The administrative members of the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party’s “Tkhruni” Youth Union expressed their dissatisfaction during a press conference of how the history of the Hunchakians was inaccurately described in Armenian history textbooks, the 2013 Armenian history textbook in particular. They consider this to be an order from the former authorities.
The Youth Union’s Vice President, Gor Apitsaryan, announced that the SDHP is a party founded on the basis of the Armenian Cause, and it supported the rights of Armenians. There is one sentence in the 2015 Armenian history textbook regarding June 20, 1915, when a group of Hunchakians led by Paramaz were led to the gallows in Constantinople. But the reasons are not mentioned. Youth Union Chancellor Radik Karapetyan was infuriated, and said that this is the reason why Armenian society believes that Armenians did not defend themselves and they waited to be slaughtered “like sheep.”
Radik Karapetyan said that the SDHP was the first and only party in 1919 to support Armenian independence. The Hunchakians are also angry because their party comrades are presented as being terrorists. They agree that such incidents took place against Turks and against the Sultan, but not against their own people.
The members of the party blame the former authorities for fallacies in history textbooks, especially those who were responsible for education. They believe that this was a political order. They also said that they accept their own fault in all of this for remaining modest and inconsistent, and that they stayed quiet about the participation and heroism of Hunchaks in the Artsakh Liberation War. But they will begin activities to keep society informed of their history from now on.
Nelly Grigoryan
