Dashnak Chieftains of Armenia, Leave the Stage

By Dikran Abrahamian MD, Canada, 6 January 2020

The last while, emissaries of Dashnak chieftains from Armenia were all over the map:  Lebanon, Canada, USA, France and who knows where else. What can a disgraced leadership tell the Diaspora except to regurgitate abused nationalistic-patriotic slogans, stories of ancient heroic deeds, and lies that have no relevance to the present? One gets tired of listening to the broken record.

Chieftains of Armenia ARF, you lost your credibility long before the 2018 parliamentary elections. You act as if you are in charge, yet your decisions and actions against your youth and students say otherwise. Moreover, the public knows whether you served the people or the oligarchs who plundered the country in an unprecedented manner and proportion.

“Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are” adage is apt. You were hands in glove with a mafia that killed the Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan and the President of the National Assembly Karen Demirchyan, and years later 10 citizens who protested electoral fraud.

You claim to have changed matters from “within”. By the time you were thrown out of the government the economy was at a standstill with 35% unemployment and the population less by 300,000 citizens – some say more. Are these the changes from “within” that you are proud of?

Chieftains, didn’t you know what was going on? You knew, but your hunger for power and your greed were stronger than your professed principles. You sacrificed the interests of people and country and became an integral part of an oppressive regime from which you cannot extricate yourselves. You are as culpable as the whole gamut of the oligarchs.

Shamelessly, instead of mea culpa you are engaged in activities that are remote from patriotism. Revelations of “partisan” confrontations speak loudly of your mindset. You claim these are fabrications. Who by? It was your courageous youth, not tainted with avarice that broke the news. They had nothing to gain, except be persecuted by you. You are accustomed to such behavior: remember selling your young to the Shah’s notorious Savak to be jailed and tortured because they were critical of you.

You speak of human and individual rights in relation to the struggle to reform the rotten judiciary system. Who are you defending? What about the rights of the victims? The judges who are obstructing governance were appointed by kleptocrats. While the regime is gone, its nefarious appointees are running the judiciary. Yet you have the temerity to pretend defending the constitution by supporting the corrupt judiciary. Are you so mired in serfdom that you have become the unofficial porte-parole of the Republican Party, the den of traitors? You don’t want to get rid of them because you are part of that gang. People don’t differentiate you from them except by name.

Dashnak leaders, your emissaries mumble socialism. Is this a joke? Throughout your successive tenures you aligned with the most regressive forces that brutally suppressed even remotely socialist attempts in the Middle East and Latin America. Your appearance at socialist gatherings is lip-service.

You talk of revision-reform within the party. Telling over and over again does not make it happen. The truth is you are incapable of undertaking substantial changes. Principles, national dreams and goals take a back seat to your professed “birthright” to be the leaders—the rulers wherever you are. You sacrifice anything to get into bed with whomever as long as you are offered some power.

This obsession of yours to be in charge goes beyond relations with compatriots, and your fidelity to reproduce yourselves without singular change is remarkable. The Armenian people can’t forget your honeymoon with the Young Turks contrary to all advice against it, including that of Antranik’s. How about later, in the ‘30s, though not officially, your cooperation with the Prometheus Alliance? You knew the notorious coalition was funded and guided by foreign intelligence agencies. Moreover, Kemalist Turkey and Azeri Musavats–our arch enemies–were active in the organization.

Your comrade, power-greedy Tro, changed so many colours that the chameleon would have been jealous and the rainbow blushed. At the end of WWII instead of showing remorse for his past deeds he wasted no time in changing camps to save his own neck. He used and abused his own party which became indistinguishable from an operational unit of CIA. The party leadership went along with this new arrangement.

In early ‘50s Tro recruited young Armenians from Lebanon and Syria to be trained for military combat of all places near Garin (Erzrum) in occupied west Armenia. Did he and his comrades think of the interest of his people when upon the command of the CIA a spy-ring was formed? They stashed arms, ammunition, military communication devices in the basement of Armenian schools and churches in Syria. He and his comrades in the elite who engaged in this despicable act endangered the safety of the community in the Arab world at a time when Arab nationalism’s opposition to the West was at its peak. The Syrian semi-official newspaper “The Soldier” (al-Jundi) ran a leading article then calling “The Dashnag Plot” contemptible and criminal.

Chieftains, your wheelings and dealings in Lebanon alone fill volumes. Your history of power-hunger dates to pre-independence days. Your “hero” Movses Der Kaloustian voted against independence so as to secure his position in the parliament upon the instructions of the French who had just betrayed his people in Cilicia. It resulted also in the exodus of his compatriots from Musa Ler. The pattern of serving masters was sustained for decades so as to remain on top.

Zorn asem, zorn khosdevanem (What to tell, what to confess?). Chieftains, who will bail you out now? Surely not the people of Armenia who are repelled by you.

Njdeh’s words about ARF leadership voiced decades ago are fresh as if said today. They are harsh and relevant to the present chieftains: you. He said it’s impossible to run parallels between the leaders of yesteryear and today. He lamented the leadership has not always fulfilled its responsibilities, and because of its mistakes we have faced national disasters. The Dashnak bureau, according to Njdeh, does not recognize a judicial court except itself and harshly prosecutes anyone who motivated by patriotic concerns raises questions about responsibility. With respect to reforming the party, he asserted the attempts of young Dashnak intellectuals failed.

Dashnak chieftains of Armenia, go to a difficult to access monastery on a hill top and pray for your souls. And stay there. If you are not religious minded then the next best is to till the soil near the monastery.

The young rank-and-file can’t be blamed for the sordid affairs of the party. To reform the party its young members face a tortuous uphill journey. The effort requires personal sacrifices.

The Dashnak party was formed more than a century ago at a time of indiscriminate state oppression. Like other political organizations its bylaws were conspiratorial. Dashnaks shared a similar setup with the Bolsheviks, namely the doctrine of democratic centralism.

Young Dashnaks, your leaders will never abandon the arcane organizational framework because it’s their guarantee to remain in power. You will never be able to reform the party from within for the same reason. Furthermore, reform entails not only sacking people but acknowledging mistakes which the Bureau will never undertake.

Armenia today is in transition with a unique opportunity to establish true democracy and enlarge the scope of transparency. In this environment you need to find ways beyond the standard framework. In that reformation task you will find support and make your voice heard. Don’t be hamstrung by the “leaders” and the myths of the past.

*******

Հետ չենք կանգնելու ՀՅ Դաշնակցության ղեկավար մարմինները բռնազավթած
մի խումբ անձանց հյուծող ծանրությունից թոթափելու պայքարից.
հայտարարություն

Lragir.am, 26.12.2019

Շարունակելով Հայ Հեղափոխական Դաշնակցության հայաստանյան կառույցի առողջացմանը միտված պայքարը, Դաշնակցությունը համարելով ազգային արժեք, հայտարարում ենք, որ հետ չենք կանգնելու ՀՅ Դաշնակցության ղեկավար մարմինները բռնազավթած մի խումբ անձանց հյուծող ծանրությունից թոթափելու և կուսակցության օրգանիզմը քաղցկեղածին օջախներից մաքրելու պայքարից: Հարկ ենք համարում ընդգծել, որ այս պայքարը մեկնարկել է ավելի քան երկու տասնամյակ առաջ, սակայն, ՀՅ Դաշնակցությունը սեփականաշնորհելու մտքից կառչած անձինք ոչ մի միջոցի առաջ կանգ չեն առել իրական Դաշնակցականի պայքարի ճիգերը կասեցնելու համար:

Գաղտնիք չէ, որ վերջին տարիներին գաղափարական և հայրենիքին նվիրյալ շատ անհատականություններ լքել են ՀՅԴ-ն, շատերն էլ հեռացվել ու շարունակում են հեռացվել՝ անհամոզիչ ու անորոշ մեղադրանքներով:

Հայտնում ենք, որ մեր կողմից ձեռնարկվելու են խիստ և կտրուկ միջոցառումներ՝ գաղափարական մարդկանց՝ գաղափարական կուսակցությունից դուրս մնալու իրական պատճառները պարզելու համար: ՀՅԴ Հայաստանի կառույցում շարունակվող ճգնաժամն ու ապօրինություններն այլևս չեն կոծկվելու կեղծ հայտարարություններով:

Պատրաստակամություն հայտնելով շարունակելու ծառայել Հայաստանի Հանրապետությանը հասարակական-քաղաքական դաշտում և զրկված լինելով ՀՅԴ֊ի միջոցով վերջինիս իրականացման հնարավորությունից, միևնույն ժամանակ ունենալով համակիրների և աջակիցների լայն շրջանակ, ցանկանում ենք տեղեկացնել, որ շարունակելու ենք հետևել ՀՀ քաղաքական, սոցիալական հասարակական, տնտեսական, զարգացումներին ու անմասն չենք մնալու վերջիններից: Մեր լուման ու ներդրումն ենք ունենալու ՀՀ հետագա զարգացման գործում ու անխախտ ենք պահելու մեր երդումը՝ պաշտպանել հայ ժողովրդին ու հայոց պետականությանը, ինչպես արտաքին, այնպես էլ ներքին թշնամիներից:

«ՆԱՈՒՄ-ի ընկերներ»