The Armenian Revolutionary Federation
- The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF or Tashnag) is an Armenian political party 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 and the ethnically Armenian-dominated de facto Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. The Tashnag party has been known as the right wing nationalist Armenian party in Lebanon.
The ARF became active within the Ottoman Empire in the early 1890s with the aim of unifying the various small groups in the empire that were advocating for reform and defending Armenian villages from massacres that were widespread in some of the Armenian-populated areas of the empire. ARF members formed fedayee groups that defended Armenian civilians through armed resistance. The ARF established itself within Armenian diaspora communities.
During the Lebanese Civil War of 1975 – 1990, the party was closely allied to the Phalangist Party of Pierre Gemayel and generally ran joint tickets with the Phalangists, especially in Beirut constituencies with large Armenian populations; however the refusal of the ARF, along with most Armenian groups, to play an active role in the civil war, soured relations between the two parties, and Bachir Gemayel, responded by attacking the Armenian quarters of many Lebanese towns, including Bourj Hammoud. Many Armenians affiliated with the ARF took up arms voluntarily to defend their quarters. In the midst of the Lebanese civil war, a shadowy guerrilla organization called Justice Commandos Against Armenian Genocide emerged and carried out a string of assassinations from 1975 to 1983. The guerrilla organization has sometimes been linked to the Tashnags.
At the end of the Lebanese war the Tashnag allied with the minister of the interior Michel Al Murr. Ethnic Armenians were allocated six seats in Lebanon's 128-member National Assembly. The Lebanese branch of the ARF currently holds two seats: Hagop Pakradounian and George Kasarji. It has generally avoided entanglement in sensitive domestic issues, usually supporting whichever government has been in power. However, the ARF harshly criticized the Lebanese government's decision in 2006 to invite the deployment of Turkish troops as part of the multilateral UN peacekeeping force.
The current ARF Central Committee Chairperson in Lebanon is Hovig Mkhitarian. The ARF Lebanon branch is headquartered in Bourj Hammoud.
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