According to press news, Vazgen Sislan who says that he is among the leaders of ASALA, has stated in a press conference in Yerevan that ASALA continues its struggle against the enemy (against Turkey) with a different method, that they maintain their position as soldiers and that if necessary, they will begin the war against Turkey again. From these statements, it can be deduced that the Armenian terror organization ASALA maintains its existence in Yerevan and still carries on an unarmed struggle against Turkey, but if necessary, could also wage an armed struggle; in other words, could resort to terror. First we should deal with the person uttering those statements. His real and full name is Vazgen Sako Sesliyan, he is a Lebanese Armenian. He was the leader of an Armenian terror group consisting of four people who had attacked the Turkish Consulate General in Paris on 24 September 1981, murdering consulate guard Cemal Özden, seriously wounding Vice Consul Kaya Inal, and taking 56 people hostage for 15 hours. Sesliyan who had used the name Aleks Alekian during this operation had eventually surrendered just as the other members of the group had and was condemned to prison for seven years as a result of the case concluded two years after the consulate’s attack. This incident had created a serious problem back then between Turkey and France for reasons such the Turkish representative offices in France not being sufficiently protected and for rather soft punishments like imprisonment for only seven years of those being accused of murder. A majority of the Armenian terrorists who were arrested for their activities against Turkish diplomats, have not returned to their own countries after coming out of prison, but have moved to Armenia which provided them with employment and housing. Sesliyan has also done this and has spoken against Turkey at every given opportunity, and has also expressed, although implicitly, that they can restart their activities of terror. Could Armenian terror start again? The current conditions are much different than those in the 1970’s and 1980’s when people refrained from condemning acts of Armenian terror, particularly in Europe. Especially with the effect of the attack on the Twin Towers in New York on 11 September 2001, public opinion has become very sensitive to terrorist events. Therefore, it is no longer possible to tolerate new initiatives of terror as it was done in the past. On the other hand, an independent Armenian state coming into existence has also created a change. Since it will not provide them with any benefits, Armenia will not support activities of terror being conducted against Turks and Turkey’s interests. Moreover, in the case of new Armenian terrorist initiatives beginning, there is also the possibility to hold Armenia responsible, by expressing that Armenia does not take any action to prevent these. In relation to why members of ASALA, who generally maintained their silence, has started to voice their ideas now, it is possible to state since Turkey has been highly criticized in Armenia for not ratifying the Protocols and implementing them, members of ASALA have tried to take advantage of this situation and to raise their own voices.
© 2009-2024 Center for Eurasian Studies (AVİM) All Rights Reserved
No comments yet.
-
D.L. PHILLIPS’S DIPLOMATIC HISTORY OF THE TURKEY-ARMENIA PROTOCOLS 3
Ömer Engin LÜTEM 28.03.2012 -
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE FILMS FAIL TO WIN ACCLAIM
Ömer Engin LÜTEM 08.09.2014 -
THE RUSSIAN MILITARY BASE IN ARMENIA (2)
Ömer Engin LÜTEM 24.08.2010 -
THE RESOLUTION OF THE SWEDISH PARLIAMENT
Ömer Engin LÜTEM 11.03.2010 -
YEREVAN IS CRITICIZING TURKEY
Ömer Engin LÜTEM 17.06.2010
-
TURKEY BECAME THE 11th LARGEST PARTNER OF THE NEW ASIAN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT BANK
Ali Murat TAŞKENT 21.01.2016 -
ABUSING THE MEMORY OF ARSHALUYS (AURORA) MARDIGANIAN
Turgut Kerem TUNCEL 09.04.2015 -
D.L. PHILLIPS’S DIPLOMATIC HISTORY OF THE TURKEY-ARMENIA PROTOCOLS 2
Ömer Engin LÜTEM 27.03.2012 -
BOTH SIDES IN SYRIA ARE TARGETING CIVILIANS, U.N. REPORT SAYS
Hande Apakan 18.03.2014 -
INTERNATIONAL FIRST WORLD WAR SYMPOSIUM (TURKISH-RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE) HELD ON 12-15 NOVEMBER 2015
AVİM 25.11.2015
-
THE TRUTH WILL OUT -
Türk-Ermeni İlişkileri Üzerine Ömer Engin Lütem Konferansları 2023 -
Türk-Ermeni İlişkileri Üzerine Ömer Engin Lütem Konferansları 2022 -
RADİKAL ERMENİ UNSURLARCA GERÇEKLEŞTİRİLEN MEZALİMLER VE VANDALİZM -
PATRIOTISM PERVERTED -
MEN ARE LIKE THAT -
BAKÜ-TİFLİS-CEYHAN BORU HATTININ YAŞANAN TARİHİ -
INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARS ON THE EVENTS OF 1915 -
FAKE PHOTOS AND THE ARMENIAN PROPAGANDA -
ERMENİ PROPAGANDASI VE SAHTE RESİMLER -
Türk-Ermeni İlişkileri Üzerine Ömer Engin Lütem Konferansları 2021 -
A Letter From Japan - Strategically Mum: The Silence of the Armenians -
Japonya'dan Bir Mektup - Stratejik Suskunluk: Ermenilerin Sessizliği -
Türk-Ermeni Uyuşmazlığı Üzerine Ömer Engin Lütem Konferansları 2020 -
Anastas Mikoyan: Confessions of an Armenian Bolshevik -
Sovyet Sonrası Ukrayna’da Devlet, Toplum ve Siyaset - Değişen Dinamikler, Dönüşen Kimlikler -
Türk-Ermeni Uyuşmazlığı Üzerine Ömer Engin Lütem Konferansları 2019 -
Türk-Ermeni Uyuşmazlığı Üzerine Ömer Engin Lütem Konferansları 2018 -
Ermeni Sorunuyla İlgili İngiliz Belgeleri (1912-1923) - British Documents on Armenian Question (1912-1923) -
Turkish-Russian Academics: A Historical Study on the Caucasus -
Gürcistan'daki Müslüman Topluluklar: Azınlık Hakları, Kimlik, Siyaset -
Armenian Diaspora: Diaspora, State and the Imagination of the Republic of Armenia -
Ermeni Sorunu Temel Bilgi ve Belgeler (2. Baskı)
-
EU-TÜRKİYE COOPERATION IN CENTRAL ASIA AND SOUTH CAUCASUS: TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE ENGAGEMENT IN ENERGY AND CONNECTIVITY -
AVİM 2023 YILLIK RAPOR | ANNUAL REPORT -
ÇAĞDAŞ BATI AVRUPA AKADEMİ DÜNYASINDA IRKÇILIĞIN VE YABANCI DÜŞMANLIĞININ ARAŞTIRILMASININ ZORLUĞU: FRANSA ÖRNEĞİ
-
CONFERENCE TITLED “HUNGARY’S PERSPECTIVES ON THE TURKIC WORLD"