Zartonk Daily Newspaper
The Zartonk Daily is the official newspaper of the Lebanon-based Armenian Ramgavar Party. Zartonk is published in Beirut and distributed in Armenia, the Middle East, Europe, North and South America, Australia, Africa and Arabian Gulf countries.
The paper was founded by Mihran Damadian and Parounag Tovmassian in Beirut on 26 September 1937, and is based in the Tekeyan Centre in Jemayze (a residential area of Beirut).
From the Zartonk
In the mid nineteen thirties Armenian national leader Mihran Damadian and Hovannes Sexenian consulted with Prof. Parounag Tovmassian and planned a project to publish an Armenian daily newspaper which will express Ramgavar Liberal Democratic Party’s ideology. Unfortunately, with the illness of the most dominical, venturous and vigorous leader Mihran Damadian, the project postponed till 1937, when was formed a high committee to prepare the project of publishing the daily “Zartonk”. The members of the committee were Hmayag Kranian, Hovannes Sexenian, Michael Natanian, Hagop Torossian, Nerses Shirinian, Garabed Abajian, Mgrgitch Mesrlian, Dr. D. Bezirjian, Dr. Hovsep Yozgatian and Prof. Parounag Tovmasian.
The first issue of “Zartonk” was published on Sunday, 26 September 1937. The editor in chief was the Armenian poetry’s prince Mr. Vahan Tekeyan, who came from Egypt to Beirut for this purpose. The president of the committee was Mr. Hmayag Kranian and the economical responsible Mr. Mgrditch Mesrlian who donated the first press. After Vahan Tekeyan along the years editors in chief were Levon Tutunjian, Yervant Keshishian, Hovannes Boghosian, Hampartzoum Koumrouyan, Hagop Tavitian, Michael Natanian and starting from the nineteen fifties till 1981 the most skillful, proficient and the best interpretor of national, political, literal, historical, cultural and social problems Mr. Kersam Aharonian. From 1981 to April 1990, the editor in chief was Mr. Hagop Avedikian, who was assistant editor before. From 1990 till now the editor in chief is Mr. Barouyr Aghbashian who was graduated from Yerevan’s State University in Literature and Philology. Mr. Aghbashian is continuing his ancestors’ traditional work and he achieved to attain the newspaper to an enviable and high position, echoing Ramgavar Liberal Democratic Party’s ideology, patriotism, straight, righteous and infallible fortess, free and independent ideology and legitimate and pure midst.
“Zartonk” along the years had a lot of intellectual and cultural contributors in literal, historical, scientific, sport, arts and other fields. Today, the newspaper is continuing its achievements with honorable results. The main ideology of the newspaper is The Problem of Armenian Rights And The First Genocide of the 20th century, Armenian church unity, patriotism and the freedom of speech.