The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF or ՀՅԴ) ( Hay Heghapokhagan Tashnagtsutiun, Tashnag) (in Arabic الإتحاد الثوري الأرمني - الطاشناق), also known simply as Tashnag, is an Armenian political party active in Lebanon since the 1920s as an official political party in the country after having started with small student cells in the late 1890s and early 20th century.
The party is considered to have the biggest political support in the Lebanese Armenian community.
History
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation was founded in Tiflis (Tbilisi in modern-day Georgia) in 1890 by Christapor Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, and Simon Zavarian.
The party operates in Armenia and in countries where the Armenian diaspora is present, notably in Lebanon where the Armenian Revolutionary Federation is considered the strongest political party within the Lebanese-Armenian community. The party adheres to socialism and is part of the Socialist International.
19th century until 1918
The party became initially active in Lebanon during the Ottoman Empire (end of 19th century and end of World War I) through Armenian students registered to study in Beirut colleges and universities during the Ottoman rule in Lebanon.
1920s to 1950s
The party also gained many members with the increasing waves of Armenian immigrants flooding into Lebanon in the early 1920s fleeing the Armenian genocide during World War I.
From 1923 to 1958, conflicts erupted among the three traditional Armenian political parties, the Tashnags (Armenian Revolutionary Federation), the Hunchaks (Social Democrat Hunchakian Party) and the Ramgavars (Armenian Democratic Liberal Party) struggling to dominate and organize the diaspora.
The party had media presence very early on with the short-lived "Pyunig" newspaper (in Armenian Փիւնիկ) published in Beirut in general reflecting the views of the party. The Aztag daily (in Armenian Ազդակ) replaced Pyunig and started publication on March 5, 1927, in Beirut, Lebanon. It is the official party organ of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation's Lebanese Central Committee and considered one of the biggest dailies of the Armenian diaspora.
Civil strife 1956–1958
After the death of Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia Karekin I in 1952, the seat in Antelias remained vacant for nearly four years. In 1956, Archbishop Zareh Payaslian was consecrated Catholicos of Cilicia as Zareh I despite the opposition of Catholicos of Echmiadzin of All Armenians Catholicos Vazgen I who refused to recognize his authority considering Zareh I's choice as partisan. This controversy greatly polarized the Armenian community of Lebanon. The regime of the Lebanese President Camille Chamoun in support of Zareh I served to polarize the situation further.
With failure of all mediation, and in the context of the Lebanese civil strife of 1958, an armed conflict erupted within the Lebanese community as well, between supporters of Catholicos Zareh I (mainly adhering to the Armenian Revolutionary Federation) and the opponents of Zareh I mainly adhering to the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (Hunchakians) and Armenian Democratic Liberal Party (Ramgavars), with the two latter parties supporting the positions of the Catholicos of All Armenians Vazgen I and the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin in Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia.
The situation developed into armed confrontations and various shootings and killings between the different groups resulting in a big rift within the Armenian Apostolic Church in Lebanon and worldwide. The conflicts calmed down after 1958 with the establishment of the regime of President Fouad Chehab in Lebanon.
1960s to 1975
Politically the party remained allied with the Phalangist Party of Pierre Gemayel and at a later stage with the Tripartite Alliance (in Arabic الحلف الثلاثي) made up of the Maronite Christian leaders Camille Chamoun, Pierre Gemayel and Raymond Edde.
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation generally ran joint election tickets with the Phalangists, especially in Beirut and Metn constituencies with large Armenian populations and reserved Armenian seats according to the confessional division of electoral districts. securing all Armenian Parliamentary seats in Beirut and the Metn in 1960, 1964, 1968 and 1972 parliamentary elections.
The official ARF party journal Droshak resumed publication in Beirut in 1969 and continued until 1985, when the party organ moved to Athens, Greece because of the security situation in Lebanon.