Sasna Tsrer Pan-Armenian Party () is an

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

national conservative National conservatism is a nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding national and cultural identity, communitarianism and the public role of religion. It shares aspects of traditionalist conservatism and social conserva ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

that was founded in September 2018 in the wake of the country's

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

Name

The party's name is taken from an Armenian heroic

epic poem In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...

Daredevils of Sassoun ''Daredevils of Sassoun'' ( , also spelled Daredevils of Sasun) is an Armenian heroic epic poem in four cycles (parts), with its main hero and story better known as ''David of Sassoun'', which is the story of one of the four parts. In the in ...

'' (Sasna Tsrer in

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

Organization

The party is led by a seven-member secretariat: Garegin Chugaszyan,

Alexander Yenikomshian Ara-Alexander "Alec" Yenikomshian () (also known as Alec or Alex Yenikomechian) is an Armenian political activist and journalist, a member of Founding Parliament secretariat, co-founder of the " Miatsum Initiative", Director of the "Monte Melkony ...

, Gevorg Safaryan, Vahagn Avagyan, Arek Kyureghyan, Ruzan Yeghnukyan and Varuzhan Avetisyan.

History

Sasna Tsrer was previously a radical opposition to the pro-Russian rule of

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan (, ; born 30 June 1954)Official biography of Serzh Sargsyan

and his

Republican Party of Armenia The Republican Party of Armenia (RPA, ; , ''HHK'') is a National conservatism, national-conservative List of political parties in Armenia, political party in Armenia led by the third president of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan. It was the first polit ...

, whose activities culminated in the

2016 Yerevan hostage crisis On 17 July 2016, a group of armed men calling themselves the ''Daredevils of Sasun'' (; the name is taken from an epic poem) stormed a police station in Yerevan, Armenia and took nine hostages. They demanded the release of opposition leader Ji ...

. The party later renounced violence.

Jirair Sefilian Jirair Simoni Sefilian (; born July 10, 1967) is a Lebanese-born Armenian military commander and political activist. During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, he commanded the ''Shushi'' special military battalion, playing a significant role during ...

, a veteran of the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

, is one of the party's key figures. Sasna Tsrer participated in the 2018 parliamentary elections, but received only 1.82% of the votes. As this was lower than the 5% minimum threshold required, the party failed to gain any representation in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

. Despite not gaining any seats, the party has remained active in Armenian politics and currently acts as an

extra-parliamentary An extra-parliamentary opposition, also referred to as simply extra-parliamentary or extraparliamentary, is a political movement opposed to a ruling government or political party that chooses not to engage in elections. Many social movements could ...

force. Following the 2018 elections, the party initially supported newly elected Prime Minister

Nikol Pashinyan Nikol Vovayi Pashinyan (born 1 June 1975) is an Armenian politician who is serving as the 16th and current Prime Minister of Armenia, prime minister of Armenia since 8 May 2018. A journalist by profession, Pashinyan founded his own newspaper in ...

and endorsed Pashinyan's new government; Sefilian had stated that he had a constructive relationship with Pashinyan. However, the party eventually became dissatisfied with Pashinyan and his performance. Sasna Tsrer voiced support for the creation of an alliance of Pro-Western political forces, namely with the

European Party of Armenia The European Party of Armenia (EPA) () is a Pro-Europeanism, pro-European political party in Armenia. It was founded on 6 November 2018 by Tigran Khzmalyan. The party supports Armenia's Accession of Armenia to the European Union, accession process ...

Tigran Khzmalyan Tigran Khzmalyan (also known as Xmalian; ) is an Armenian politician and film director. Since 2018, Khzmalyan serves as the chairman of the European Party of Armenia. Since 2023, Khzmalyan serves as the chair of the Board of Trustees of PanEuropa ...

, leader of the European Party of Armenia also headed the call by stating, "We are in a situation where radical opposition and democratic forces must unite and demand a strategy of joining Armenia with Western powers." In May 2020, Jirair Sefilian signed a declaration along with two-dozen other political figures calling on the Pashinyan government to hold snap parliamentary elections. The party subsequently joined the

National Democratic Pole The National Democratic Alliance () sometimes referred as the National Democratic Pole or the National Democratic Party, is an Armenian political alliance between the Sasna Tsrer Pan-Armenian Party, the National Progress Party of Armenia, as ...

alliance. In November 2020, the Sasna Tsrer Pan-Armenian Party held a rally in central Yerevan, along with the

Union for National Self-Determination Union for National Self-Determination () is an Armenian political party. It was founded in 1987 by Paruyr Hayrikyan, a Soviet dissident seeking independence for Armenia. History The party was founded in 1987 as the successor of the defunct Nati ...

and the European Party of Armenia. The three parties called for the creation of a truly sovereign Armenia by ending Russian political occupation and avoiding clinging to Russia, while aligning closer with

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The party has also announced its intentions to set up a sister party in the

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh ( ), officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ( ), was a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Between 1991 and 2023, Artsakh cont ...

. On 18 May 2021, the party confirmed that they would participate in the

2021 Armenian parliamentary election 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

s as part of the National Democratic Pole, with Vahe Gasparyan leading the alliance. Following the election, the alliance won 1.49% of the popular vote, failing to win any seats in the National Assembly.

Ideology

At times, Sasna Tsrer has been portrayed as extreme nationalists. De facto party leader Jirair Sefilyan supports the creation of a

United Armenia United Armenia (), also known as Greater Armenia or Great Armenia, is an Armenian nationalist, Armenian ethno-nationalist Irredentism, irredentist concept referring to areas within the traditional Armenian homeland—the Armenian Highland, Ar ...

. They explicitly call for unification of the

(

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh (, ; ) is a region in Azerbaijan, covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of the greater region of Karabakh, it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik. Its ter ...

) with Armenia. Sasna Tser staunchly opposed Armenia's former ruling party, the Republican Party. The strategic goal of the party is to unite Armenians in Armenia and abroad, ensure the sustainability of the Armenian nation and its global influence. The party's foreign policy is strongly anti-Russian, with its manifesto calling for the "liberation of Armenia from Russian colonial rule" and the withdrawal from Russian-led organizations including the

Eurasian Economic Union The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU or EEU)EAEU is the acronym used on thorganisation's website However, many media outlets use the acronym EEU. is an economic union of five post-Soviet states located in Eurasia. The EAEU has an integrated single ...

, the

Collective Security Treaty Organisation The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO, ) is an intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia consisting of six post-Soviet states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. The Collective Security Treaty ha ...

and the CIS. The party calls for the immediate withdrawal of Russian soldiers from Armenia and the closure of the

Russian 102nd Military Base The Russian 102nd Military Base (; ) is a List of Russian military bases abroad, Russian military base in Gyumri, Armenia, under the command of the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces. During the Soviet era, forces in Armenia ...

Gyumri Gyumri (, ) is an urban municipal community and the List of cities and towns in Armenia, second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th centur ...

. Despite the party's anti-Russian views, the party is also opposed of Armenia joining

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

. The party advocates for establishing strategic alliances with the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and building closer cooperation with the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Electoral record

Parliamentary elections

References

External links

Official site

Sasna Tsrer Pan-Armenian Party
on Facebook {{Armenian nationalism Anti-Russian sentiment