Secret Armies and Revolutionary Federations: the Rise and Fall of Armenian Political Violence, 1973-1993 Christopher Gunn
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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2014 Secret Armies and Revolutionary Federations: The Rise and Fall of Armenian Political Violence, 1973-1993 Christopher Gunn Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES SECRET ARMIES AND REVOLUTIONARY FEDERATIONS: THE RISE AND FALL OF ARMENIAN POLITICAL VIOLENCE, 1973-1993 By CHRISTOPHER GUNN A Dissertation submitted to the Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2014 Christopher Gunn defended this dissertation on July 8, 2014. The members of the supervisory committee were: Jonathan Grant Professor Directing Dissertation Mark Souva University Representative Michael Creswell Committee Member Will Hanley Committee Member Edward Wynot Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii To Felix and Maxim iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Over the last eight years, I have become indebted to a number of individuals and organizations that helped, assisted, and encouraged me as I pursued my doctorate in history and this research project in particular. Without them, I would never have completed this journey. I owe a special thanks to the late Daniel Walbolt, and his spouse, Sylvia, who have generously supported the Department of History at Florida State University, and who provided the means for my fellowship at the University. I am extremely grateful for the patience and guidance of my advisor, Dr. Jonathan Grant, who, among countless other attributes, had the patience to bear with me as my research topics changed over the years. My entire committee: Dr. Michael Creswell, Dr. Edward Wynot, Dr. Michael Souva, and Dr. Will Hanley, provided me with invaluable insights, suggestions, comments and, most preciously, their time, during my years at FSU, and for that I am very appreciative. I would also like to thank Dr. Norman Zucker for first encouraging me to continue with graduate school and pursue a doctoral degree, and Dr. Elna Green for her time and assistance as I transitioned disciplines. My colleague, Hendry Miller also deserves special thanks. While I was away from Tallahassee the last four years, Mr. Miller never failed to answer my emails, even though it usually meant an administrative task or a library trip that took time away from his own work and research. Additionally, I want to thank those who lent their assistance to this research project. The U.S. Department of State’s amazing Critical Language Scholarship Program provided me with a foundation in Turkish language and culture unlike any other. The International Dissertation Research Fellowship from the Graduate School at Florida State University enabled me to live in Turkey for an academic year while conducting research. Finally, the Department of History at Florida State University provided funding for two important research trips to archives in California. Many individuals also lent their time and assistance to me over the last four years. I would like to thank Dr. Umut Uzer for introducing me to the academic community in Ankara; Dr. Hakan Yavuz and the University of Utah for providing opportunities to present my research; Dr. Ilhan Uzgel, Dr. Bestami Bilgiç and Dr. Kemal Çiçek for their feedback, suggestions, time, and hospitality; Dr. Türkkaya Ataöv for an account of his own personal experiences; Dr. Levon iv Avdoyan, at the African & Middle Eastern Reading Room at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, who assisted me with the Spurk archive; Aslan Yavuz Şir, for tirelessly searching out and connecting me with the retired Turkish Foreign Ministry personnel who worked and lived through this period of violence and who were gracious enough to recount their experiences for me; Ambassador (ret.) Sina Baydur; Ambassador (ret.) Ömer Engin Lütem, Ambassador (ret.) Bilal Şimşir, and Ambassador (ret.) Nuri Yildirim. Ambassador Yildirim’s office was a treasure trove of newspaper clippings, primary documents and other material, many of which produced more questions than answers. Finally, on a more personal level, I would like to thank my family. First my parents, James and Susan Gunn, who have unfailingly supported and encouraged my education and academics, even as the second decade slipped into the third and fourth, and when it meant traveling to Ankara and Antalya to spend time with their grandchildren. My sons, Felix and Maxim, who did the best they could to understand what, exactly, their father does for a living, and why it involves so many books and trips to far away places. The greatest thanks and appreciation, however, goes to my wife, Anett. Without her sacrifices, support, patience, and, most importantly, tolerance, this journey would have ended much differently. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. vii ARMENIAN POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY .............................. 1 THE ARMENIAN QUESTION, 1945-1965 ................................................................................ 13 THE RADICALIZATION OF THE ARMENIAN CAUSE, 1965-1973 ..................................... 64 THE RISE OF ARMENIAN POLITICAL VIOLENCE, 1974 – 1979 ...................................... 109 THE RISE OF ARMENIAN POLITICAL VIOLENCE, II, 1979 – 1983 ................................. 207 THE FALL, 1983 – 1988 ............................................................................................................ 279 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 319 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 327 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ...................................................................................................... 332 vi ABSTRACT Between 1973 and 1988, ASALA and the ARF waged a campaign of violence against Turkey and its citizens. These terrorist organizations killed approximately 90 individuals and wounded hundreds more through a combination of attacks that spanned North America, Europe, the Middle East and the south Pacific and targeted ethnic Turks, assets of the Turkish government, and Turkish business interests. By the early1980s, these two organizations earned reputations as the most dangerous, savage and mysterious terrorist group in existence. Armenian terrorism, however had virtually no chance of reaching its publicly stated goals. ASALA and the ARF demanded acknowledgement of the Armenian genocide; reparations for the families of the victims; and possession of eastern Anatolia. Contrary to their aims, the Turkish government was not going to revise their history, and the prospect of violating the territorial sovereignty of the Turkish Republic inconceivable. Yet, Armenian terrorism thrived for over a decade before abruptly fading away in the second half of the 1980s. Making use of the primary documents now available, this work will analyze the reasons why ASALA and the ARF took up arms in 1975, how they sustained themselves, and why they suddenly disappeared. It will argue that Armenian terrorist was the end result of a policy of aggressive nationalism based on anti-Turkishness that was introduced in 1959 used for short-term and local political gains. Recognizing the success of this new policy, the ARF continued to promote anti-Turkishness throughout 1960s and early 1970s. After witnessing the positive response to the increasing violence and the emergence of favorable international conditions, the ARF embraced violence as means to obtain their ultimate political goal: eastern Anatolia. At the very same time, three Armenian intellectuals and a young Armenian terrorist with experience in various Palestinian organizations were creating a new terrorist organization of their own, ASALA. ASALA and the ARF/JCAG operated for over a decade, and were able to sustain themselves because of the steadfast support of the Armenian diaspora for a terrorist campaign that killed Turks. The campaigns finally ended after the violence not only became an end in itself, but had turned the two groups against each other in an inter-group struggle that decimated their ranks. vii CHAPTER 1 ARMENIAN POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY Between 1973 and 1988, the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) and the armed wing of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), first as the Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide (JCAG) and later as the Armenian Revolutionary Army (ARA) led one of the most unique terrorist movements to emerge out of the eastern Mediterranean and Europe during the early 1970s. These terrorists killed approximately 90 individuals and wounded hundreds more through a combination of assassinations, bombing campaigns and violent assaults that spanned North America, Europe, the Middle East and the south Pacific and targeted ethnic Turks, assets of the Turkish government, and Turkish business interests. Before fading in the late 1980s, ASALA and the JCAG/ARA were linked to various militant Palestinian factions, as well as other international terrorist organizations, international