Turkish Diplomats Assassinated By ASALA Commemorated In Igdir

Consul General Mehmet Baydar and Consul Bahadir Demir, the first Turkish diplomats who fell victim to ASALA terror, were commemorated with a ceremony held Thursday in Igdir.

Citizens, representatives of civil organizations and reporters attended the ceremony held at the Genocide Monument and Museum in Igdir.

ASALA (Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia) was an Armenian terrorist organization which staged terrorist attacks on Turkish targets and assassinated Turkish diplomats between 1973 and 1986, aiming to force the Turkish government to acknowledge the so-called Armenian genocide and cede territory for an imaginary Armenia.

ASALA staged 110 terrorist attacks in 21 countries, killing 5 Turkish ambassadors, 34 Turkish diplomats, 4 foreigners and injuring 15 Turkish citizens and 66 foreigners.

Turkish Consul General in Los Angeles Mehmet Baydar and Consul Bahadir Demir were assassinated by a 73-year-old Armenian-American named Gurgen Yanikiyan in 1973.

Yanikiyan who contacted Baydar and Demir said he wanted to give the portrait of Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid to Turkey as a present. Yanikiyan who met Baydar and Demir at the Baltimore Hotel in Santa Barbara assassinated the Turkish diplomats with a pistol.

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