Sasna Tsrer Pan-Armenian Party ( hy, Սասնա Ծռեր համահայկական կուսակցություն, ''Sasna Tsřer hamahaykakan kusaktsutyun'') is an

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 across the ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country'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 ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

Name

The party's name is taken from an Armenian heroic epic poem '' Daredevils of Sassoun'' (Sasna Tsrer in

Organization

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

Alexander Yenikomshian Ara-Alexander "Alec" Yenikomshian ( hy, Ալեք Ենիգոմշեան) (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 ...

, 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 ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...

and his Republican Party of Armenia, 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 Jira ...

. The party later renounced violence.

Jirair Sefilian Jirair Simoni Sefilian ( hy, Ժիրայր Սիմոնի Սէֆիլեան ( classical), Ժիրայր Սիմոնի Սեֆիլյան ( reformed); born July 10, 1967) is a Lebanese-born Armenian military commander and political activist. During the F ...

, a veteran of the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in th ...

, 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 repre ...

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

extra-parliamentary An extra-parliamentary opposition is a political movement opposed to a ruling government or political party that chooses not to engage in elections. Many social movements could be categorized as an extra-parliamentary opposition. Europe The German ...

force. Following the 2018 elections, the party initially supported newly elected Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan 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 () is a Pro-Europeanism, pro-European political party in Armenia. It was founded on 6 November 2018 by film-maker Tigran Khzmalyan. History The founding congress of the European Party of Armenia was held on 6 Nove ...

. Tigran Khzmalyan, 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 Pole ( hy, Ազգային ժողովրդավարական բեւեռ, translit=Azgayin zhoghovrdavarakan beverr) also known as the National Democratic Alliance or the National Democratic Party, is an Armenian political allia ...

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 ( hy, Ազգային ինքնորոշում միավորում; ''Azgayin ink’noroshum miavorum'') is an Armenian political party. It was founded in 1987 by Paruyr Hayrikyan, a Soviet dissident seeking inde ...

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 large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. 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 Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a list of states with limited recognition, breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan ...

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

2021 Armenian parliamentary election Snap parliamentary elections were held in Armenia on 20 June 2021. The elections had initially been scheduled for 9 December 2023, but were called earlier due to a political crisis following the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War and an alleged attempted ...

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 Tser has been portrayed as extreme nationalists. De facto party leader Jirair Sefilyan supports the creation of a United Armenia. They explicitly call for unification of the

( Nagorno-Karabakh) with Armenia. Sasna Tser staunchly opposed Armenia's former ruling party, the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

. The strategic goal of the party is to unite Armenians in Armenia and

abroad ''Abroad'' ( ar, الغربة) is a short film directed by Lebanese filmmaker Zayn Alexander. The film made its world premiere at the 33rd Santa Barbara International Film Festival on February 2, 2018. The Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanes ...

, 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 some post-Soviet states located in Eurasia. The Treaty on the Eurasian Econo ...

, 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 has ...

and the

CIS Cis or cis- may refer to: Places * Cis, Trentino, in Italy * In Poland: ** Cis, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central ** Cis, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, north Math, science and biology * cis (mathematics) (cis(''θ'')), a trigonome ...

. 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 ( hy, Ռուսական 102-րդ ռազմակայան; russian: 102-я российская военная база) is a Russian military base in Gyumri, Armenia, under the command of the Southern Military Distric ...

Gyumri Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the 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 century, when the city w ...

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

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. The party advocates for establishing strategic alliances with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and building closer cooperation with the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, Georgia,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Electoral record

Parliamentary elections

References

External links

Official site

Sasna Tsrer Pan-Armenian Party
on Facebook {{Armenian nationalism