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Social Democrat Hunchakian Party Սոցիալ Դեմոկրատ Հնչակյան Կուսակցություն | |
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| Abbreviation | Henchag (SDHP) |
| Central Committee (Global) Chairman | Dr. Harry Hampartzoum Sarafian[1] |
| Executive Committee Chairman - Armenia | Sedrak Achemyan[2][3] |
| Founders | Avetis Nazarbekian,Mariam Vardanian,Gevorg Gharadjian,Ruben Khan-Azat, Christopher Ohanian,Gabriel Kafian and Manuel Manuelian |
| Founded | August 1887 |
| Headquarters | Yerevan,Armenia |
| Newspaper | seeParty publications |
| Youth wing | Gaidz Youth Organization |
| Membership | 20,000+(in Armenia)[4] |
| Ideology | Social democracy Armenian nationalism Pro-Europeanism |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| National affiliation | March 14 Alliance(in Lebanon; 2005-2016) |
| International affiliation | None, formerlySecond International |
| National Assembly of Armenia | 0 / 107 |
| Parliament of Lebanon | 0 / 128 |
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| Timeline •Origins •Etymology |
TheSocial Democrat Hunchakian Party (SDHP) (Armenian:Սոցիալ Դեմոկրատ Հնչակյան Կուսակցություն; ՍԴՀԿ,romanized: Sots’ial Demokrat Hnch’akyan Kusakts’ut’yun), is the oldest continuously-operatingArmenianpolitical party, founded in 1887 by a group of students inGeneva,Switzerland. It was the firstsocialist party to operate in theOttoman Empire and inIran, then known as Persia.[5] Among its founders wereAvetis Nazarbekian,Mariam Vardanian,Gevorg Gharadjian,Ruben Khan-Azat, Christopher Ohanian,Gabriel Kafian, and Manuel Manuelian. Its original goal was attaining Armenia's independence from the Ottoman Empire during theArmenian national liberation movement.[6]
The party is also known asHentchak,Henchak,Social-Democratic Hentchaks,Huntchakians,Hnchakian,Henchags, and its name is taken from its newspaperHunchak, meaning "clarion" or "bell". This is taken by party members to represent "a call or awakening, for enlightenment and freedom".
All seven founders of the party wereEastern ArmenianMarxist students who had leftRussian Armenia to further their education in various universities ofWestern Europe. They were young, in their twenties, and supported by their affluent bourgeois families. They were influenced by social-democratic revolutionary ideology, contactedFrederick Engels,Georgi Plekhanov, and laterVladimir Lenin. Mariam Vardanian had worked with Russian revolutionaries inSaint Petersburg. For the purpose of furthering revolutionary activity inTurkish Armenia, they formed the Hunchakian Revolutionary Party in August, 1887. The party's manifesto, printed in the first issue ofHunchak journal, contained this slogan: "Those who cannot attain freedom through revolutionary armed struggle are unworthy of it".[7]
The Hunchak party fought many battles against the Ottoman Empire, to free the Armenian people from Turkish rule. During this period, many famous intellectuals joined Hunchakian party, includingSmpad Piurad,Stepan Sapah-Gulian,Alexander Atabekian,Atrpet, andAram Andonian. One of Armenia's famous national heroesAndranik Ozanian, at first, joined the Hunchak party,[8] but disagreement with party policies led Andranik to leave the Hunchak ranks within less than a year, to join theDashnaktsutyun party.[9]
In the early days of the formation of Armenian political powers, the Dashnaktsutyun sought "reforms within the framework of the Ottoman Empire", while the Hunchakian party favored an independent Armenian state.[10]Hunchak was the official organ of Hunchakians. In 1894, inAthens andLondon, the party published a socialist scientific monthly,Gaghapar, which for the first time published "The Communist Manifesto" in Armenian, translated by Avetis and Mariam Nazarbekians. The First General Conference of Hunchakian party took place in London, in September 1896.[citation needed]
In theCaucasus, the Hunchakian party has also played a prominent role, it combated the Russification policy of ViceroyGrigory Golitsyn, the Russian governor of Caucasus. In 1903,Paramaz organized the assassination attempt ofGrigory Golitsyn. Paramaz was also one of the organizers of the self-defense troops during the Armenian-Tatar massacres of 1905–06.[citation needed]
The Hunchakian party was also active in the international socialist movement, and was represented at the 1904 congress of theSecond International by Plekhanov.[11]
During theRussian Revolution of 1905, the support of the Hunchakian party, along with the predominantlyAzeriHummet party, permitted theBolsheviks to seize the leadership of the strike committee that oversaw theBaku oilfield strike [ru].[12]
In 1897, Armenian fedayi, inspired in part by the ideological principles of the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party, participated in theKhanasor Expedition, a retaliatory operation against theMazrik Kurdish tribe following the massacre of Armenian refugees after theVan Resistance of 1896.[13] Although operationally led by theArmenian Revolutionary Federation, the raid reflected the broader milieu of Armenian revolutionary activism, in which Hunchakian discourse emphasized collective organization, political consciousness, and resistance to structural violence following theHamidian massacres (1894–1896).[14] Contemporary accounts indicate that the expedition targeted armed combatants while sparing women and children, establishing it as a morally bounded act of self-defence.[15] In the long term, such actions reinforced the Hunchakian belief that social and national emancipation required organized mobilization, ideological clarity, and disciplined resistance, contributing to the enduring framework of Armenianrevolutionary thought.[16]
On 27 July 1890, Hunchakian activistsHarutiun Jangülian,Mihran Damadian, andHambartsum Boyajian headedKum Kapu Affray inConstantinople, which demanded the implementation of reforms in theWestern Armenian provinces. In the early 1890s, frequent clashes between the Armenian inhabitants ofSason and the Ottoman forces took place because of Sassontsis' refusal to pay retroactive taxes to the Ottoman government.[citation needed]
In 1894,Sasun Resistance was organized by the Hunchak party under the leadership ofMihran Damadian,Hambartsum Boyajian,Kevork Chavush, andHrayr Dzhoghk.
In 1913, Hunchakian leader Paramaz participated in the 7th Conference of the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party inConstanta, where he represented the idea of the assassination ofIttihad leaders. But on 15 June 1915, Paramaz with19 other his comrades were hanged in the central square of Constantinople.[citation needed]
The party also played a role in the establishment of theFirst Republic of Armenia, as party members took part in theBattle of Sardarapat in 1918, which defended the Armenian capitalYerevan from theArmy of Islam of the Ottoman Empire.[citation needed]
After the takeover of the Armenian communists of power in Armenia in 1921 and dissolving of the Democratic Republic of Armenia, and the declaration of theArmenian Soviet Socialist Republic, all political parties apart from theArmenian Communist Party were forbidden. Thus the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party, alongside all the other Armenian traditional political parties, effectively became a party of theArmenian diaspora only.[citation needed]
But the party remained in general a supporter of the development of the Armenian SSR for many decades, in sharp contrast to theArmenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) that remained opposed to the Communist regime in Armenia. This resulted at many times in feuds and rifts between the Hunchaks and the Dashnaks in many centers of the Armenian diaspora, a situation becoming worse with religious differences, with the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party supportingMother See of Holy Etchmiadzin of theArmenian Apostolic Church and the ARF supporting theHoly See of Cilicia. In these conflicts, theArmenian Democratic Liberal Party (ADL) was seen as a political ally on the side of the SDHP and in opposition to the ARF.[citation needed]
Following Armenia's independence from theSoviet Union in 1991, Yeghia Najarian, headed the SDHP organization in Armenia and founded the "Hnchak Hayastani" official organ. In the early 1990s, the party took part in the self-defense ofZangezur (Paramaz battalion) and theNagorno-Karabakh conflict (Jirair-Mourad battalion led by Gevorg Guzelian). The party also remains active throughout theArmenian Diaspora.[citation needed]
On 12 May 2024, members of the central committee of the party met withArmenian PresidentVahagn Khachaturyan inLos Angeles and discussed relevant political issues such as the demarcation of theArmenia–Azerbaijan border and cooperation with the Armenian diaspora in theUnited States.[17] The central committee concluded the meeting by reaffirming their readiness to support Armenia's statehood and advance national priorities.[17]
In the 1950s, the party clashed, sometimes violently, with theDashnak Party, due to tensions that escalated when the ARF elected Bishop Zareh asZareh I,Catholicos of Cilicia, a move that was rejected by the Hunchaks. This period was characterized by an escalation of conflict between the ARF on one side, and the SDHP and the ally ADL (Ramgavars) on the other side.[citation needed]
In the midst of increasingsectarian strife in the late 1960s and early 1970s, which led to theLebanese Civil War, however, Lebanon's Armenian community began to close ranks, and in 1972, the Hunchakian Party ran a joint ticket with the Dashnaks. In 2000, the Hunchakian Party joined forces withRafik Hariri'sFuture Movement, which swept the city ofBeirut. SDHP Central Committee Member DrYeghia Jerejian was a member ofLebanese Parliament for many years.[citation needed]
The party subscribes to asocialist ideology and advocates for aplanned economy in Lebanon. The party competes for the six seats reserved for ethnicArmenians in theNational Assembly of Lebanon.[citation needed]
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The party declares itself as a national social democratic party. The party advocates for free education and healthcare, the promotion ofhuman rights and equality, maintaining a strongdemocracy, protecting theenvironment, and creating a decentralizedsocial economy. The party also supports the unification ofArtsakh with Armenia.[18]
In terms of foreign policy, the party supports Armenia developing closercooperation withinEuropean structures, and developing closer ties withGeorgia,Iran,China, andJapan.[18] On 28 November 2023, the party announced its support for Armenia to join theEuropean Union and to reduce its dependency onRussia.[19]
| MPs in the Armenian National Assembly (since 1990) | |
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The party was a previous member of theArmenian National Congress. Prior to the2021 Armenian parliamentary election, the party announced that it would nominate 4 members to run in the elections under theDemocratic Party of Armenia's electoral list. Following the election, the Democratic Party of Armenia won just 0.39% of the popular vote, failing to win any seats in the National Assembly.[20] As such, the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party does not have any representation within theNational Assembly of Armenia and currently acts as anextra-parliamentary force.
In June 2023, the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party and theEuropean Party of Armenia formed an electoral alliance, known asDignified Yerevan. The alliance nominatedKaren Sargsyan as its candidate for the position ofMayor of Yerevan inmunicipalelections for September 2023.[21] The alliance, however, dissolved in August 2023 prior to the elections.
The Hunchakian party has established affiliate organizations such as theAEBU which is an organization that helps with educational, health and social care, theDekhrouni Student & Youth Association (founded in 1952, inBeirut), theGaidz Youth Organization (founded in 1910, inConstantinople),Nor Serount Cultural Association (founded in 1954, in Beirut), and HMM (Homenmen) which is an independent sporting organization but strongly affiliated with the SDHP (not to be confused withHomenetmen considered largely affiliated with theARF).
Hunchak (alsoHnchak,Hentchak, "Bell" in Armenian) was the official organ of the party. It was founded byAvetis Nazarbekian and published originally in Geneva and later inMontpellier andParis (France),Greece,London, andProvidence (United States), 1887–1915, 1935–1940. The main purpose of the paper was a propaganda organ of the Armenian national movement for the liberation, the resistance inWestern Armenian regions.Hunchak also supported the ideology of social-democracy and worker's consolidation.
Present-day party publications include:
The party's 20th General Conference took place in September 2013, in Yerevan andTsaghkadzor, with the participation of delegates from 17 countries.[22]
The party's 22nd General Conference took place in September 2022, in Yerevan (coinciding with the 135th anniversary of the party's founding), with the participation of delegates from 14 countries.[23][24][25]
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