User:QualityCabbage/sandbox

Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia

I.              Lead Section

ASALA's last and most recent attack took place in Brussels in 1997, where a group of militants claiming to be ASALA bombed the Turkish Embassy in the city.

II. Origins

The beginning of ASALA in 1975 is thought to correspond to the sixtieth anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in 1915.

1.     Needs a little more information relating the ASALA to Palestinian liberation groups like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine: ASALA had ties to Palestinian liberation groups such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a Marxist terrorist group in which ASALA founder Hagop Hagopian was rumored to have been a member in his youth. Through his involvement with Palestinian groups, Hagopian earned the nickname "Mujahed," meaning "Warrior." Hagopian's sympathetic connection with Palestinian liberation/separatist bolstered ASALA's goals and helped pave the way for ASALA's eventual training with the PLO.

2. In addition to Hagopian, another major figure in the establishment of ASALA was Hagop Darakjian, who was a driving force in the earlier operations of the group and headed the group for a period of time between 1976 and 1977 when Hagopian was unable to lead due to injuries sustained from his involvement with the Palestinians. 3.     Should make mention of the ASALA’s possible ties to other leftist groups like the Italian Red Brigades, the ETA, and Kurdish Worker’s Party: ASALA was rumored to have interacted with other leftist/Marxist terrorist organizations in Europe and Eurasia, including the Kurdish Worker's Party (KWP) in Kurdistan, the Italian Red Brigades, and the Spanish Basque liberation group ETA. In addition to having potential connections to leftist groups, ASALA also had ties to another Armenian terrorist organization, the Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide, who, while a right-wing nationalist group that often competed with ASALA, had similar political goals regarding Turkish punishment and the establishment of an Armenian homeland.

4. Differences from the Justice Commandos for the Armenian Genocide/Armenian Revolutionary Army

Because ASALA shared similar political goals with the right-wing terrorist group the Justice Commandos for the Armenian Genocide (also known as the Armenian Revolutionary Army), the groups are often compared or confused; however, ASALA sets itself apart from JCAG because of its Marxist/leftist ideology. ASALA often aligned itself with the Soviet Union, while JCAG's nationalist goals were more focused on establishing an independent Armenian state. Whereas JCAG wanted a free and independent Armenia separate from the Soviet Union, ASALA considered the Soviet Union a "friendly country;" because of this, ASALA was content with remaining a part of the USSR so long as the other parts of the Armenian homeland could be united within the entity of the Armenian S.S.R. Additionally, ASALA was much more prone to using explosives in its attacks rather than firearms as JCAG favored.

III. Political Objectives

1.     The main two political goals of ASALA were to get Turkey to recognize its culpability for the Armenian Genocide in 1915 and to establish a United Armenia, which would unite nearby regions formerly under Armenian control or with large Armenian populations. ASALA's goal to make Turkey pay for its actions against Armenians in the Armenian Genocide and throughout the Ottoman Empire's late history dictated many of the group's attacks, which were often against Turkish diplomats and citizens. Additionally, ASALA stated in a Cypriot newspaper in 1983 that it supported the Soviet Union and aimed to garner support from other Soviet republics toward the cause of eliminating Turkish colonialism.

IV. Attacks

1.     The Orly attack killed 8 and injured 55 people.

2.     Needs citation for the goals of Melonkian’s ASALA-Revolutionary Movement

3.     Should mention 1997 attack on Turkish embassy in Brussels

a.    Reactions

b.    Counteroffensive

1. Needs information here about the ASALA’s interactions and negotiations with the governments of countries they attacked, especially France: ASALA interacted and negotiated with a number of European governments during its peak time of activity in order to make political or organizational gains in exchange for a cessation of attacks. ASALA stopped its attacks in Switzerland on two occasions in order to expedite the release of certain Armenian prisoners, as well as after a Swiss judge disagreed with the Turkish government's refusal to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and other mistreatments of the Armenian people at the hands of the Turkish. ASALA also briefly agreed to stop attacks in France when it gave the government an ultimatum contingent upon granting four Armenian prisoners political asylum. When France did not agree, ASALA resumed its attacks, although the group again stopped its attacks when the French government eventually decided to give in to ASALA's requests. France was therefore free of ASALA attacks until the government arrested suspected bomber Vicken Tcharkutian, after which ASALA only agreed to temporarily halt its attacks once more when France did not extradite Tcharkutian to the United States. Additionally, ASALA negotiated with the Italian government in 1979 in exchange for a halt in attacks provided that Italy close its Armenian emigration offices. When Italy agreed to ASALA's request, it saw no further attacks from the group.

V.           Dissolution

1.     Although ASALA attacks all but stopped in the late 1980s as a result of the group's fragmentation and lack of support after the 1983 Orly attack, ASALA did still continue in a lesser capacity into the 1990s, even after the group suffered further disorganization after Hagopian's assassination in 1988. In addition to the ASALA-claimed 1991 attack on the Turkish ambassador in Budapest, ASALA's last claimed attack (although some members of ASALA have refuted this) was in Brussels in 1997. Bombers attacking under the name Gourgen Yanikian (which was traditionally associated with ASALA) bombed the Turkish embassy in Brussels. ASALA has been inactive ever since.

VI. Publications/organs

VII. In culture

VIII. See Also

IX. References X.           External Links

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