Finally, certain great Armenian notables, led by the authors and political writers Arpiar -Arpiarian and Levon Pashalian, left the Hntchak party and, in 1896, created a new branch of the party with the name of Hntchak Verakazmial (Recreated Hntchak). 33
These parties drafted members and established centres for their propaganda and meetings. Their common goal was the defence of the Armenian people against assaults and massacres; the liberation of Armenia from oppression and enslavement.
With the endeavours of these parties, especially the Dashnak party, who took a more active role during this period 34, the people's sense of affiliation and solidarity grew. Inspired by the propaganda of these parties, the Armenian people re-discovered themselves and their national roots and identity.
These factors combined to give momentum to the Armenian movement, which would open the road towards decency, honour and freedom for the Armenian people.
Battle on Two Fronts
Faced with the massacres in Western Armenia, the Armenian people finally understood that lack of resistance against tyranny and assault bred new assaults, and that armed resistance was unavoidable.
The first drastic measure of an Armenian revolutionary party was the Dashnak party's occupation of Bank Ottoman in August 1896, as mentioned above, in order to force the European major powers to intervene in the massacres.
As the prestigious minister, Delcasse, commented some years later after the revolt in Sasoun, "in a region where the government treats the demands of the people with rifles and executions, it is natural that the opposing side will make itself heard with dynamite."
Over the following years, the Armenians, encouraged by the Dashnak party, formed several volunteer units, ever growing in number in Transcaucasia and Persia, which were sent to Armenia to fight the Turks and the Kurds. In various mountainous areas in Western Armenia, decisive men took to the mountains where they formed guerrilla units and waged guerrilla warfare. The Armenian "Fedayi" (guerrilla warrior) became a mythical figure, heroes for the Armenian people as the Greek "Klephte" or the Serb and the Bulgarian "Haydouk" had been for their respective people. 37 These resistance and defensive acts were in direct retaliation to the Ottoman policy. On January 20, 1902, Delcasse, behind the podium of the French National Senate, stated: "According to my opinion, this is an unavoidable measure as the groups who are continuously plundered, without the plunderers being punished, or subject to assaults and murder attempts, finally realise that any situation is better than living with such a constant and horrifying nightmare."
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