decentralization is one of the core aspects of our organization. This principle has guaranteed the success of ARF’s efforts throughout the world and we continue to adhere to it.
At this juncture in the history of the Western U.S. Region and the ARF in general, we find it necessary to once again assess and affirm the ARF’s organizational and moral reality. We find it necessary to emphasize the historic and political significance of the ARF and the concept of a Central Committee. We also believe that it is the duty and responsibility of every ARF member to correct its leadership when it deviates from its course. And we are guided by that belief.
Despite all this, and it is not too late — better late than never — the ARF Bureau should utilize all its capabilities to reaffirm and advance the ARF’s once influential productive role in realizing our national aspirations, and refrain from attacking the Western U.S. Region as it has done as a priority agenda item. Any attack by the ARF must be directed solely toward the enemies of the Armenian nation and state.
We remain humble soldiers of the ARF and we will continue to work as the ARF has: by uniting all and coming together for our principles, as our primary goal continues to remain, in the words of our founder, the “Eternal Struggle” for the Armenian people and the Armenian Nation.
