|
|
An
Overview of International Terrorist Group Incidents in the United
States According to Group Classification 1980-1986. The Armenians
were second to the Anti-Castro Cuban Elements. Source: U.S. Dept. of
Justice (FBI): FBI Analysis of Terrorist Incidents in the United States,
1986. Washington, D.C. (Terrorist Research & Analytical Center —
Terrorism Section — Criminal Investigative Division), 1986, p. 53.
Chart from Armenian Allegations: Myth and Reality, ATAA, 1987.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1)
Fanatical Armenian Terrorists
2) Armenian Terror Tactics
3) Armenian Terrorist Enjoys Support of
Armenian Community
4) Another Armenian Terrorist: SASSOUNIAN
5) A
Tale of Two Criminals
6) Time
for Holdwater to Reflect
7) And
Now for a Little More Deny, Deny, Deny!
8) Official
Deception on Paris Bombings
9) French
Foil Turks’ Hunt for Terrorist
10) Postscript
for Another Armenian Hero
11) ASALA's
Day
Editorials and articles appeared in newspapers throughout the United States
for several days following the brutal murder of Turkish Consul General Kemal
Arikan on January 28, 1982 by an Armenian assassin. He was the third Turkish
diplomat to be slain in the USA, and the twentieth Turkish diplomat or family
member, up until that time, to be murdered throughout the world since 1973 by
Armenian terrorists. The Armenian Justice Commandos had claimed
responsibility.
 |
|
Kemal
Arikan (1928-1982): Murdered. |
On January 29th, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner
carried an article entitled “Pointless Rage.” It stated that the
killing of innocent people cannot be justified.
Kemal Arikan was innocent, as is the government he represented,
for it came into existence in 1923...
The article ended with this conclusion:
No sense of justice survives, only a blind urge to destroy.
On January 31st, Russell Warren House's article named “Death
in Westwood” appeared in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner.
He looked at the historical background of this latest Armenian assassination,
giving a detailed account of the last eight years and its roots.
|
|
|
| In 1977, the French newspaper Le Figaro, prompted by
Armenian outrages in France, investigated their background and came up with a figure
of 15,000 Armenians dead from shootings, sickness and deprivation on the march |
The Swiss writer, Pierre Moser, traces the Armenian
nationalist movement to 1853, when a group of Armenians in Paris set up an organization
whose objective was an Armenian state carved out of Russia, Syria, Turkey and Persia. The
movement, which soon became anarchic in the extreme, was encouraged by France, which was
eager to see that the spoils of the dying Ottoman Empire not go solely to Russia and
Britain.
With the outbreak of World War I, Armenian activists, hoping for a successful Russian
invasion of the Ottoman Empire, joined the tsar’s army, ambushed Turkish troops at home
and rioted in numerous Turkish cities.
Armenian sources tell pitiful narratives of Armenians who perished in the mutual
slaughter, while the Turks, armed with cameras, have left gory pictures of dead heaps of
Turkish soldiers and citizens, including women and children, who had been butchered by the
Armenians.
How many died on both sides is today the subject of conjecture, hype and myth. After the
war, the Armenians claimed they had lost 170,000 dead. Later the figure became half a
million. Today Armenian literature claims 2 million — about three times the population
of the province involved at that time.
In 1977, the French newspaper Le Figaro, prompted by Armenian outrages in France,
investigated their background and came up with a figure of 15,000 Armenians dead from
shootings, sickness and deprivation on the march.
Allegations of Turkish genocide of Armenians were raised in both the League of Nations and
the United Nations, but both bodies decided there was no basis to the charge.
ATA-USA / MARCH, 1982
|
ARMENIAN TERROR TACTICS
|
by Colman McCarthy
How many more Turkish diplomats will be killed by fanatical murderers from Armenian
terrorist groups? The question has a raw answer: as many as the terrorists think
they can put away without getting caught.
Since 1973, twenty-seven Turkish diplomats and members of their families have been
killed. Armenian underground killers take responsibility, saying they are avenging
the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians said to have occurred between 1915 and 1923 at
the hands of the Ottoman Turkish government.
The most recent slaying of a diplomat was in Brussels in mid-July, followed the next
day by a bomb explosion in Paris in which seven people were killed and 56 wounded
while waiting to board a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul. Last Wednesday in
Lisbon, the wife of a Turkish official was slain in a suicide attack in which five
Armenian terrorists died by their own violence. Four Turkish diplomats have been
killed in the United States. In May 1982, Orhan Gunduz, an honorary consul general
who had run a small business in a Boston suburb for 20 years, was gunned to death
while driving home from his store.
|
| In choosing
sides, we go against the Turks. Images of murderous sultans wielding thick-ended
sabers remain. |
Despite the large death toll and despite the pledges of
Armenian terrorists to send it higher, few displays of concern, much less supportive
indignation, have been offered to the Turks. By contrast, would public opinion be as
unstirred if 27 British diplomats had been killed by IRA gunmen, or if the 27 were Jewish
diplomats slain by Palestinian hit squads?
Turkish victimization can remain a minor issue because, first, Americans look at the
headlines about the latest killings and conclude that an ancient, inscrutable and
unstoppable feud goes on. The Turks and Armenians are blood enemies, we think—if we
think about the issue at all. In choosing sides, we go against the Turks. Images of
murderous sultans wielding thick-ended sabers remain. The stereotype of the savage Turk,
backed up by menacing Young Turks persists. Then, too, they are Moslem, dismissable as the
infidels of Western history.
To move beyond this intellectual laziness is to discover that the Turks deserve not only
more sympathy for what they are suffering at the hands of Armenian killers, but also more
support in their efforts to explain their position.
The talk of “genocide” that the Armenian terrorists throw around after they kill
another Turkish diplomat was echoed in Congress in late April in observance of Armenian
Martyrs Day. Nearly 40 members of the House made statements about the era of “modern
genocide” that the Turks supposedly brought on in the alleged killing of 1.5 million
Armenians. Liberals and conservatives were united in their certitude about the number and
that the Turks had actually committed the systematic extermination that is genocide.
Several members attacked the current Turkish government, demanding that it confess its
guilt.
This onrush of congressional concern for Armenians went too far. Among independent
historians and scholars, the events of 70 years ago, as World War I began, are not as
black and white as the congressional friends of Armenians made them out to be. One of
these historians is Justin McCarthy, a professor of Middle Eastern history and demographer
at the University of Louisville. He is on neither the Turkish nor the Armenian side. He
sides with whatever truth emerges from reliable research.
McCarthy states that the 1.5 million figure is inaccurate: “After the war, Armenian
sources said that approximately 600,000 Armenians had died, and this figure is much closer
to the truth. Turks were indeed killing Armenians in 1915. But Armenians were also killing
Turks, and indeed (in the war) many more Turks died than Armenians. Most who died on both
sides died more of starvation and disease than from bullets.”
McCarthy, a former Peace Corps volunteer in Turkey and the author of “Muslims and
Minorities” says that no documentation has ever been found to prove that a policy to
exterminate Armenians existed. “Everyone in this period around World War I was to some
extent guilty and some extent persecuted: Turks, Armenians, Kurds, Russians.” Last month
on public television McCarthy stated that, from his research, he found that about “600,000
Armenians died, 2.2 million Muslims died . . . This was a horrible time for everyone.”
None of this diminishes either the culture of Armenia nor the large contributions of
Armenians to American life. It suggests only that perspective is needed in this
complicated and at times, dimly lit issue.
The current Turkish government is trapped in a double bind. Its diplomats live in fear of
gunmen and its officials are frustrated in explaining a period of history that few in the
West care to study. A false impression has been created that Turkey is stonewalling the
facts of the past by not admitting that genocide occurred. In fact, it didn’t. Even if
historians agreed about the genocide, today’s Turkish government has no political or
philosophical ties to the old Ottoman Empire.
For a start, fair-minded historical analysis is needed. That won’t stop the terrorists,
but it will help to expose the full irrationality of their cause.
Copyright July 31, 1983, The Washington Post Company.
|
Armenian Terrorist Enjoys Support of the
Armenian Community
|
Topalian — A Quiet Observation
TO: The Plain Dealer
Dear Editor.
We were present recently to witness the sentencing of Mr. Mourad Topalian. an
Armenian American and former Clevelander, who was sentenced to a three year
imprisonment following the discovery of explosives belonging to him in a storage
facility located between a daycare center and a gas station Many of us were unable
to enter the courtroom because of limited seating. We stayed outside, observing the
many people, young and old, of Armenian descent, who came to show their support for
Mr. Topalian.
 |
|
Jailbird Mourad Topalian
|
We stood there, quietly observing the
people who are our friends in this country, which is a spectrum of all cultures. We
all have friends who are Armenians, whom we love and respect. There are many more
Armenians who live in today’s modem Turkish Republic in peace and harmony. Yet
ironically, by being present at the court as Turkish American families, none of us
could deny our fear for the safety of our loved ones because of hate crimes
perpetrated by certain groups who are still trying to persuade a new generation of
Armenians to dislike and distrust Turkish people. 73 innocent Turkish citizens and
bystanders have lost their lives since 1973 because of the actions of an Armenian
terrorist group known as ASALA. which acted as the judge and jury toward Turkish
citizens in order to avenge the alleged genocide. And what have these acts
accomplished? Will the killings bring back loved ones from a past of more than
eighty years ago? Do the killings justify the proposition that Armenians should be
given more land?
It was difficult for us to comprehend the passionate support for Mr. Topalian since
the occasion that day was his sentencing with connections to hate crimes, violence,
and terrorism. A historical fact that no one denies is that many Armenians did
perish during the First World War in that region. However, this represents only half
of the story because, as a number of American scholars stated in an open letter to
the U.S. House of Representatives in 1985, Armenian suffering cannot be viewed as
separate from the suffering experienced by the Turkish and other inhabitants of the
region. The weight of evidence uncovered so far points in the direction of a serious
civil war, complicated by disease, famine, suffering and massacres in Anatolia and
adjoining areas. The resulting death toll among all communities in the region was
immense. There are unbiased historical facts to support the events of the early
l900s. and the Turkish people will never accept that what occurred during those
years was a state-sponsored “genocide.”
We now live in America, a great country that has shown people that they are
interdependent and that they can live together harmoniously. We are trying, and have
tried very hard in the past to accomplish this with our Armenian friends as well.
Our main purpose of being at the court was to send the message to those who still
wish to foment hatred and violence in this generation: It must end. We do not know
why Mr. Topalian kept those explosives in that storage facility because he never
bothered to explain to the court. We are deeply disappointed that Mr. Topalian did
not deplore all acts of violence, and could not bring himself to state to the court
that he is against terrorism, of all kinds. The message we heard him say to his
supporters outside the court was, unfortunately, “keep the battle going”!
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Plain Dealer for presenting our
views on this issue.
Christine Congdou, and 8 friends
Beachwood, Ohio
From The Turkish Times,
February 15, 2001
-------------------------------------
Holdwater: Ah!
A news account filling us in more on Mourad:
Armenian terror:
What is the difference between this terrorist in a business suit and the ones that
blow up buildings in Oklahoma?
Friday, October 15, 1999
CLEVELAND (AP) - A prominent Armenian-American activist was charged with plotting
attacks against Turkish targets in the United States for two decades, including a
bombing that injured three in 1980.
Mourad Topalian, who has served as chairman of the Armenian National Committee of
America, was arrested Thursday on a five-count indictment charging him with
conspiracy, concealing and storing stolen explosives, improper storage of
explosives, possession of machine guns and possession of firearms with defaced
serial numbers. Topalian could get 31 years in prison if convicted.
The indictment charged Topalian with directing a group that stole weapons and
explosives used in a car bombing outside the Turkish mission to the United Nations
in New York City in October 1980. Three people were hurt.
U.S. Attorney Emily Sweeney said the alleged plot was intended to draw attention to
alleged atrocities that left up to 1 million Armenians dead in 1915 when Armenia was
ruled by the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Turkey denies committing genocide, saying any
deaths were the result of a civil war.
 |
|
Marshall
Pete Elliot got the goods on the
terrorist. In a 2005 NBC-DATELINE report,
Topalian was said to have accused Elliot
as "being against the Armenian cause"!
The explosives, dating back to the late
1970s, were deteriorating and highly volatile.
The marshall expressed that had the arsenal
ignited and exploded, it would have killed
at least 750 people, mostly children.
More than 500 Armenian-Americans packed
the courthouse halls in support, and ANCA
supported Topalian’s legal defense fund.
(Last two paragraphs from Günay Evinch's
2005 article, "The Armenian Cause Today.") |
Topalian, who works as an
administrator at a local junior college, appeared in U.S. District Court on Thursday
and declined to comment after he was freed on $100,000 bond. There is no phone
listing under his name on the address provided by the government and he could not be
reached today.
The investigation began with the 1996 discovery of weapons and explosives in a
suburban Bedford storage garage that was opened after the rent went unpaid for six
months.
According to the indictment, Topalian was questioned in 1988 about the New York
bombing and denied any involvement.
Topalian also was accused of sending people to Massachusetts and Beirut, Lebanon,
for weapons and bomb training. The indictment said Topalian demonstrated how to use
submachine guns at a camp in Franklin, Mass., in 1976 and 1977.
The indictment also mentions two 1981 California bombings in which no one was hurt
but it did not specify whether Topalian was involved. They were at the Orange County
Convention Center in Anaheim and the Turkish consulate in Beverly Hills.
Before taking a job at Cuyahoga Community College this year, Topalian worked as a
consultant to the president of Citibank Florida from 1995 and helped Miami attract a
$130 million federal job training grant. He attended a March 1996 White House coffee
session with other political and community leaders to discuss issues with President
Clinton, the White House confirmed.
------------------------------------
A disgruntled
Turkish-American, Fuat Noras, embellishes the above within the following excerpt of
a June 11, 2003 letter (to U.S. Rep. Dennis Hastert):
Mourad Topalian, chairman of ANCA, was accused of leading a group
which stole explosives and firearms and proceeded to bomb the Turkish Center at the
United Nations in New York, causing serious injuries to Turkish and American
citizens. Chairman Topalian was found guilty, struck a plea bargain to guilty of
stolen explosives and possessing firearms only; the charge of CONSPIRACY, which
would have created a more intensive investigation of ANCA, was dropped and Mr.
Chairman let his organization sneak away from the law. U.S. District Judge Ann
Aldrick sentenced him to a total of thirty-seven months in jail. This wonderful —
slap on the hand — sentence was celebrated by the Armenians. What sort of message
are we sending terrorists? Armenian terrorists in business suits in New York and
McVeigh of Oklahoma — terror is terror.
Chairman Topalian was accused by the prosecutor of sending young Armenians to MA and
Beirut for bomb and weapon training. He PERSONALLY demonstrated the use of a
submachine gun at a camp in Franklin, MS. in 1976-1978.
U.S. Attorney of Northern District of Ohio, charged Topalian with concealing more
than 100 lbs. of explosives stolen from a stone mine and stored in Bedford, Ohio
next to a BP gas station and 300 feet from a children's care center. Also, this
"gentleman" had two fully automatic uzi submachine guns and 1000 rounds of
live ammo. By the time this convicted felon committed his crimes, Mr. Aram Hamparian
— who is now Chairman — was Executive Director of the same organization.
|
Another Armenian Terrorist: SASSOUNIAN |
Sassounian Case Dissmisal Effort
Moves Ahead
LOS ANGELES — A motion to dismiss the retrial
of the special circumstance of the Hampig Sasssounian's life sentence was heard
Monday at the Criminal Courts building, as defense attorneys argued that the
prosecution does not have enough evidence to prove that national origin was a
motivating factor for the alleged crime, for which Sassounian is serving a life
sentence.
 |
|
Hampig
Sassounian
(evidently at time of
arrest, 19 years old.) |
Judge Robert Perry asked for further
briefing on the preliminary hearing that took place more than 20 years ago, during
which two jailhouse informants testified that Sassounian admitted to the murder of
Turkish Consul General to Los Angeles Kemal Arikan, because of his nation origin.
The only evidence on record from that hearing is the testimony of Geoffery Busch and
Manuel Cortez. Both of their testimony was proven false and both informants said
they were lying under oath.
Without the testimony of the two informants, there is no evidence that this was
racially motivated crime, therefore the charge must be dismissed, said Attorney Mark
Kassabian of the law firm of Geragos and Geragos, who is assisting lead trial
attorney Mark Geragos on the Sassounian defense.
Judge Perry will hear the briefing on Friday, after which he will rule on the motion
to dismiss.
Assistant District Attorney Gregory Dohi, who is prosecuting the case, went on
record Monday as saying that without the Cortez testimony there is no record in the
court, which would corroborate the claim of national origin.
"It was a good hearing," said Kassabian who opined that "I think when
the judge sees the whole picture of what went, he'll dismiss the case."
On February 22, the Sassounian Defense Committee organized a successful fund-raising
event, during which more than $70,000 was raised for the defense efforts.
The committee commended the community for its continuous assistance and urged the
community to come together and ensure that this case will yield the desired outcome
for Sassounian.
It appears Hampig Sassounian's conviction rested on the
testimony of two jailhouse informants. I'm getting the uneasy feeling of watching a
bad Mafia movie, here... the kind where the smug Don smilingly watches one previous
witness against him after another recant their testimony, out of fear of
repercussions, or because they have been paid off. We all know the word of convicts
are not usually to be trusted... but I find it an incredible coincidence that two of
them would have testified Hampig Sasssounian was the criminal, and two of them would
later admit they lied. What possible motivation would they have had to lie? Because
Hampig Sasssounian stole their soup during chow time? Maybe one of them could have
lied for some mysterious and inexplicable reason, but what are the chances of both
of them having lied?
Meanwhile, the Armenian community never wavers in its effort to pretend the
murderers in their midst are just innocent lambs... carrying on their proud
tradition from the years 1914-1916. I'm a little surprised all they were able to
raise for this case was a measly $70,000. Perhaps they raised more, and the rest had
to be shown as "off the books," channeled into less savory areas. (Sassounian's first trial netted $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.)
BUT HOLD ON A
MINUTE. After writing the above, it appears the terrorist admitted his guilt,
and his retrial was.... dropped! I knew there was something fishy going on. (By the
way, this is the fellow who murdered Kemal Arikan, whose photograph is on top of
this page.) And the Armenian community worked so hard to get him off... I don't get
it. Why did the Armenian assassin 'fess up when
freedom was so close, according to the previous article?
Los Angeles - The Associated Press, 21 October 2002
US prosecutors drop plans to retry assassin of Turkish diplomat Harry Sassounian
admitted for the first time Friday that he participated in the fatal shooting of
Turkish Consul General Kemal Arikan.
Prosecutors agreed to drop plans to retry a portion of their case against a man who
murdered a Turkish diplomat in 1982, instead giving him a chance at future parole in
exchange for his denouncing terrorism.
Harry Sassounian admitted for the first time Friday that he participated in the
fatal shooting of Turkish Consul General Kemal Arikan.
"I renounce the use of terrorist tactics such as the assassination of diplomats
to achieve political goals," Sassounian, 39, said at a hearing Friday. "I
regret the suffering of the Arikan family."
Superior Court Judge Robert Perry then sentenced Sassounian to 25 years to life in
prison. He will be eligible for parole Sept. 28, 2007, although prosecutors say they
may oppose his release.
The district attorney's office had intended to retry Sassounian on a special
circumstance allegation. If he had been convicted, he could have been sentenced to
life in prison without parole.
Two years ago, a federal appeals court upheld Sassounian's murder conviction, but
overturned the special circumstance conviction, which had contended he killed Arikan
because of his nationality. The reversal threw out Sassounian's sentence of life in
prison without parole.
Sassounian, then 19, was convicted of shooting Arikan at a Los Angeles intersection
on Jan. 28, 1982. A second gunman was never caught.
A jail informant testified that Sassounian told him he killed the 54-year-old
diplomat as revenge for the so-called Turkish genocide late in the 19th and early in
the 20th century.
Holdwater: although
Sassounian confessed in 2002, the site for the American Youth Federation Houston
branch still insists on this poor, innocent Armenian as having been railroaded (as
of July 2005); from an article entitled, "The Complete History of The
Armenian Youth Federation":
In 1982 Hampig Sassounian, a
19-year old AYF member from the Pasadena "Nigol Touman" Chapter, was
falsely arrested for the murder of the Los Angeles Turkish Consulate. Sassounian was
convicted even though the prosecution could not provide evidence, which proved he
was guilty. The case of Hampig Sassounian caused the community to unite for one goal
that represented the Armenians and their centuries old struggle for the
establishment of a free, independent, and united Armenia. Other similar cases that
involved the AYF members followed, such as the LA Five, which continued to cause
more interest in the Armenian Youth.
Subsequent to the writing above, a new TAT
page has been prepared on the LA-Five, linked at this page's bottom, and here as well. The man who currently
(late 2006) serves as chairman of ANCA-WR, Steven J. Dadaian, shares the exact name
and similar age of one of the L.A. Five, all of whom got off with a slap on the
wrist. The LA-Five, similarly composed of JCAG members recruited from the AYF (read
the humble philosophy behind the Armenian
Youth Federation's beginnings here; previously known
as the "Tzeghagron," they were patterned after the Hitler Youth)
was also connected in the assassination of Kemal Arikan. As armeniapedia.org's
page on Sassounian instructs: "Two Armenian gunmen assassinate Turkish
Consul General, Kemal Arikan." Who was the second? If the state was to make a
deal with Sassounian, too bad they didn't require him to reveal the identity of his
fellow murderer, who could have possibly been any one of the L.A. Five, all
of whom are enjoying a good life today. (The FBI figured if their last plot had
succeeded, 2,000-3,000 Americans would have been killed.)
ADDENDUM, 1-08: The transcript of Sassounian's recent parole hearing has been
posted on TAT, linked here
and on this page's bottom. Sassounian has revealed the name of his partner-in-crime,
a man alleged to have been killed not long after.
Consider the confessions of the 19-year-old Armenian terrorist Hampig
Sassounian, who murdered the Turkish consul-general in Los Angeles on January
28, 1982 and the 20-year-old Levon Ekmekjian, who was the surviving Armenian
terrorist in the attack at Ankara's airport in August 1982, where they
massacred 9 Turkish citizens and wounded 82 others. Their confessions clearly
illustrate how young Armenian minds are indoctrinated in a climate that
poisons ethnic relations and prevents peaceful co-existence in the community.
Sincerely,
Dr. Ferruh Demirmen
January 13, 2002
Excerpted from a letter
protesting a January 8, 2002 Los Angeles Times editorial,
supporting a "Glendale Armenian monument" commemorating the
so-called Armenian Genocide, on city property; the newspaper predictably and
ignorantly parakeets the Armenian claim of 1.5 million Armenian casualties.
|
Sam Weems on Sassounian
|
| A TALE OF TWO CRIMINALS |
…An unfortunate babysitter, Ms.
Gulertekin in Columbus, Ohio… was sentenced to 8 prison years in house arrest with
electronic shackles. Her crime was shaking a suffocating tot too severely while
trying to save his life. She has not tasted freedom ever since because her bail bond
was an astronomical 10 million dollars. I have also heard of a notorious Armenian
terrorist caught red handed with a storage depot full of explosives and ammunition.
The bomb he had manufactured had allegedly exploded in front of the Turkish office,
wounding three passersby in New York City. The Armenian Lobby and deep pocketed
supporters have found a way of freeing him from jail. You might think that terrorist
Murad Topalian's bail bond was perhaps twice as much as Ms. Gulertekin's, right? .
Think again. He paid a mere100 thousand dollars and he was free as a bird for a long
time before his incarceration at the end. I guess they prefer Armenians over Turks
in this democratic nation.
Professor Mahmut Ozan, from " ‘TO BE GREAT IS TO
BE MISUNDERSTOOD’ OR A LESSON TO THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW US”; reflecting on how the
American Justice System clamped down on the babysitter/au pair… the fact that she
had the misfortune to be Turkish likely did not help her case any. Was she a
murderer, or guilty of criminal neglect… or was she just the second victim in a
situation where a baby lay dead, and somebody had to pay? Who is the one between the
two who clearly wished to cause harm? Yet she gets eight years, and he got three.
|
| Time for Holdwater to Reflect |
It's important to remember Armenian
terrorist activities were not confined to the murders of Turkish diplomats and their
families.
Dr. Heath Lowry compiled a "Chronological
Breakdown of Armenian Terrorists Incidents 1973-1987," and it's pretty shocking.
I counted two hundred and ten separate terrorist acts, worldwide, almost always via deadly
bombs... leading to many injuries and much property damage. The targets were not always
Turkish, either.
I didn't study the long list, but I
happened to open the book where the listing was printed, and "Switzerland" kept
hitting my eye:
July 19, 1981
SWITZERLAND (Bern): A bomb exploded in a trash bin at the Swiss Parliament Building in
Bern. Subsequently, an anonymous caller claimed the attack was the work of the "Ninth
of June Organization."
July 20, 1981
SWITZERLAND (Zurich): A bomb exploded in an automatic-photo booth at Zurich's
International Airport. The attack was claimed by the "Ninth of June
Organization."
July 21, 1981
SWITZERLAND (Lausanne): A bomb placed in th "women's wear" section of a
department store in Lausanne injured twenty women shoppers. ASALA's "Ninth of June
Organization" claimed credit for the attack.
July 22, 1981
SWITZERLAND (Geneva): A bomb placed in a coin-operated locker at the Geneva Train
Station exploded, injuring four people. Law enforcement authorities credited the attack to
the "Ninth of June Organization."
July 22, 1981
SWITZERLAND (Geneva): A second bomb placed in a locker at the Geneva Railway Station
exploded approximately one hour after the first. Police had cordoned off the area
following the first explosion, thereby preventing injuries from the second. The Swiss
authorities also credited this second explosion to ASALA's "Ninth of June
Organization."
Not that Switzerland was the only victimized nation by a long shot;
the list goes on and on (England, Iran, Denmark, Lebanon, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands,
Portugal, Germany, Luxembourg, Canada, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Belgium, Austria, Australia,
Turkey and the United States...), but why was Switzerland hit so hard during the summer of
1981?
I hope the motive had nothing to do with one Armenian author's claiming, "The
Armenians are the former inhabitants of today's Switzerland." (Ruppen Courian,
Promartyrs de la Civilization, 1964, p. 27.) Since it's the Armenians who have mainly
created their own myth by writing
their own history, utilizing their traditionally trustworthy credibility, perhaps
after they realize they can't get their grubby hands on their "ancient homeland"
in "Turkish Armenia," they'll move on to another land-grab scheme with their
other "ancient homeland" in central Europe. Woe be to the Swiss!
These were the kinds of cowardly and fanatical attacks that claimed a friend of Erich
Feigl's as a victim, which led the
professor to write a few of the more valuable Western books (Chiefly, "The Myth of
Terror") that debunked the Armenian Myth. These were the kinds of cowardly and
fanatical attacks that spurred Artin
Penik, a brave Armenian Turk, to sadly and unfortunately commit suicide, to protest
the actions of terrorist groups such as ASALA.
Violence always breeds more violence.
Now that I have a better idea of the extent of the Armenian violence from the 1970s and
1980s, I can better understand how their terrorism became synonymous with the word
"Armenian," thus growing counter-productive to their "Con Job" of the
Armenian "Genocide." All such attacks magically came to a halt, as if directed
by a central headquarters... and not by out-of-control, loose cannon madmen. Once again,
the Armenians demonstrated themselves to be an uncanny, "one-voice" monolith,
with dissidents perhaps counted on one hand.
(And who can blame Armenians for challenging the terrorism that has become implicit with
their ethnic identity? Anyone who steps out of line could pay a high, fatal price...
especially if they are Armenian, and considered traitors to the cause.)
In Heath Lowry's "Chronological Breakdown of Armenian Terrorists Incidents
1973-1987," I noticed among the long list of victimized nations one entry for....
Greece.
Greece? Armenia's Orthodox buddy, and cut from the same cloth as far as their deceptive
and murderous methods of operation? (Some Armenians dislike
the Greeks, branding them as traitors for having signed the Lausanne Treaty...
forgetting that Armenia signed the Treaty of Leninakan (Gümrü) on December 3, 1920, which closed the
book on past ills, foregoing the issue of reparations. Who was guiltier in turning their
backs on the essence of the stillborn Treaty of Sevres, Armenians or Greeks? We'll let
them fight that out amongst themselves.)
I wondered exactly in what way Greece suffered at the hands of Armenian terrorists, and
out of the listing of 210 separate attacks, this second-to-last listing could be the only
one that could be considered "nice":
January 20, 1987
GREECE (Athens): On the occasion of its 12th Anniversary, the "Armenian Secret
Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), issued a message to the Armenian people, from
their headquarters in Athens, Greece. The message, which appears to have emanated from
ASALA's political arm, the Athens based "Armenian Populist Movement," names the
enemies of the Armenian people as "the Turkish fascist state, and its supporters,
international imperialism and Zionism..." The ASALA message received wide coverage in
the Greek press, including the pro-government English-language daily "Athens
News" which published quotes from the ASALA communique.
Well, isn't that heart-warming. And so much in keeping with Greece's
role as a supporter of terrorism. Naturally, as is the familiar Orthodox M.O., the Greek
government would deny, deny, and then deny some more whenever confronted with accusations
of their own terrorist inclinations and support... until a few years ago, when the nation
got caught with her pants down, with the arrest of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, in or
around a Greek embassy in Africa. (Man, did those angry European Kurds sock it to Greek
embassies and establishments the next few days!) But don't worry, fans of deceit; Greece
will live to deny, deny and deny again.
While we're on the subject, let's examine this topic of Greek support for terrorism a
little further, and the Greeks' tendency to be "honest" about the situation.
Armenian Reporter, July 30, 1987, p. 1.
Turks Accuse Greece for Providing Shelter to
Armenian Gunman Just Released by Yugoslav Authorities
NEW YORK, N.Y.—”Turkey last week accused Greece for continuing its support of Armenian
terrorists and said the latest evidence of this support is the shelter granted to Mr.
Krikor Levonian, the partially paralyzed Armenian gunman who was recently released from a
prison in Yugoslavia.
Mr. Levonian, who was given a long prison sentence for the 1983 assassination of the
Turkish ambassador in Belgrade, was released on April 24 from prison where he was confined
along with an associate, both members of the ‘Justice Commandos of the Armenian
Genocide.’ Soon after his release, according to Turkish sources, Mr. Levonian was
allowed entry into Greece, where Turks say Greek authorities offered him shelter and
provided the much needed medical treatment.
Turks assert this latest action on the part of Greece clearly indicates that that country
openly supports Armenian radicals who plan to stage terrorism against Turkish diplomats
and attack Turkish targets.
In a related development, the Athens based ‘Committee for the Defense of Armenian
Political Prisoners,’ a group that is affiliated with the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (Dashnag Party) finally admitted that Mr. Levonian was freed from imprisonment.
While the Committee did not disclose the circumstances that led to his release by the
Yugoslavs, it hinted that it was instrumental in securing his freedom. Earlier reports
that appeared in ‘The Armenian Reporter’ reported that groups other than Dashnag Party
affiliated groups had played a major role in securing the release of Mr. Levoniart
and.that his associate, still in prison, was also expected to be released in the near
future. Ironically, the committee apparently waited three months before formally
acknowledging that Mr. Levonian was released.”
(Translation:)
The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend.
(Even if it means going to bed with the killers of innocents.)
|
And
Now for a Little More Deny, Deny, Deny!
|
The New York Times
June 27, 1987, p. 4.
U.S. and Greece in Dispute on Terror
By ALAN COWELL
Special to The New York Times
ATHENS, June 26—A dispute developed today between Athens and Washington over
United States intelligence reports saying that Athens had, for several months,
conducted negotiations with the terrorist known as Abu Nidal. Greece rejected the
assertions.
The United States intelligence reports were presented at a meeting here Thursday
between the Greek Foreign Minister, Karolos Papoulias, and the United States
Ambassador, Robert Keeley, people with knowledge of the encounter said.
They declined to specify the nature of the reported negotiations with Abu Nidal.
They said the contacts were verified in what were termed hard intelligence reports.
Abu Nidal leads the Palestinian splinter group Al Fatah Revolutionary Council,
implicated in the 1985 airport bombings at Rome and Vienna that contributed to the
Reagan Administration’s decision to bomb Tripoli, Libya, last year.
No Formal link to Expulsion
The terrorist group was said to have maintained offices in Tripoli and Damascus.
Arab diplomats said recently that the Syrian authorities ordered Abu Nidal to close
his Damascus office shortly before this month’s Venice summit meeting of leading
industrialized nations, which was attended by President Reagan.
The United States has since indicated its readiness for improved relations with
Damascus, but has drawn no formal link to Abu Nidal’s reported expulsion from
Syria.
In Washington, State Department officials said that when Administration officials
learned about the contacts, the State Department drafted a strongly worded demarche.
The officials also expressed unhappiness with Greece’s dealings with Asala, the
Armenian Liberation Army, which has carried out terrorist acts against Turks,
although it is unclear whether that was included.
The people familiar with the meeting Thursday said Ambassador Keeley’s accusations
drew an instant protest from Mr. Papoulias, who was reported to have made several
telephone calls to Greek officials during the encounter to ascertain that the
assertions by the United States were untrue.
No Comment on Meeting
An official spokesman said Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou’s Government had
decided to make no official comment on the meeting.
The United States Embassy also declined formal comment on the accusations.
Abu Nidal was reportedly ordered to close his office in Damascus after a meeting
this year of the Palestine National Council, the Palestine Liberation Organization’s
so-called parliament in exile. Abu Nidal was said to be seeking to attend the
meeting along with other Palestinian figures who were prepared to defy President
Hafez al-Assad of Syria by reconciling with Yasir Arafat.
------------------------------
One nation that was hit particularly hard by Armenian terror
attacks was France. You might have read the findings of Le Figaro within the first
article of this page, where the number of Armenian dead during the
"Genocide" was found to be much lower than most prevailing notions. Maybe
the French newspaper desired to sock it to the Armenians, getting sick and tired of
being violently victimized by them, or maybe this could have been a moment of French
temporary insanity.... since France competes with my country, the United States of
America, as the biggest Armenian butt-kisser in the world. There is a huge Armenian establishment in France, as well as in the United
States, and cowardly, opportunistic politicians in both nations fall over each other
in kowtowing to the Armenians. Artin Penik, the Armenian-Turk mentioned above,
said in his deathbed interview:
My decision was to commit suicide in front of the French embassy, because it all
started with them at the beginning. If they had punished them at the right time,
they wouldn't have been spoiled that much. They ignored it to get votes.
Not too many Armenian assassins and terrorists have been caught, but those who were
often received remarkably lenient sentences, particularly in France and the United
States. Following a September 1981 attack, for example, 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.
Let me now segue to two articles appearing days apart, by crusading American
journalist Jack Anderson (working with a partner this time), who was famous for
exposing views not popularly heard in the United States. (America needs more
mainstream reporters like Jack Anderson, but since control is in the hands of a
handful of mega-conglomerates, The Land of the Free can only present the news from a
few select windows.)
|
| French
Foil Turks’ Hunt for Terrorist |
Official Deception on Paris Bombings
Jack Anderson and Dale Van Atta
The Washington Post (October 29, 1986), p. C12.
French officials are deliberately misleading their own people and the international press
about the true source of the terrorist bombings that have rocked Paris in recent months.
They may be trying to cover up a secret deal that the French hope will end the carnage.
Responsibility for the indiscriminate bombings, which killed 10 persons and wounded 162,
was claimed by an unknown group called the Committee for Solidarity with Arab and Middle
Eastern Political Prisoners. “With” may be the key word.
Each bombing was followed by a demand to release three terrorists held in French prisons.
Two, Georges Abdallah and Anis Naccache, are Maronite Christian Lebanese; the third,
Varadjian Garbidjian [sic. Varoujan Garabedian], is an Armenian Christian, born in Syria.
French officials from Prime Minister Jacques Chirac down have convinced the press that
Abdallah is the key individual. He heads a small terrorist group, the Lebanese Armed
Revolutionary Factions, but is charged with only minor crimes in France. There’s not
enough evidence on which to hold Abdallah for very long; the French will have to set him
free in a few years at most.
Naccache, who bungled an attempt to assassinate an lranian exile leader, is small
potatoes. He doesn’t even belong to a terrorist organization capable of a series of
bombings.
As for Garbidjian [sic. Garabedian], he is serving a life sentence, with no chance of
parole, for the 1983 bombing at Orly Airport outside Paris that killed seven persons. (Holdwater: The count was eight. As for the "parole," see
below.) He asserted responsibility for the bombing.
Garbidjian [sic. Garabedian] is a top leader—if not No. 1—of one of the deadliest
terrorist groups in the world: the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA).
In the last decade, ASALA assassins have killed more than 70 Turkish officials, family
members and bystanders, and have wounded more than 300 in attacks all over the world.
ASALA demands that the present Turkish government admit the genocide of Armenians during
World War I, and that an independent Armenian homeland be carved out of eastern Turkey.
Our sources, who are terrorism experts in various Western intelligence agencies, believe
Garbidjian [sic. Garabedian] is the French prisoner whose release is the crucial demand of
the Paris bombers. ln this scenario, Abdallah, the Lebanese terrorist, is just a red
herring to divert the press from a deal over Garbidjian [sic. Garabedian]. In fact, a
similar situation developed five years ago.
On Oct. 25, 1981, ASALA launched a series of 15 bombings in Paris to win the release of an
ASALA leader, Monte Melkonian, and better treatment for four other members charged with
the takeover of the Turkish consulate in Paris, in which a security guard was killed.
Our sources confirm that the French cut a deal with ASALA in January 1982. The bombings
stopped, Melkonian was set free and the four other ASALA prisoners were given light
sentences.
The truce blew up — literally — with the Orly Airport bombing. Although Garbidjian
[sic. Garabedian] tried to convince the French it was an accident, they sentenced him to
life. Our inquiries into the Garbidjian [sic. Garabedian] link have made French sources
nervous. Meanwhile, though, Chirac has succeeded in selling the story that Abdallah is
behind the bombings.
Holdwater: Ah. I see the light sentences mentioned earlier
could have stemmed from a French desire to negotiate with Armenian terrorists. It appears
the Armenian terrorists did not stick to their word. Surprise.
French Foil Turks’ Hunt for
Terrorist
Jack Anderson and Dale Van Atta
The Washington Post (October 31, 1986), p. E5.
France’s appeasement of terrorists has taken another ugly turn. The French refuse to let
Turkish counterterrorist investigators see photographs of the man who has directed the
slaughter of Turkish diplomats and their families.
For more than three years, Turkish intelligence officials have been pleading with the
French to give them a picture of the No. 1 Armenian terrorist, who used the nom de guerre
“Hagop Hagopian.”
for the Liberation of Armenia. Its goal is to force the Turkish government to acknowledge
what they claim was the 1915 genocide of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks, and
to establish an independent Armenian state in eastern Turkey.
ASALA was founded in Beirut in 1975 by the shadowy Hagopian, a Syrian-Armenian with
Marxist inclinations.
After the lsreali invasion of Lebanon in 1982, Hagopian fled and set up new bases in
Damascus and Athens. He also broke with the Palestine Liberation Organization, which had
given ASALA training and support. Hagopian linked up with Abu Nidal, the anti-PLO leader
responsible for much anti-American terrorism.
Hagopian has never given a face-to-face interview, and descriptions of him vary. A photo
of him would be of enormous value to the Turks, who have been trying to track him down.
The French secret services have obtained photographs of Hagopian. Intelligence sources
tell us that a top PLO leader, Salah Khalaf, slipped the French some pictures of Hagopian
and other Armenian terrorists in December 1982, following the ASALA-PLO break.
Using these pictures, the French were able to identify Hagopian when he visited Paris in
April 1983. They didn’t arrest him, but followed him to all his secret meetings and
compiled an extensive file on ASALA.
As we reported, the French cut a deal with ASALA in January 1982, releasing an Armenian
leader in return for an end to a series of deadly bombings. The truce was broken in July
1983, by the premature detonation at Orly Airport of a bomb terrorists say was intended to
go off aboard a Turkish airliner.
|
|
|
Garabedian; Hagopian was
probably another
(Photo Source: A Myth of Terror)
|
Using the information from their surveillance of Hagopian,
the French quickly rounded up 51 people linked to ASALA. One of them, Vardjian Carbidjian
[sic. Varoujan Garabedian], was sentenced to life for murder; he is one of three
terrorists whose release has been demanded by those responsible for the recent wave of
bombings in Paris.
One theory for the French refusal to give Hagopian’s picture to the Turks is that
Garbidjian [sic. Garabedian], the Armenian terrorist now in a French prison, may be the
elusive Hagopian. A photo of Hagopian would enable the Turks to prove this by comparing it
to pictures taken of Garbidjian [sic. Garabedian] at his trial.
The Hagopian/Garbidjian [sic. Garabedian] theory would explain the wave of Paris bombings.
ASALA (with a little help from Abu Nidal) wants its founder released; with the previous
deal as precedent, the Armenian terrorists figure they can win Hagopian/Garbidjian’s
[sic. Garabedian’s] freedom with a series of bombings.
Holdwater: Hagop Hagopian was assassinated on April 28, 1988 in Athens, Greece,
according to the Armenian Reporter. The murderous ASALA leader who didn't
care whether his victims were Turkish or anyone else was not the same person as Garabedian.
(Or... who really knows? The mysterious terrorist took the real name of the famous
Armenian novelist, Raffi.)
ADDENDUM, 1-07: The Armenian Reporter, citing a 1985 article
from Le Matin, claimed Hagopian was one of the terrorists taking part in the
"Munich Massacre" of Israeli athletes, and further stated the man's real name
was Bedros Ohanesian. Read more.
 |
|
The then
47-year-old "was greeted with rapturous
applause by dozens of supporters in Yerevan," as
he promised to do his best "for the realization
of our goals." (The Armenian Reporter) |
POSTSCRIPT FOR
ANOTHER ARMENIAN HERO: On May 7, 2001, Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markarian
expressed his "joy" at Garabedian's release from a French jail where he served
almost 18 years of a life sentence for his role in the 1983 bombing of the Turkish
Airlines Office at Orly airport. Garabedian, who was born in Syria, was released on the
condition that he be expelled to Armenia. The French daily "Liberation" reported
at the time of Garabedian's release that Yerevan Mayor Robert Nazarian had pledged to
provide him with employment and accommodation.
Garebedian, who was 29 years old at the
time, had confessed to planting the bomb, admitting that the intention was for the bomb to
go off once the plane was in the air. Garebedian's bomb that had exploded in front of the
Turkish airlines counter at Orly airport, on July 15, 1983, had killed eight people
(two Turkish) and wounded sixty one.
|
ASALA’s
DAY
|
While considering yet another of those infernal "Armenian
Genocide" resolutions in Congress, we hear from:
HON. CARROLL HUBBARD, JR. OF KENTUCKY IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Tuesday, October 9, 1984
Mr. HUBBARD: Mr. Speaker, I read an excellent editorial in the October 2 WaIl
Street Journal entitled, “ASALA’s Day,” which I urge my colleagues in the
House to read. Indeed, the points raised about considering resolutions in the House
and Senate that might be interpreted as endorsing terrorism against the diplomats of
a democratic ally, namely Turkey, are definitely worthy of our consideration.
The editorial follows:
ASALA’s DAY
In the 11 years since an Armenian terrorist campaign against Turkey began, 41
Turkish diplomats plus members of their families and other innocents have been
murdered.
The Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), one of the major
perpetrators, seems reasonably clear in its long-range goal, although its objectives
are sometimes clouded by factionalism. Its dominant faction wants to “liberate”
the eastern provinces of Turkey and incorporate them into the Soviet Union. This was
explicitly stated when the ASALA official journal editorialized: “Our forces never
strike against the Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia which is already liberated.”
NATO bases in eastern Turkey, just the region that ASALA wants to “liberate,”
are essential to any Western defense against a Soviet attack in the Mideast. The
Soviets poured more than a billion dollars of arms through Bulgaria into the hands
of both leftist and rightist Turkish terrorists during the 1970s in an attempt to
destabilize the bulwark of NATO’s southern flank. The Turks responded with martial
law and defused the threat sufficiently to allow the present movement back to
democracy. But there is no reason to believe that the Soviets have given up their
campaign to isolate Turkey from its NATO allies.
The U.S. Congress has managed to bumble into this nasty game.
Two bills now before that body seek to commemorate the large number of deaths of
Armenians in eastern Turkey during World War I. There can be little doubt that the
Armenian repression was a terrible chapter in history and perhaps the Turks have
been too insistent on denying guilt. But it was only one part of a global tragedy
that claimed nearly 15 million lives. Dredging it up now in Congress, some 70 years
after the event, may be a generous gesture toward Americans of Armenian descent but
is hardly an appropriate signal to U.S. enemies.
The milder version, sponsored by Rep. Tony Coelho (D., Calif.) and passed by the
full House, calls for April 24, 1985, to be a day to commemorate the Armenian
"genocide perpetrated in Turkey between 1915 and 1923.” In specific terms,
this bill would not directly affect U.S. policy.
But the bill that has recently passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee makes
no pretense of avoiding current policy implications. Sponsored by Sens. Carl Levin
CD., Mich.) and Pete Wilson (R., Calif.), Senate Resolution 241 calls for U.S.
foreign policy “to take into account the genocide of the Armenian people. No one
knows exactly what this means. According to his spokesman, Sen. Levin wants to link
U.S. aid to the Turkish record on human rights.
The Turks are understandably confused, worried and upset. The Senate bill
specifically says that the Ottoman empire and not the modern Turkish republic was
responsible for the killings of Armenians. So, perhaps, the Turks have reacted too
strongly to the threat of its passage. But, after more than a decade of terrorism,
they can be excused for suspecting that the bills are part of a wider political
agenda to separate Turkey from the West. In a week when Congress is examining ways
to prevent attacks on our embassies, it is particularly ironic to consider
resolutions that will be widely interpreted as endorsing terrorism against the
diplomats of a democratic ally.
ATA-USA/Fall 1984-Winter 1985, p. 8
|
| |
Click here
for a listing of murdered diplomats
Related: Dr. Heath W. Lowry's “Nineteenth
and
Twentieth Century Armenian Terrorism:
Threads of Continuity”
See also Dr. Lowry's Breakdown of
terrorist events
A Case Study in the Punishment of
Armenian Terrorists
A Parole Hearing of Hampig
Sassounian
|
|
