Armenian terrorism

Armenian terrorism - ethnic-based terrorism against Turkish elements inside Turkey and abroad in the 20th century. First time this term was used in August 1982 in monthly U.S. Department of State Bulletin.
History
Armenian terrorism manifested two separate periods of activity.
After World War I
During this time in the early 1920s several former Ottoman officials living in exile in western Europe were assassinated by members of secretive Armenian organization called Operation Nemesis (a secret Dashnak network). "The overall boss of Operation Nemesis" was Armen Garo. His real name was Garegin Pasdermadjian. He was a former member of the Ottoman parliament. The operational coordinator of organization was Shahan Natalie, (Hagop Der Hagopian).
On March 15, 1921 in Berlin by Soghomon Tehlirian was gunned down one of the most important Ottoman leader in World War I Talaat Pasha.
On December 6, 1921 in Rome Said Halim, the former Ottoman foreign minister, was assassinated by another Nemesis operative, Arshavir Shirakian. In Berlin on April 17, 1922 he also killed two other leading Ottoman officials-Bahaeddin Shakir and Djemal Azmi.
Between 1920-1922 the Operation killed many significant political and military figures of the Ottoman Empire, Internal affairs minister of Azerbaijan and some Armenians who were working against the Armenian cause. On June 19, 1920 in Tbilisi the first Prime Minister of the independent Azerbaijan Democratic Republic Fatali Khan Khoyski was assassinated by Aram Yerganian.
1973-1985
Numerous Turkish diplomats were assassinated, also by members of several terrorist organizations (Marxist Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide (JCAG), Armenian Revolutionary Army (ARA)). On January 27, 1973 in Los Angeles 78-year-old Californian of Armenian descent, engineer and writer Gourgen Yanikian shot Turkish consul general Mehmet Baydar and vice consul Behadir Demir. As he said this murders were the acts of revenge.
After Yanikian died in 1984, in the United States a respected Armenian newspaper declared that he had opened new era of political struggle and changed the course of Armenian history. This double murder was a catalyst for the ensuing decade of Armenian terrorism by ASALA and JCAG.
ASALA
The Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) was borned in January 1975 by Hagop Hagopian. ASALA's birth was announced by a bombing attack by terrorist group headed American-born Monte Melkonian against the Beirut office of the World Council of Churches on January 20, 1975.
On September 24, 1981 the Turkish consulate in Paris was seized (Van Operation) by four ASALA agents, according to Monte Melkonian. They killed its Turkish guard, wounded the consul, and held 56 people hostage for 16 hours. One of the four participants in the Van Operation, Kevork Guzelian, said after his release from a French prison in the summer of 1986: The essential aim . . . was to gain on political ground and to turn the attention of international public opinion on Turkey.
There were also three deadly attacks on the and Paris Orly airports in 1982 and 1983 respectively, and the Istanbul Covered Bazaar in 1983. ASALA was responsible for 8 diplomatic murders.
JCAG (ARA)
First operation of JCAG (Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide) was carried out on October 22, 1975. Danis Tunaligil, the Turkish Ambassador to Austria, was assassinated. After July 1983 JCAG called the Armenian Revolutionary Army (ARA). Throughout 1984 JCAG-ARA killed 20 Turkish diplomats or members of their immediate families. In 1984 the diplomatic assassinations stopped.
Sourses
* [http://www.tallarmeniantale.com/gunter-terrorism.htm#r13 Michael M. Gunter, Dept. of Political Science Tennessee Technological University: Armenian terrorism in the 20th century]
*
* Erich Feigl. Ein Mythos des Terrors. Armenischer Terrorismus, seine Ursachen und Hintergründe. Edition Zeitgeschichte, Freilassing 1986. (german)
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