151) Murdered Turkish Diplomats

It's heartbreaking that the deaths of these innocents murdered by Armenian terrorists in the 1970s and 80s were generally dismissed in the press of the nations the murders took place. Most of the killers got away with their crimes... and as far as the few who got caught: While none of the assassins walked away scot free as did Soghoman Tehlirian (the Armenian gunman who assassinated Talat Pasha in 1921), it's shocking that some of them received lenient treatment and/or relatively light sentences.

In America, the elderly Armenian who murdered two Turkish diplomats was paroled (on the order of the then California governor, George Deukmejian... they sure stick together, the Armenians) after serving only eleven years in prison. Eleven years for the taking of not one, but TWO lives. In Switzerland, a Lebanese-Armenian got just fifteen years for the snuffing out of a person's whole life. Armenian butt-kissing France doled out an unbelievable seven year prison term to four Armenian terrorists who took hostage 56 Turkish officials, wounded the consul general, and killed the security guard.


TURKISH DIPLOMATS KILLED BY ARMENIAN TERRORISTS


The main targets of Armenian terror organizations, ASALA in particular, were now being chosen from among Turkish diplomats abroad. The first of the series of terrorist attacks was carried out against Mehmet Baydar, the Turkish Consul General in Los Angeles and his Deputy, Bahadir Demir. The assassinations were perpetrated by an Armenian by the name of Gurgen Yanikan in 1973. This individual action turned into organized Armenian terror as of 1975 and further escalated as of 1979. 110 acts of terror were carried out by Armenian terrorists in 38 cities of 21 countries. 39 of these were armed attacks, 70 of them bomb attacks and one was an occupation. 42 Turkish diplomats and 4 foreign nationals were assassinated in these attacks, while 15 Turks and 66 foreign nationals were wounded.

Date City / Occupation Name/Surname 27.01.1973 Santa Barbara / Consul General Mehmet BAYDAR Santa Barbara / Consul Bahadir DEMIR 22.10.1975 Vienna / Ambassador Danis TUNALIGIL 24.10.1975 Paris / Ambassador Ismail EREZ Paris / Driver Talip YENER 16.02.1976 Beirut / First Secretary Oktar CIRIT

09.06.1977 Vatican City / Ambassador Taha CARIM 02.06.1978 Madrid / Ambassador’s wife Necla KUNERALP Madrid / Retired Ambassador Besir BALCIOGLU 12.10.1979 The Hague / Ambassador’s son Ahmet BENLER 22.12.1979 Paris / Tourism Counsellor Yilmaz ÇOLPAN 31.07.1980 Athens / Administrative Attache Galip ÖZMEN Athens / Administrative Attaché’s daughter Neslihan ÖZMEN 17.12.1980 Sydney / Consul General Carik ARIYAK Sydney / Security Attaché Engin SEVER

04.03.1981 Paris / Counsellor for Labour Affairs Reþat MORALI Paris / Counsellor for Religious Affairs Tecelli ARI 09.06.1981 Geneva / Secretary M.Savas YERGÜZ 24.09.1981 Paris / Security Attaché Cemal ÖZEN 28.01.1982 Los Angeles / Consul General Kemal ARIKAN 08.04.1982 Ottawa / Counsellor for Commercial Affairs Kani GÜNGÖR (Holdwater: Mr. Güngör was paralyzed.) 04.05.1982 Boston / Honorary Consul General Orhan GÜNDÜZ 07.06.1982 Lisbon / Administrative Attaché Erkut AKBAY 27.08.1982 Ottawa /Colonel, Military Attaché Atilla ALTIKAT 09.09.1982 Bourgas / Administrative Attaché Bora SÜELKAN 08.01.1983 Lisbon / Administrative Attaché’s wife, wounded in the armed assault directed against her husband Erkut Akbay on 07 06 1982, died on 08 01 1983 Nadide AKBAY 09.03.1983 Belgrade / Ambassador Galip BALKAR 14.07.1983 Brussels / Administrative Attaché Dursun AKSOY 27.07.1983 Lisbon / Counsellor’s wife Cahide MIHÇIOGLU 28.04.1984 Teheran / Secretary’s husband Ishik YÖNDER 20.06.1984 Vienna / Attaché for Labour Affairs Erdoðan ÖZEN 19.11.1984 Vienna / International Official Enver ERGUN 07.10.1991 Athens / Press Attaché Çetin GÖRGÜ 11.12.1993 Baghdad / Administrative Attaché Çaðlar YÜCEL 04.07.1994 Athens / Embassy Counsellor Haluk SIPAHIOGLU


Holdwater: Note that Armenian terrorism, which is thought of as having come to a halt by the mid-to-late 1980s, has continued into the 1990s. There were other incidents as well, not always resulting in murder... such as in the case of March 1995, when the Turkish Ambassador in Ottawa was seriously injured and his wife and daughter were taken hostage by the JCAG-ARA (Armenian Revolutionary Army).

So what was the total number of murdered victims? They vary. The official figures provided by Turkish Foreign Affairs are as follows:

27 diplomats were assassinated 7 diplomat relatives/staff assassinated.

108 Turks wounded + more than 50 wounded in Orly

Based on this information, the most accurate figure I've been able to come up with is 58 dead, of which 27 were Turkish diplomats.

(TIME Europe, "Debating Genocide," Andrew Finkel, Jan.30, 2001: "Among the 71 killed were 34 diplomats." The 34 appears to have combined the 27 + 7 relatives/staff. There is a discrepancy between the 71 and the 58, for the totals.)

MEHMET BAYDAR

27 January 1973

Los Angeles/USA


Mehmet Baydar (1924-1973)


The Armenian assaults against Turkish citizens started in 1973 when Mehmet Baydar and Bahadir Demir, Turkish Consul General and Consul in Los Angeles, were murdered by a 78-year-old American Armenian named Gurgen (Karakin) Yanikian.

Inviting Baydar and Demir to the Baltimore Hotel (for "tea") in Santa Barbara by declaring that he wished to give a painting of Abdulhamid as a gift to Turkey, Yanikian shot the two Turkish diplomats dead. He was arrested for murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, Yanikian was paroled on 31 December 1984 and died shortly afterwards.

This incident, constituting the first assault against the Turkish diplomats, launched a chain of murders and became a template for the subsequent attacks by Armenian terrorists.


Yanikian, who had carried out one of the most heinous double-murders in the state's history, was treated as a "hero" by the crowd of Armenians who had gathered in the courtroom. Armenian-Americans quickly mobilized and formed a group called "American Friends of Armenian Martyrs" to raise funds for his defense and to use the court case as "an educational campaign to bring the story of Turkish genocide before the American and world attention." (Armenian Mirror-Spectator, March 24, 1973) Until his death almost a decade later, a few months after he was released from prison on the order of the then California governor, George Deukmejian, Yanikian continued to receive gifts and supportive letters from Armenian-Americans.

(Paragraph in yellow was from "Armenian Atrocities and Terrorism")

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


BAHADIR DEMIR

27 January 1973

Los Angeles/USA


Bahadir Demir (1942-1973) Only 31 years old


The Armenian assaults against Turkish citizens started in 1973 when Mehmet Baydar and Bahadir Demir, Turkish Consul General and Consul in Los Angeles, were murdered by a 78-year-old American Armenian named Gurgen (Karakin) Yanikian.

Inviting Baydar and Demir to the Baltimore Hotel in Santa Barbara by declaring that he wished to give a painting of Abdulhamid as a gift to Turkey, Yanikian shot the two Turkish diplomats dead. He was arrested for murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, Yanikian was paroled on 31 December 1984 and died shortly afterwards.

The Armenian Reporter declared on March 8, 1984 that Yanikian had "opened [a] new era of political struggle" and "changed the course of Armenian history."

This incident, constituting the first assault against the Turkish diplomats, launched a chain of murders and became a template for the subsequent attacks by Armenian terrorists.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DANIS TUNALIGIL

Vienna/Austria

22 October 1975

Danis Tunaligil


Turkey’s Ambassador to Austria, Danis Tunaligil, was murdered by three terrorists raiding the Embassy.

When the Turkish Airline Office in Beyrouth was bombed on 20 February 1975, the letter left in the location by ASALA’s Esir Yanikian group that undertook the attack’s responsibility declared that they would fight against the imperialists for the Armenians’ rightful case and that the attacks would target Turkey, Iran and United States and that this case was only a beginning.

On 22 October 1975, three persons bearing automatic weapons forced their way into the Turkish Embassy in Vienna, neutralised the guards and entered the Ambassador’s office. Receiving an affirmative reply to their question in Turkish to Danis Tunaligil if he were the Ambassador, they shot him with automatic weapons. Tunaligil died on the spot and the murderers rapidly left the premises and fled in an automobile.



WIDOW SAYS IT WOULD BE WRONG TO IDENTIFY ARMENIANS WITH TERRORISTS; SHE SAYS ARMENIANS AND TURKS ARE FRIENDS.

Ferzane Tunaligil


"I have Armenian friends as well here; they all lower their heads in front of me. That's because they're guilty.* It's not something they want. They're sad, and they're grieving. In fact, this ASALA is making a mistake. They're harming their own country; not especially us. They're so in discord, they don't want us to get along, to be friends. This means they're not real Armenians. I believe so. I don't feel hatred against Armenians. That was another group. For me, Armenians are different. ASALA is different. ASALA is something else."

* I would guess this was mistranslated; her Armenian friends are not guilty of anything. She hopefully said that they "feel" guilty.

IN CONTRAST:

Dr. Ashod Sogomonian, Yerevean U.


"If somebody shot my brother and killed him, I wouldn't even go to court. I wouldn't tell anyone. If I had a gun in my hand, I would immediately kill the murderer."

In defense of the professor, of course, he is talking about personal vengeance against a specific perpetrator, and not against a whole group. Unfortunately, too many Armenians have been conditioned to take this concept a step further, and to target representatives of that group... which is what the point of this page is about. From an early age, Armenians are taught to be victimized by Turks, and "Vengeance" can be a particularly unhealthy driving force, on both ends.

(From the documentary, "Sari Gelin") LESSON FROM BATMAN

Many can identify with the rage felt against those who have taken away loved ones. Why, this was the driving force of how "Batman" came to be, when as a young boy, Bruce Wayne witnessed the senseless gunning down of his beloved parents. The philosophy of "justice" is explored in the 2005 film, "BATMAN BEGINS," shortly before Bruce Wayne became the famed superhero; here, his childhood friend, Rachel, discovers that Bruce was planning to assassinate the murderer of his parents:

Bruce Wayne: "My parents deserved justice."

Rachel: "You're not talking about justice. You're talking about revenge."

Bruce Wayne: "Sometimes they're the same."

Rachel: "No, they're never the same, Bruce. Justice is about harmony, and revenge is about you making yourself feel better. That's why we have an impartial system."

Bruce Wayne: "Oh, your system is broken." (INSERT FOOTAGE FROM CHARLES BRONSON'S "DEATH WISH," OR ANY VIGILANTE MOVIE, HERE! However, later gaining wisdom, Bruce Wayne refuses to become an executioner, understanding compassion is what separates him from the criminals. Otherwise, anarchy would reign.)

The curious thing is, the Dashnaks' special "Nemesis" assassination organization, administered by Armen Garo, knocked off Ottoman principals in the aftermath of WWI, even those like Prime Minister Said Halim Pasha, whom the British themselves could not convict at their "Nuremberg" of the Malta Tribunal. So if "justice" was meted out by these fanatical Armenians from the past, why have fanatical Armenians from more contemporary times picked up their pistols? And since the pen is mightier than the sword, why are fanatical Armenians obsessed with this "justice" still committing "Rufmord" in the form of their hateful and slanderous propaganda, today? We can only hope vengeance does not lie at the core of the "first Christian" Armenian nation.

------------------------------------------------------------------------


ISMAIL EREZ

Paris/France

24 October 1975



Ismail Erez


Turkey’s Paris Ambassador Ismail Erez and his driver Talip Yener were murdered in the vicinity of the Embassy. The Ambassador’s car was ambushed at around 13.30 hours at the Bir Hakeim Bridge on Seine River and Ismail Erez and his driver Talip Yener were murdered by automatic weapon fire. The attack was owned up to by an organisation that called itself the Armenian Genocide Justice Commandos. (According to Erich Feigl, disputed by ASALA.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TALIP YENER

Paris/France

24 October 1975


Talip Yener


Turkey’s Parisian Ambassador Ismail Erez and his driver Talip Yener were murdered in the vicinity of the Embassy. The Ambassador’s car was ambushed at around 13.30 hours at the Bir Hakeim Bridge on Seine River and Ismail Erez and his driver Talip Yener were murdered by automatic weapon fire. The attack was owned by an organisation that called itself the Armenian Genocide Justice Commandos.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OKTAR CIRIT

Beirut/Lebanon

16 February 1976


Oktar Cirit


Turkey’s Beyrouth Embassy First Secretary Oktar Cirit became the victim of Armenian terrorism while sitting at a hall. (Feigl: "in a restaurant on Hamra Street.") The attack was owned by the ASALA, which made its name known for the first time.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


TAHA CARIM

Rome/Italy

9 June 1977


Taha Carim

Turkey’s Vatican Ambassador Taha Carim was killed by the cross fire of two terrorists in front of the Embassy’s residence. The attack was owned this time by the Armenian Genocide Justice Commandos organisation.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NECLA KUNERALP

Madrid/Spain

2 June 1978

Necla Kuneralp

Three terrorists opened fire on the car of Turkey’s Madrid Ambassador Zeki Kuneralp whose wife Necla Kuneralp and retired Ambassador Besir Balcioglu lost their lives in this attack owned by the organisation that called itself the Armenian Genocide Justice Commandos organisation. For the first time in this incident, a foreigner had lost his life in an attack directed against Turks. That was the Ambassador’s driver Antonio Torres.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


BESIR BALCIOGLU

Madrid/Spain

2 June 1978


Besir Balcioglu


Three terrorists opened fire on the car of Turkey’s Madrid Ambassador Zeki Kuneralp whose wife Necla Kuneralp and retired Ambassador Besir Balcioglu lost their lives in this attack owned by the organisation that called itself the Armenian Genocide Justice Commandos organisation. For the first time in this incident, a foreigner had lost his life in an attack directed against Turks. That was the Ambassador’s driver Antonio Torres.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AHMET BENLER

The Hague/Netherlands

12 October 1979


Ahmet Benler


Ahmet Benler, son of Turkey’s ambassador to The Hague, Özdemir Benler, was killed in an armed attack, on the street. (Feigl: Ten people look on as the terrorists slaughter the 27-year-old medical student and run away.) Responsibility was claimed separately by ASALA and by JCAG, the Armenian Genocide Justice Commandos organisation.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

YILMAZ COLPAN

Paris/France

22 December 1979


Yilmaz Colpan


Turkey’s Paris Tourism Counselor Yilmaz Colpan was murdered (while walking on the Champs Elysees) by a terrorist. This case was the second attack in Paris through Armenian terrorism. A person calling the news agencies thereafter said that the Armenian Genocide Justice Commandos was responsible for the assaults in Rome, Madrid and Paris and added that it was killing the Turkish diplomats because Turkey did not grant the rights of Armenians. (Feigl: "Several groups, including ASALA, JCAG and the 'Commandos of Armenian Militants Against Genocide' wrestle over responsibility.")

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


GALIP ÖZMEN

Athens/Greece

31 July 1980

Gali Ozmen

Turkey’s Athens Embassy Administrative Attaché Galip Özmen and his 14-year-old daughter Neslihan Özmen were killed in an armed attack by a terrorist while his wife Sevil Özmen and 16-year-old son Kaan Özmen survived though seriously wounded. The attack was claimed by the ASALA.

According to Basar Cem's "The Terror Dossier and Greece" (1993), One of the results of the Greek government's protection of terrorism targeting Turks was the assassination of Galip Ozmen, the Attache of the Turkish Embassy in Athens, and his daughter by the Armenian terrorists in 1980. The Turkish Foreign Ministry had learned that a Turkish diplomat in Athens would be assassinated, and asked the Greek Foreign Ministry to keep the Turkish diplomats under protection. However, the Greek Foreign Ministry did not take it seriously or did not want to take it seriously. Two months later Galip Ozmen and his daughter were killed.

In my interview with the Director of the Greek General Diractorate of Press and Information two months after the incident, he had said to me that, "We have received the information that assassination would be committed, but I do not understand why the warning was not taken seriously..."

In a declaration prepared by the ASALA, which was being distributed in Athens a month before the assassination, it was being said that:

"We will continue our actions against the Turkish diplomats in every country until Turkiye accepts its crime in the Armenian genocide and declares this to the world."

That declaration appeared in the Greek press with the headlines "The Armenians will shoot the Turks in Athens".

According to the book, ASALA terrorist Vadeh Khodaverdjian bombed the Athens bureau of Kuwait Airlines in 1982, and was sentenced to 14 years and one month. However the Supreme Court of Appeal in Athens reduced his punishment to 3 years and 4 months on September 29, 1987, and he was released.

"The Greek Public Prosecutor, instead of interrogating the Armenian terrorist, who endangered the security of the citizens of Greece, presented Vadeh Khodaverdjian to the court as a warrior struggling for his ideals and overtly defended the terrorist."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NESLIHAN ÖZMEN

Athens/Greece

31 July 1980

Neslihan Ozmen

Turkey’s Athens Embassy Administrative Attaché Galip Özmen and his 14-year-old daughter Neslihan Özmen were killed in an armed attack by a terrorist while his wife Sevil Özmen and son Kaan Özmen survived though seriously wounded. The attack was claimed by the ASALA.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SARIK ARIYAK

Sydney/Australia

17 December 1980

Sarik Ariyak

Turkey’s Sydney Consul General Sarik Ariyak and his security guard Engin Sever became the victims of Armenian terrorism.

Aside from this case,

- Dogan Türkmen, Turkey’s Ambassador to Switzerland, came out alive from the attack on 6 February 1980 in Bern,

- Fire was opened on 17 April 1980 on the official car of Turkey’s Vatican Ambassador Vecdi Türel. Both Türel and his security guard Tahsin Güvenc were wounded in this attack, and

- Selcuk Bakkalbasi, the Press Attaché of Turkish Embassy in Paris, was wounded in an armed attack on 26 September 1980.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ENGIN SEVER

Sydney/Australia

17 December 1980

Engin Sever


Turkey’s Sydney Consul General Sarik Ariyak and his security guard Engin Sever became the victims of Armenian terrorism.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


RESAT MORALI

Paris/France

4 March 1981


Resat Morali (1943-1981)


Resat Morali and Tecelli Ari, Counsellors of Labour and Religious Affairs at the Turkish Embassy in Paris were attacked by two terrorists when they were taking their car in front of the Labour Attaché’s office. Morali was killed on the spot while the Religious Affairs Attaché Ari succumbed to death at the hospital where he was rushed with serious wounds. The attack was owned by ASALA in this third murderous attack of Armenian terrorism; Turkey protested to France for not properly protecting the Turkish diplomats. (Feigl: Ilkay Karakoc, the Paris representative of Anadolu Bank, was also targeted. "Morali and Karakoc try to flee the scene and make it safely to a cafe, but the owner throws them back out onto the street. Karakoc still manages to escape. Morali is murdered in front of the cafe. Ari, who was the first one targeted, dies a short time later. There are countless witnesses, but no one can 'remember' what the murderers looked like. The Shahan Natali Group of ASALA claims responsibility.")

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TECELLI ARI

Paris/France

4 March 1981


Tecelli Ari (1946-1981)


Resat Morali and Tecelli Ari, Counsellors of Labour and Religious Affairs at the Turkish Embassy in Paris were attacked by two terrorists when they were taking their car in front of the Labour Attaché’s office. Morali was killed on the spot while the Religious Affairs Attaché Ari succumbed to death at the hospital where he was rushed with serious wounds. The attack was owned by ASALA in this third murderous attack of the Armenian terrorism and Turkey gave a protest note to France for not properly protecting the Turkish diplomats. (See above for more details.)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

M. SAVAS YERGÜZ

Geneva/Switzerland

9 June 1981


M. Savas Yerguz

Mehmet Savas Yergüz, Secretary of the Turkish Consul General in Geneva, lost his life in an armed attack shortly after leaving the office for going home. The attack was owned by the ASALA. Mardiros (Madiros?) Camgozian (Jamgotchian), the Lebanese Armenian terrorist arrested after the attack, received a 15-year imprisonment sentence; he serves only 10 years. In a communiqué in Beirut, ASALA vows to "destroy Swiss interests throughout the world unless Jamgotchian is freed." ASALA then forms a new branch, called the "Ninth of June Organization," which undertakes a series of 12 attacks against Swiss targets worldwide. Though ASALA claims responsibility, few arrests are made.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Woman held hostage by Armenian terrorists in Paris' Turkish embassy, Sept. 24, 1981


CEMAL ÖZEN

Paris/France

24 September 1981


Cemal Ozen

Four Armenian terrorists occupying the premises housing the Turkish Consulate General and the office of the Cultural Attaché took hostage 56 Turkish officials and citizens, and killed security guard Cemal Özen who attempted to attack and wounded Consul General Kaya Inal. The terrorists wanted Turkey to release 12 political detainees and to send them to Paris. As they realised that this demand would not be complied with, they surrendered to the police some 15 hours after. Turkey warned France once more; the attack was claimed by ASALA. Four Lebanese-Armenian terrorists named Vasken Sakoseslian, Kevork Abraham Gozlian (Guzelian), Aram Avedis Basmacian and Agop Abraham Turfanian, received 7-year imprisonment sentences. (Guzelian, if not the others, got out in the summer of 1986, serving even less than his "slap-on-the-wrist" sentence.) The court verdict was protested in Turkey. These arrests, prosecutions and convictions, lead to the formation of the ASALA "September 24 Suicide Commandos" (a.k.a the "September France Group") which subsequently would strike at French targets in order to force the release of the four ASALA gunmen.


Kevork Guzelian; French slap-on-the-wrist, followed by release


Aside from this case, in 1981,

- Turkey’s Copenhagen Labour Attaché Cavit Demir came out with small arm wounds on 2 April in the lift of the apartment house where he lived, and

- Turkey’s Rome Embassy Second Secretary Gökberk Ergenekon survived with minor wounds an attack that was directed against him on 25 October on a street.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


KEMAL ARIKAN

Los Angeles/USA

28 January 1982



Kemal Arikan (1927-1982)


Turkey’s Los Angeles Consul General Kemal Arikan was killed by the Tashnak militant Hampig Sassounian, who was sentenced to life imprisonment. Sassounian's father states on public television, "I am glad that a Turk was killed, but my son did not do it." A previous attempt on Arikan was made with the firebombing of his home on Oct. 6, 1980.

The killers claiming responsibility were the Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide (JCAG)—after July 1983 called the Armenian Revolutionary Army (ARA). Unlike rival ASALA, this group attacked only Turkish targets.


A campaign to provide funds for Sassounian's defense raised $250,000 in small donations from Armenian-Americans throughout the United States. (Michael M. Gunter, "Pursuing the Just Cause of Their People": A Study of Contemporary Armenian Terrorism, p. 74.)

After Hampig Sassounian was found guilty of murdering the Turkish Consul in Los Angeles in 1982 . . . Bishop Yeprem Tabakian, the prelate of the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, stated: "Hampig's conviction is an indictment directed against all Armenians." Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian, the primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church, added: "I am truly shocked about the verdict." George Mason, the moderate publisher of The [Armenian] California Courier, concluded: "There are many Armenian Americans in California who feel great sympathy and support for Armenian terrorists. I have talked to numerous peaceful, fair, and thoughtful men who have expressed support for the terrorists."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


ORHAN GÜNDÜZ

Boston/USA

5 May 1982


Orhan Gunduz (and wife?)


Turkey’s Boston Honorary Consul General Orhan Gündüz was killed in an armed attack. The Boston Herald article by James Connolly above wrote the diplomat was ambushed on May 4 (and not May 5), in Somerville, Massachusetts, and the Dashnaks' JCAG claimed responsibility. (There is a picture of wife, Meral Gunduz, in the account.)

Feigl tells us Gunduz was given an ultimatum by terrorists to give up his title of honorary consul, but refused. "An eyewitness who gave a description of the murderer is shot down. He survives but falls silent. A 357 magnum, a nine-mm handgun, and a jogging jacket used by the assailant are all left at the scene of the crime. Television stations and newspapers join the manhunt. When the eyewitness is shot down, all help from the public dries up. Gunduz's murderer is never caught."

President Reagan got the Feds involved in an all-out manhunt, trying to apprehend the criminals. Gunduz's murder cut short the life of a school he was co-founder of. The Orhan Gündüz Memorial School got going again in 1994, staffed by volunteers.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


ERKUT AKBAY

Lisbon/Portuga

7 June 1982


Ekrut Akbay




Turkey’s Lisbon Embassy Administative Attaché Erkut Akbay died as a result of an armed attack on his car. His wife Nadide Akbay succumbed later to death at the hospital where she was brought with corporeal wounds. (Feigl: "JCAG claims responsibility.")





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


NADIDE AKBAY

Lisbon/Portuga

7 June 1982



Nadide Akbay




Turkey’s Lisbon Embassy Administative Attaché Erkut Akbay died as a result of an armed attack on his car. His wife Nadide Akbay succumbed later to death at the hospital where she was brought with corporeal wounds.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A NON-"DIPLOMAT" TERROR ATTACK (and first attack within Turkey)

August 7, 1982 Ankara, Esenboga Airport Two ASALA terrorists open fire in a crowded passenger waiting room. One of the terrorists takes more than 20 hostages while the second is apprehended by police. The killers leave nine people dead and 82 [The number was 72] injured. The surviving terrorist, Levon Ekmekjian, realizes the horror of his crime before the execution. He issues a strong appeal to his young comrades to reject the program of murder. (Erich Feigl, A Myth of Terror)


Levon Ekmekjian: had a change of heart


The hatred is venomous, relentless and overwhelming. When Armenian Terrorist Levon Ekmekjian was told by Turkish police that his two-man murder squad had succeeded in killing nine people and wounding 72 others, he cried out furiously, "It wasn't enough!" The terrorists had exploded a bomb in the middle of the crowded check-in area at Ankara's Esenboga Airport on Aug. 7, then opened fire with submachine guns on passport-control officers and passengers, mostly Turkish workers returning to jobs in West Germany and The Netherlands after a holiday. One of the gunmen was reported to have yelled at his victims as he fired, "More than a million of us died! What's the difference if 25 of you die?"

(TIME Magazine, "A Cry for Bloody Vengeance," Aug. 23, 1982)

Holdwater: Actually, the Turks who died at the time of the supposed "more than a million" Armenians wasn't 25, but 100,000 times that. Perhaps a fifth of that number, 500,000, was at the hands of Armenians.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ATILLA ALKIKAT

Ottawa/Canada

27 August 1982


Atilla Alkikat



Atilla Alkikat; shot in the neck with a 9mm pistol




Atilla Alkikat, the Military Attaché at the Turkish Embassy in Ottawa, was killed in an armed assault.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


BORA SÜELKAN

Burgos/Bulgaria

9 September 1982


Bora Suelkan


Bora Süelkan, Administrative Attaché of the Turkish Consulate General in Bourgos, was killed by a terrorist attack. (Feigl: "...assassinated in front of his home. The assassin leaves the message, "We shot dead the Turkish diplomat: Combat Unions of Justice Against the Armenian Genocide." An anonymous caller claims the assassination is the work of a branch of the ASALA headquarters in Beirut.")

Aside from this case, in 1982,

- Kemal Demirer, Rotterdam Consul General of Turkey, was wounded in an attack in front of his residence on 21 July. He came out of this attack with minor wounds and the attacker was arrested while trying to get away.

- Kani Güngör, Commercial Attaché in the Ottawa Embassy of Turkey, was wounded in an attack on 8 April. (According to the article below, Mr. Gungor was left paralyzed.)

"New book on terror," March 8, 2004, National Post (Canada), by Mary Vallis:

An Armenian immigrant who participated in Canada's first major terrorist incident 22 years ago lives in Toronto and plays guitar in a band, according to a new book probing the country's terrorist ties.

Cold Terror: How Canada Nurtures and Exports Terrorism Around the World explores how Canada has evolved into an internationally renowned hub of global terrorism. Written by National Post reporter Stewart Bell, the book contains exclusive interviews with victims of terrorist attacks, senior intelligence officials and terrorists themselves.

In September, 2003, at a nondescript coffee shop in Toronto's Little Italy, Mr. Bell met with Haig Gharakhanian, one of three Armenians convicted of plotting to kill a Turkish diplomat in Ottawa. The man was nervous because his band's CD was about to be released, and he had just met with CSIS to get clearance for his Canadian citizenship, but spoke with Mr. Bell anyway.

"As we were speaking, the lead singer of his band comes in and sits down," Mr. Bell recalled. "You could just see this guy's eyes widening as he listens to the guy who's been his guitar player and roommate for years explaining his involvement in terrorism."

Mr. Gharakhanian, who was just 17 years old when he participated in the attack, spent nine months in prison for his role in the 1982 shooting of Kani Gungor. The diplomat was left paralyzed. Mr. Gharakhanian, who had Iranian citizenship, helped scout out the target and delivered a letter to the United Press International's Los Angeles office in which the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) claimed responsibility for the attack.

After he was released on parole, Mr. Gharakhanian applied for refugee status and successfully fought a deportation order. Mr. Bell uses his case as one example that illustrates how Canada's generous immigration policy has fuelled the country's links to terrorism.

"He got a very light sentence. He was not deported because the immigration judges felt sorry for him, and now he's about to become a citizen," Mr. Bell said of Mr. Gharakhanian. "That was our beginning. We treated a guy who was basically a terrorist sympathetically, and that set the stage for everything that's followed... We still see examples of that every day."





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


GALIP BALKAR

Belgrade/Yugoslavia

9 March 1983


Galip Balkar


An armed assault was made against Turkey’s Belgrade Ambassador Galip Balkar on 9 March 1983 by two terrorists. Mortally wounded in this attack, Balkar died on 11 March. A Yugoslavian student also lost his life in this incident. Terrorists Kirkor Levonian and Raffi Alexander were sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment on 9 March 1984, exactly one year after the incident. (Feigl: "Balkar['s]... driver, Necati Kayar, is shot in the stomach. As the two assailants flee from the scene, they are bravely pursued by Yugoslav citizens. One of the terrorists shoots and wounds a Yugoslav colonel and is in turn apprehended by police. The second terrorist opens fire on civilians who are chasing him, killing a young student. The two terrorists, Kirkor Levonian and Raffi Elbekian, are tried and sentenced.")



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


DURSUN AKSOY

Brussels/Belgium

14 July 1983



Dursun Aksoy


A

Turkey’s Brussels Embassy Administrative Attaché Dursun Aksoy was murdered by Armenian terrorists. [Feigl: Three groups compete for the "honor" of having organized the death squad: ASALA, JCAG and the Armenian Revolutionary Army (ARA).]






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


CAHIDE MIHCIOGLU

Lisbon/Portugal

27 July 1983


Cahide Mihcioglu


The Lisbon Embassy of Turkey was occupied and those within the building were taken hostage by five Armenian terrorists. Cahide Mihcioglu, wife of Embassy Counsellor Yurtsev Mihcioglu, was killed during this incident. The Portuguese police saved the hostages by an operation and killed all five terrorists. The attack was claimed by an organisation that called itself the Armenian Revolutionary Army, which threatened with death the Portuguese Prime Minister Mario Soarez, because of the death of the terrorists.(Feigl: "Five Armenian terrorists ... occupy the residence, taking Deputy Chief of Mission Yurtsev Mihcioglu, his wife and family hostage. When explosives go off, Cahide Mihcioglu, wife of the deputy chief of mission, and four of the terrorists are blown to pieces. Yurtsev Mihciolgu and his son, Atasay, are injured. The fifth terrorist is killed by security forces, while one Portuguese policeman dies in the clash. ARA claims responsibility.")

--------------Aside from this case, in 1983,


On 16 June, a terrorist opened fire on the people at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. Two persons were killed and twenty-one were wounded in this attack of which the author was killed on the spot. It was later ascertained that he was an Armenian.

A bomb exploded in front of the Turkish Airlines office in Paris-Orly Airport. Two Turks, four Frenchmen, one American and one Swede died and sixty-three persons, of whom twenty-eight were Turks were wounded in this attack, named later as the "Orly massacre".



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


ISIK YÖNDER

Teheran/Iran

28 April 1984


Isik Yonder


Isik Yönder, husband of Turkey’s Teheran Embassy Secretary Sadiye Yönder, who was a businessman doing trade with Iran, was killed by an ASALA militant. (Feigl: "Two Armenian terrorists riding a motorcycle open fire on Isik Yonder as he drives his wife, Sadiye Yonder, to the Turkish Embassy where she works. Isik Yonder is killed. ASALA claims responsibility.")



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


ERDOGAN ÖZEN

Vienna/Austria

June 20, 1984


Erdogan Ozen (1934-1984)


Turkey’s Vienna Embassy Labour Attaché Erdogan Özen was killed as a result of the explosion of a bomb planted in his car. This incident was claimed by the Armenian Revolutionary Army. (Five others were seriously wounded, including a policeman. Picture of mourning family below.)

ADDENDUM, 9-08: Mr. Ozen's murder is what led Erich Feigl to write "A Myth of Terror"; Feigl;s words on his friend (p. 6):

He had been an enthusiastic dedicated worker. His job had been to help Turkish workers in Austria and to take care of their problems. He had carried out those duties expertly and conscientiously. But there was more: I often heard him talk in those days of his eleven or twelve year old son, Murad. I saw the love in his eyes that tied him to his child and to his wife, Monika.



Ozen's wife, Monika, mourns with son Murat (A Myth of Terror)

Erdogan Ozen was born long after the end of the First World War and had absolutely nothing to do with the tragic events of 1915, which cost so many Armenian and Moslems their lives.

Moreover, I can say with absolute certainty, based on my friendship to him and everything I know about him: had Erdogan Ozen lived in those days and come into contact with needy or persecuted Armenians, he would have helped them.

In the same instant that I heard of the news of Erdogan's death, I decided to do something, something within the realm of my capabilities. After researching the subject thoroughly and meeting with a tremendous number of people, I made a series of films about this "myth of terror", and I wrote this book. The book, at least the large portion consisting of illustrations, grew out of the film work. The subject of the book is indeed a "myth"... in the true sense of the word. It is something from the realm of fiction and imagination, something that has been "made into a legend".

At the same time though, it is something absolutely alive and potent, as we can see from the acts of terrorism and their horrible consequences.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


ENVER ERGUN

Vienna/Austria

19 November 1984




Enver Ergun


Enver Ergün, an official at the UN Representation of Turkey, was killed as a result of the explosion of a bomb planted in his car. (Feigl: while driving to work.) This incident too was claimed by the Armenian Revolutionary Army.

---------------------

A terrorist trying to plant a bomb on the car of Isil Ünel, Turkey’s Teheran Embassy Deputy Commercial Attaché, was blown to pieces as the bomb exploded in his hands on 28 March 1984.

The next day, Hasan Servet Öktem and Ismail Pamukcu, First Secretary and Deputy Attaché of the Turkish Embassy in Teheran, were wounded in an armed assault in front of their houses.

--------------------------------------------------------


IN ADDITION: As reported by Erich Feigl, "A Myth of Terror":

Armenian terrorism appeared to slow down in the late 1980s, but attacks on Turkish diplomats did not come to an end:

October 7, 1991 Athens Gunmen fire four shots and kill Cetin Gorgu, press attache at the Turkish Embassy, in the Athens suburb of Pangrati. The attackers flee on foot. The Greek nationalist ultraleftist November 17 organization claims responsibility and says the murder was due to Turkey's presence in Cyprus.

December 11, 1993 Baghdad The administrative attache at the Turkish Embassy, Caglar Yucel, is assassinated while travelling in his car. Another attache, Huseyin Kerimoglu, also in the car, is slightly wounded. Iranian opposition movement Mujaheedeen Khalq claims responsibility, but says that Yucel was killed in a case of mistaken identity.

July 4, 1994 Athens Greek terrorists pump six bullets into Haluk Sipahioglu, the counselor at the Turkish Embassy in Athens. Sipahioglu initially survives but dies in hospital several hours later. The assassins escape in heavy traffic. November 17 claims responsibility again. Ankara criticizes Athens for lax security measures. A few months before the murder, the ultranationalist newspaper, Strohos, has published the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all Turkish Embassy staff, portraying them as targets.

--------------

The first act of November 17 was the assassination of Richard Welch in 1975. Since 1975, the organisation has carried out more than seventy armed actions against Greek, American, and Turkish citizens. Cumhuriyet reported on 9-12-03 that three suspects (Savas Ksiros, Dimitris Kufodinas and Vasilis Corcatos) were also accused of killing Cetin Gorgu and Haluk Sipahioglu, and for attempting to assassinate in 1991 an undersecretary named Deniz Bolukbasi. "Most of the suspects are expected to be sentenced to be life in prison."



A DIPLOMAT'S DAUGHTER REFLECTS

The Washington Post published an article beginning with what's below, called "In Istanbul, a Crack In the Wall of Denial," September 25, 2005, by Elif Shafak (alluding to the Armenian "genocide" conference planned to be held in Turkey, by genocide club members.)

I am the daughter of a Turkish diplomat — a rather unusual character in the male-dominated foreign service in that she was a single mother. Her first appointment was to Spain, and we moved to Madrid in the early 1980s. In those days, the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia, known as ASALA, was staging attacks on Turkish citizens — and diplomats in particular — in Rome, London, Zurich, Brussels, Milan and Madrid; our cultural attaché in Paris was assassinated in 1979 while walking on the Champs-Elysees. So throughout my childhood, the word "Armenian" meant only one thing to me: a terrorist who wanted to kill my mother.

Faced with hatred, I hated back. But that was as far as my feelings went. It took me years to ask the simple question: Why did the Armenians hate us?

(The cultural attaché was Yilmaz Colpan; Shafak was eight years old at the time.)

The rest of the article lends insight on how Ms. Shafak, especially with a trip to the USA in 2002, began to believe some 1.5 million Armenians were killed; she spoke to Armenian grandmothers, and absorbed claims by the Zoryan Institute. She realized atrocities had been committed upon Armenians (as if that were ever a hidden fact; what's not generally known are the atrocities committed upon the Turks), sounds mortified that Turkey "rejects the charge that Armenians were purposely exterminated," and seems even more aghast that "some even go so far as to claim that it was Armenians who killed Turks." This diplomat's daughter appears to have done an excellent job of following in Taner Akcam's footsteps. She got a job as a "visiting professor" at the University of Michigan (where Akcam got started), and moved up in 2004, finding work at the University of Arizona, as a professor of Turkish Studies. (Where she can teach unsuspecting students her version of Turkish history. Grand!) In 2004, the doors opened to get two of her novels published in the USA (even though her English is not quite up to par), and the opportunist is currently a popular speaker on the Armenian "genocide" circuit, coming off a UCLA round in late 2005 with Akcam and Gocek (with Hovannisian at the helm) and is currently scheduled to speak on April 24, 2006 at the Univ. of Minnesota, facilitated by the CHGS's Stephen Feinstein. We know thar's gold in them thar Armenian Genocide hills, but this is actually coming from the daughter of a diplomat. When the terrorist cried that he didn't kill enough Turks in 1982's Ankara airport attack, let's hope Dr. Shafak won't today get too teary-eyed in agreement.



ADDENDUM:

The following is provided as a supplement to the above descriptions of terror attacks.

Turkish Diplomats Killed by Armenian Terrorists Below are 27 attacks against Turkish diplomats by Armenian terrorists during 1980s. These events have been divided into four categories:

The first are instances in which a Turkish diplomat was killed and the perpetrators were arrested, tried and convicted.

The second category describes instances in which convictions were secured against perpetrators of attempted murders of Turkish diplomats. Under American jurisprudence, the degree of culpability between one who attempts a murder and one who succeeds is identical. Thus, from a legal, if not rhetorical, standpoint this category and the first are of equal impact.

The third category, instances in which a Turkish diplomat was killed, but the perpetrator[s] escaped is of near equal relevance to the first two categories because in each such case Armenian terrorists claimed responsibility. In the strictest sense, there is no need for a conviction when there is a confession.

The fourth category describes attempted killings of Turkish diplomats in which the perpetrator[s] escaped. These are also important because Armenian terrorists claimed responsibility.

Category 1: Turkish Diplomat Killed, Perpetrator[s] Arrested, Tried, and Convicted

1. January 27, 1973 - Santa Barbara, California, United States: Gourgen Yanikian, an elderly U.S. citizen of Armenian origin, assassinates Los Angeles Turkish Consul General, Mehmet Baydar, and Vice Consul, Bahadir Demir, after inviting the Turkish diplomats to his hotel suite to present the Turkish Government with a "gift." Soon after killing the diplomats, Yanikian surrenders to police, is tried in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Santa Barbara, is convicted of first-degree murder, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Ten years later, California Governor George Deukmejian, who is of Armenian descent, orders the release of Yanikian, who dies of natural causes soon thereafter. The Armenian Reporter, commemorates Yanikian, declaring that he had "opened [a] new era of political struggle" and "changed the course of Armenian history."

2. March 12, 1981 - Teheran, Iran: An Armenian gunman kills two security officers in a failed attempt to take over the Turkish Embassy. The gunman, Yeghia Keshishian, is apprehended, tried, convicted, and executed by the Iranian government. ASALA claims responsibility for the attack.

3. June 9, 1981 - Geneva, Switzerland: An Armenian gunman assassinates Turkish Consulate Secretary, Mehmet Savas Yerguz, as he is leaving his office. Swiss authorities apprehend Mardiros Jamgotchian. ASALA claims responsibility for the assassination. Jamgotchian is convicted of the murder and sentenced to 15 years, though he serves only 10 years. In a communiqué in Beirut, ASALA vows to "destroy Swiss interests throughout the world unless Jamgotchian is freed." ASALA then forms a new branch, called the "Ninth of June Organization," which undertakes a series of 12 attacks against Swiss targets worldwide. Though ASALA claims responsibility, few arrests are made.

4. September 24, 1981 - Paris, France: Four Armenian gunmen seize the Turkish Consulate, taking 56 people hostage for 16 hours. During the siege, Armenian gunman Kevork Guzelian shoots and seriously wounds Consul Kaya Inal and a Turkish security officer, Mr. Cemal Ozen. In a statement issued in Beirut during the siege, ASALA's "Suicide Commandos of Yeghia Kechichian" threaten that if Turkey does not release certain "Armenian political prisoners," and if French authorities intervene in the Consulate takeover, all of the hostages will be executed." French negotiators approach the Consulate and then retreat when gunmen waive a hand grenade from the window. Turkish negotiators, however, successfully demand that the gunmen permit Consul Inal and Officer Ozen to be taken to the hospital for medical treatment. The gunmen eventually comply, but Officer Ozen dies upon arrival at the hospital. Turkish negotiators reject the gunmen's demand for the release of certain Armenian terrorists incarcerated in Turkey. The gunmen then request political asylum in France in return for surrendering to French law enforcement officers. The gunmen surrender and admit their membership in ASALA. French authorities deny the gunmen political asylum and proceed with criminal prosecution. The French government states, "However sorrowful the historical events that the perpetrators of this act invo[ked], the takeover was an inadmissible assault on elementary human rights and becomes even more intolerable because once again Turkish diplomats assigned to France have been attacked." Guzelian and his accomplices are given seven-year sentences. These arrests, prosecutions and convictions, lead to the formation of the ASALA "September 24 Suicide Commandos" (a.k.a the "September France Group") which subsequently strikes at French targets in order to force the release of the four ASALA gunmen.

5. January 28, 1982 - Los Angeles, California, United States: Two Armenian gunmen assassinate Turkish Consul General, Kemal Arikan, in his automobile while waiting at an intersection. JCAG claims responsibility. One of the assassins, Hampig Sassounian, a 19-year-old Armenian American member of the JCAG, is arrested shortly thereafter. Sassounian's father states on public television, "I am glad that a Turk was killed, but my son did not do it." Sassounian's accomplice, believed to be Krikor Saliba, escapes to Beirut. Los Angeles police search Sassounian's automobile, seizing a .357 caliber bullet and a one-way airline ticket from Los Angeles to Beirut. Police also search Sassounian's home, where they seize a gun receipt, pistol targets, and a manifesto of "The Armenian Youth Federation." Although Sassounian pleads not guilty, the Court convicts him of first-degree murder and sentences to life imprisonment. Sassounian's sentence is later changed to 25 years-life in an appeal agreement in which he finally confesses to the killing. On October 6, 1980 a first attempt was made on Arikan's life, when his home was firebombed.

6. March 9, 1983 - Belgrade, Yugoslavia: Two Armenian gunmen assassinate the Turkish Ambassador to Yugoslavia, Galip Balkar, and seriously wound his chauffeur, Necati Kayar, in central Belgrade. One of the gunmen, Antranig Boghosian (a.k.a. Harutiun Levonian), also opens fire on and seriously wounds a Yugoslav Colonel, and is then shot and apprehended by a member of the Yugoslav Secret Service. Boghossian is paralyzed from his injuries. As the other gunman, Raffi Elbekian, flees from the scene, Belgrade citizens pursue him. Elbekian opens fire on the civilians, killing a young male student and wounding a young girl. JCAG claims responsibility for the assassination. Boghosian and Elbekian area convicted of murder and sentenced to 20 years. Both were released in 1987, after serving only four years. They then lived underground in Greece, South Cyprus, and Lebanon until 1995, at which time they entered Armenia. Boghosian lives in Yerevan, Armenia, and is said to reside with Alec Yenikomshian of ASALA, who was convicted in Switzerland for the attempted murder of the Turkish Ambassador.



Category 2: Attempted Killing of Turkish Diplomat, Perpetrator[s] Arrested, Tried, and Convicted



Mourad Topalian on way to court


7. October 12, 1980 - New York, New York, United States: A bomb planted under a stolen automobile parked in front of the United Nations Plaza and Turkish Center, which houses the offices of the Turkish Ambassador to the U.N. and the Turkish Consul General in New York, explodes at 4:50 p.m., minutes before hundreds of employees and tourists exit the United Nations building. The bomb, with the force of nine sticks of dynamite, demolishes the automobile. Hurled metal, glass, and flames injure five Americans. The explosion destroys a vehicle parked across the street, and causes significant damage to the 11-story Turkish Center, and blows out the windows of nearby buildings, including B'nai B'rith, Chase Manhattan Bank, the African American Center, a travel agency and numerous apartment complexes. Assistant New York City Police Chief, Milton Schwartz, expressed "It is absolutely lucky that more people weren't injured." U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Donald McHenry, condemned the attacks as "savage and calculated terrorism." New York City Mayor Edward Koch expressed that the incident "demonstrates forcefully that all terrorism, no matter what form it takes, and no matter against whom it is directed, must be condemned and punished." JCAG claims responsibility. This incident was directed by ANCA Chairman Mourad Topalian who, 20 years later, was convicted of related weapons and explosives charges. He served 37 months in federal prison and is now on supervised release.



8. April 8, 1982 - Ottawa, Canada: Armenian gunmen open fire on Turkish Embassy Commercial Attaché, Mr. Kani Gungor, as he enters the garage of his apartment complex. The following day ASALA issues a statement, "We warn the Canadian authorities that any attempt to persecute the Armenian community in Canada will not pass without punishment." Mr. Gungor is left paralyzed by the shooting. Five Canadian Armenian ASALA members - Nicholas Moumdjian, Haroutium Kevork, Haig Balian, Haig Karkhanian, and Melkon Karakhanian - are arrested. Three are convicted. In 1986, the Canadian Security Intelligence Review Committee decides to deport!Moumdjian, claiming that he conspired to assassinate Mr. Kani Gungor, that he had purchased items that could be used to make a bomb, and that he believed in the indiscriminate use of violence for political ends. Moumdjian immediately appealed the 1988 decision of the Security Committee to the Toronto Federal Court of Appeals. Before the appeal process is completed, Moumdjian flees Canada, stating that he was going to Armenia as a part of a "humanitarian mission." It was last reported that Moumdjian had enrolled as a political science major at York University.

9. October 22, 1982 - Los Angeles, California, United States: The FBI arrests and charges four local Armenian Americans for conspiring to bomb the Philadelphia Honorary Turkish Consul General, Kanat Arbay. They are JCAG members recruited from the Armenian Youth Federation, and include: Karnig Sarkissian, 29, of Anaheim; Viken Vasken Yacoubian, 19 of Glendale; Viken Archavir Sarkissian Hovsepian, 22 of Santa Monica; and, Dikran Sarkis Berberian, 29, of Glendale. A fifth co-conspirator, Steven John Dadaian, 20 of Canoga Park, California, is arrested at Logan International Airport!in Boston, as he exits the aircraft with a briefcase containing five sticks of dynamite and the components of a detonation timer transported from Los Angeles. The five co-conspirators are called the "L.A. Five", which the FBI linked to over a dozen bombings in southern California between 1980 and 1982 as well as the assassination of Turkish Consul General Kemal Arikan. Speaking on behalf the Armenian National Committee of America, local representative Leon Kirakosian "condemned this effort!by the FBI and local police agencies to do Turkish dirty work against the Armenian people." All five were convicted of various federal crimes, though some were given sentences so light that no jail time was served. Two of the five perpetrators, Hovsepian and Yacoubian, eventually are granted U.S. citizenship by a federal judge. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned this ruling. Pending the completion of their last ditch appeals, Hovsepian and Yacoubian will be deported to Lebanon.

10. March 28, 1984 - Teheran, Iran: Two Armenian gunmen attempt to assassinate Turkish Embassy Administrative Attaché Ibrahim Ozdemir as he leaves his home. They are apprehended by Teheran law enforcement officers responding to a call by Ozdemir, who had been surveying the gunmen that morning. ASALA claims responsibility. They are tried, convicted, and given short sentences.

11. September 1, 1984 - Teheran, Iran: Iranian law enforcement officers foil a plot by ASALA to assassinate the Turkish Ambassador to Iran, Ismet Birsel. Though the conspirators are arrested, they are later released without trial.

12. March 12, 1985 - Ottawa, Canada: Three Armenian Canadian gunmen, two Syrian-born - Kevork Marachelian and Ohannes Noubarian - and one Lebanese-born Rafi Panos Titizian, storm the Turkish Embassy, killing a Pinkerton security guard in the entryway to the complex. Turkish Ambassador Coskun Kirca escapes by leaping from the second floor window at the back of the embassy, breaking his right arm, right leg and pelvis. The gunmen then take 12 people hostage, including the Ambassador's wife, Bilge Coskun, teenage daughter and three children. Four hours later, the gunmen, who come to be called the "Ottawa Three" surrender to Pinkerton law enforcement officers. The "Armenian Revolutionary Army" of the JCAG claims responsibility for the attempted assassination.



Category 3: Turkish Diplomat Killed, Perpetrator[s] Not Arrested, But Responsibility Claimed by Armenian Terrorist Organizations



14. October 24, 1975 - Paris, France: An Armenian gunman assassinates the Turkish Ambassador to France, Ismail Erez, also killing the Ambassador's chauffeur, Talip Yener. ASALA and JCAG publicly dispute which group deserves credit for the assassination.

15. June 2, 1978 - Madrid, Spain: Three Armenian gunmen open automatic gunfire on the automobile of the Turkish Ambassador to Spain, Zeki Kuneralp. The Ambassador's wife, Necla Kuneralp, and a guest, a retired Turkish Ambassador, Besir Balcioglu, are killed. Spanish chauffeur, Antonio Torres, dies later from his wounds. ASALA and JCAG claim responsibility.

16. July 31, 1980 - Athens, Greece: Armenian gunmen attack Turkish Embassy Administrative Attaché, Galip Ozmen, and his family as they wait in their automobile at a traffic light. Mr. Ozmen and his fourteen-year-old daughter, Neslihan Ozmen, are killed in the rain of automatic fire. His wife, Sevil Ozmen, and his sixteen-year-old son, Kaan Ozmen, are seriously wounded but survive. ASALA claims responsibility.

17. December 17, 1980 - Sydney, Australia: Two Armenian gunmen assassinate Turkish Consul General, Sarik Ariyak, and his bodyguard, Engin Sever, as the Turkish officials are walking toward their vehicle. Ariyak dies instantly and the bodyguard dies on the way to the hospital. A spokesperson for the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs states, "We deplore this violent and criminal incident and hope those responsible are brought to justice." A statement by the U.S. Department of State referred to the killings as "brutal murders" and added, "The inviolability of diplomatic and consular personnel and their premises, is fundamental to the conduct of foreign relations, and to the maintenance of international order. We condemn all acts of violence and we hope the guilty parties will soon be brought to justice." JCAG claims responsibility, stating the killings were " in retaliation for the injustices done to Armenians by the Turks in 1915." No arrests were ever made.

18. May 4, 1982 - Somerville, Massachusetts, United States: An Armenian gunman assassinates Turkish Honorary Consul Orhan Gunduz while he waits in his automobile in rush-hour traffic. The gunman escapes. JCAG claims responsibility. The assassination occurs six weeks after Mr. Gunduz was wounded in a bomb attack at his gift shop, Topkapi Imports, on March 22, before which JCAG threatened that Mr. Gunduz either resign as a Honorary Consul or be executed. Salespersons at Topkapi Imports comment that neither the store nor Mr. Gunduz had been given police protection despite the fact that the store had been the site of the prior bombing. To help solve the murder of Orhan Gunduz, local television and newspapers utilized a composite drawing based on information provided by a witness in order to apprehend the assassin. When the witness was subsequently gunned-down, all community efforts to help apprehend the assassin came to a halt. The Somerville Police Department and FBI were never able to apprehend the assassin.

19. July 14, 1983 - Brussels, Belgium: Armenian gunmen assassinate Turkish Embassy Administrative Attaché, Dursun Aksoy, while in his automobile waiting at a traffic light. ASALA and the "Armenian Revolutionary Army" of the JCAG claim responsibility.

20. July 27, 1983 - Lisbon, Portugal: Five Armenian gunmen - "The Lisbon Five" - storm the Turkish Embassy in Lisbon, killing a Portuguese law enforcement officer and wounding another. A Turkish security officer kills one gunman -Vatche Daghlian. Unable to take the Embassy chancery building, the four remaining gunmen - Setrak Ajemian, Ara Kuhrjulian, Sarkis Abrahamian and Simon Yahniyan - occupy the Embassy residence building, where they take the Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM), Yurtsev Mihcioglu, and his family hostage. As the four remaining gunmen plant explosives in the residence building, the wife of the DCM, Cahide Mihcioglu, accidentally detonates one of the bombs killing the four gunmen. Mrs. Mihcioglu also dies in the blast, while her husband Mr. Mihcioglu and son, Atasay Mihcioglu, survive their wounds. The "Armenian Revolutionary Army" of the JCAG claims responsibility for the attack, but blames Portuguese Prime Minister Mario Saores for the deaths of the Portuguese law enforcement officers and the five JCAG members.

21. April 28, 1984 - Teheran, Iran: Two Armenian gunmen riding a motorcycle open fire on a diplomatic spouse, Isik Yonder, as he drives his wife, Sadiye Yonder, to the Turkish Embassy where she works. Isik Yonder is killed and Sadiye Yonder is injured. ASALA claims responsibility.

22. June 20, 1984 - Vienna, Austria: A bomb explodes in a vehicle owned by the Assistant Labor and Social Affairs Counselor of the Turkish Embassy, Erdogan Ozen, killing Ozen and seriously injuring five Austrian nationals, including two law enforcement officers. The "Armenian Revolutionary Army" of the JCAG claims responsibility for the attack.

Category 4: Attempted Killing of Turkish Diplomat, Perpetrator[s] Not Arrested, But Responsibility Claimed by Armenian Terrorist Organizations

23. April 17, 1980 - Rome, Italy: In an assassination attempt, an Armenian gunman shoots the Turkish Ambassador to the Holy See, Vecdi Turel, seriously wounding him. The Ambassador's chauffeur, Tahsin Guvenc, is also wounded in the attack. JCAG claims responsibility.

24. August 5, 1980 - Lyons, France: Two Armenian gunmen storm the Turkish Consulate General and demand the location of the Consul General. When the Turkish doorman does not answer, the gunmen kill him, then open fire in the waiting lounge, killing one and wounding 11 visitors. ASALA claims responsibility.

25. April 3, 1981 - Copenhagen, Denmark: An Armenian gunman shoots Turkish Embassy Labor Attaché, Cavit Demir, as he is entering his apartment building. Mr. Demir is seriously wounded but survives after a series of operations. ASALA and JCAG claim responsibility for the attack.

26. March 28, 1984 - Teheran, Iran: Two Armenian gunmen attempt to assassinate Turkish Military Attaché, Master Sergeant Ismail Pamukcu, as he leaves for work, seriously wounding the diplomat. ASALA claims responsibility.

27. March 28, 1984 - Teheran, Iran: Two Armenian gunmen attempt to assassinate Turkish Embassy First Secretary, Hasan Oktem, seriously wounding the diplomat. ASALA claims responsibility. PKK-Armenian Relations




Changing their tactics after the '80s as they encountered adverse reactions from the world. Now, it was time for the PKK to carry on the mission. Their first terrorist act started at Eruh and Semdimli in 1984 while the ASALA-Armenian terror receded to the background. Some of the tangible proofs of the ties between Armenians and PKK are the following:

The terrorist organisation PKK announced the period from 21 to 28 April 1980 as the "Red Week" and started to organise meetings on April 24 as the anniversary of the alleged genocide against Armenians.

The PKK and ASALA terror organisations held a joint press conference on 8 April 1980 at the City of Sidon in Lebanon where they issued a declaration. Since this drew a considerable reaction, they decided that their relations should be maintained on a clandestine basis. The responsibility of the attacks launched against the Turkish Consulate General in Strasbourg on 9 November 1980 and the Turkish Airline office in Rome on 19 November 1980 were undertaken jointly by the ASALA and PKK.

Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the separatist terror organisation, was elected to the honorary membership of the Armenian Authors' Association for "his contributions to the idea of Greater Armenia."

...

An agreement was concluded between the separatist terror organisation PKK and Armenians in 1987. Following are the highlights of this agreement:

1. Armenians will be involved in training activities within the PKK terror organisation.

2. Five thousand American Dollars per annum will be paid to the PKK terror organisation per capita by the Armenian side.

3. The Armenians will participate in the small-scale operations.

As the Armenian component began to acquire a significantly elevated position within the organisation as a result of this agreement, the following resolutions were adopted in a meeting held on 18 April 1990 with a person named Hermes Samurai, reported to be the official responsible for the PKK-ASALA relations:

1. The PKK and ASALA terrorist organisations will be under a joint command from that date on.

2. The Armenians will undertake intelligence work on the Turkish security forces.

3. Territories gained through the expected revolution will be equally shared between the parties.

4. Seventy-five percent of training camp expenses will be borne by the Armenians.

5. Operations will be conducted at the metropolitan cities in Turkey.

The terrorist organisation PKK that moved its bases into Northern Iraq after because of very heavy blows dealt in the transborder operations and lost all possibilities of sheltering there is known to have entered into arrangements for shifting some of its cadres to Iran and Armenia where it started an active subversive operation toward Turkey.



Holdwater: Greece, too, was a supporter of the PKK... although she kept denying the fact in typical Greek fashion. (Until the embarrassing moment when Greece got caught with her pants down, in the last hours before Abdullah Öcalan was captured. Then the rampaging Kurds in Europe mainly targeted Greek embassies in the next few days, because they must have felt the Greeks let them down.

These anti-Turkish groups are all working in collusion. This is why, among arguments for the Armenian "Genocide," the argument for the "genocide" against the Kurds is never far behind. (Turkey's beef was not with the country's Kurds... but the terrorist group, PKK, which only pretended to speak for the Kurds.) Meanwhile, the lazy-thinking and prejudiced West buys these sob stories almost automatically, so perfectly cast has Turkey been in the role of the "villain." (Even the West had to belatedly recognize the PKK as a terror group, however... very belatedly.)





Armenian terror targeted Turkish diplomats and their families, but their terror spree from 1973 to 1987* led to deaths, injuries, and property damage in nearly two dozen nations, in over two hundred terror incidents. More on Murdered Turkish Diplomats.

(*Attacks continued into the1990s, as well.)


© Holdwater tallarmeniantale.com/diplomats.htm ----------------------------------------------------------