THIS IS DASHNAKTSUTYUN
Igor Muradyan

KarabakhOpen
20-06-2007 17:20:13

In trying to develop its organizations in Armenia and the post-Soviet
space since 1988 the ARF Dashnaktsutyun has tried to recruit as many
people as possible, who often did not share the regulations and ideas,
as well as the political and ideological principles of the party. In
an effort to integrate with the people and the society Dashnaktsutyun
admitted lots of accidental and unprincipled people who formed
through years the ballast of the party, causing every interesting
thing that the party had to sink, including self-denial. Running into
innumerable problems and disappointment, undergoing repression in
Armenia and getting no support from the Armenian society, the leaders
of the party decided to work out a tactics which gradually became
a strategy and essence of political style. This tactics-strategy
involves collaboration with the government at any price.

Despite humiliation and reproach from the representatives of the
government policy, collaboration with President Kocharyan helped the
party overcome this marginal state and become member of the coalition
government.

Dashnaktsutyun’s goal became full support for the government
in Yerevan to prevent their ontological enemies from coming to
power. The efforts to help this party and direct its efforts into a
politically more effective direction ended in a denial of everyone and
everything that did not match the given stance. It led to weakening
of the grassroots, the strengthening of criticism of the leadership
by formal and non-formal groups inside the party, and independent
stances of the party’s organizations in different countries. However,
realizing that the fate of the party depends on the state of things in
Armenia, the leadership was offered a limited "vote of confidence",
and the figures who head of the Armenian organization were left
alone, with a hope for improving the situation. The majority of the
party realizes that the party leadership suffers from some chronic
disease but in fact it consciously approved the situation and got
used to this condition, for different reasons, and this pending
state of this latent internal opposition inspires hope. In this case,
however, we are not interested in the turmoil inside the party but
the responsibility of the party leadership for the party members, for
many who trusted Dashnaktsutyun and in accordance with the regulations
of the party must carry out the decisions of the party. The leaders
of Dashnaktsutyun gave instructions to the members of the party in
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic regarding the NKR election campaign that
started June 19, 2007. It seems to be an ordinary decision of the
party, although it was made under the pressure of Hrant Margaryan,
a party leader. The grassroots of the party strongly opposed to this
decision, more exactly instruction. Virtually, the Dashnaks of Karabakh
did not approve this instruction, and the majority is ready to neglect
this decision or support another candidate. A number of questions and
problems have occurred, in Stepanakert, Martakert and Hadrut. As the
culmination is drawing nearer, the crisis inside the party is becoming
worse. After all, what is the stance and the policy, let me put it
so, of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun? This stance is well-known to definite
circles. Hrant Margaryan stated it clearly and cynically in NKR long
before the parliamentary election of 2005. However, if I may say so,
they preferred to keep silent, hoping for a change of the stance
of the Dashnaktsutyun leadership. But what happened a few days ago
embarrassed even the worst critics of the party. I mean the speech
of Vahan Hovanisyan, member of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun Bureau. One
of the leaders of the party questions the following: there are no
anticipations regarding the establishment of democratic institutions
in NKR, the government reproduces, any government reproduces, no
presidential and other elections have importance in Karabakh, nothing
depends on the personality of the Karabakh president because all the
decisions are made in Yerevan. However, the top of cynicism was the
mentioning of the name of the first president of the NKR Supreme Soviet
Arthur Mkrtichyan as an argument that political struggle in NKR is
useless and even harmless. Vahan Hovanisyan’s speech became the most
forceful evidence to the degradation of the Dashnaktsutyun leadership
and the utter loss of the political prospect. In fact, this speech
became a display of Hrant Margaryan’s "brilliant thoughts" who had
recommended his colleague and fellow for this speech, who has a more
free and decadent political style. A member of the Bureau says: "If
we let Kocharyan go, our enemies will come to power." Another member
of the Bureau says: "What else do we have in Armenia except Kocharyan?"

Hence, the political future and the society of NKR are sacrificed
to the stance of Dashnaktsutyun in Yerevan. The party leadership in
Yerevan is ready to sacrifice for the sake of the coalition government
and ministerial posts not only the social and political fate of NKR
but also the lowlands of Karabakh. How about "Hay Dat"? Hardly anyone
will doubt that a ministerial post is a source of immense income. They
say you are the one you envy. The leadership of the party in Yerevan
envies the mob.

One way or another, the fate of the Dashnaktsutyun leadership does not
interest anyone. The state of hundreds of members of Dashnaktsutyun,
our loyal friends, is worrying, who are actually outside the party,
and we do not have very many friends. These people are facing a
difficult choice, maybe the most important in their life in this
stage. We will lend them a hand, we will not let them obey political
criminals. The regulations and ideology of Dashnaktsutyun are not
purely partisan phenomena. Everyone from our nation must share these
principles. Therefore, the members of the party first of all share
the principles of several generations rather than the opinions of the
leadership. I mean the Armenian political nationalist and not a ruined
party which was defined preciselyin the Small Soviet Encyclopedia –
a minor bourgeois party. No matter from which point the destroyers of
the party approach the current situation, they are but peddlers of a
minor bourgeois society. (By the way, a vain person cannot understand
that it is harder to appear in the Small Soviet Dictionary than the
Big one.)

Fellow members of Dashnaktsutyun in Karabakh, don’t be afraid, we
are beside you, always. You will be voting as humans and Armenian
nationalists, not as they will order you.