Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide (JCAG) () was an Armenian militant organization active from 1975 to 1987.841 F. 2d 959 – United States v. Sarkissian
JCAG conducted an international campaign of attacks against Turkish representatives and interests, primarily in Europe and North America, killing numerous attachés of the Turkish government. JCAG's stated reason for these attacks was the establishment of an independent Armenia that included historically Armenian areas and official recognition of the Armenian genocide by Turkey.Starving Armenians: America and the Armenian Genocide, 1915–1930 and After, p. 166 by Merrill D. Peterson Barry Rubin, Barry M. Rubin, Judith Colp Rubin, "Chronologies of modern terrorism, M.E. Sharpe, 2008, p. 68
By 1983, JCAG is generally thought to have transformed into the Armenian Revolutionary Army (ARA) as either a renaming or continuation, with communiques and military activities claimed under that name until 1985.MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base The organization committed a single attack in 1986 under the name Greek-Bulgarian-Armenian Front, and is believed to have unofficially dissolved the following year.
History Affiliation with Armenian Revolutionary Federation Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide (JCAG) and the following Armenian Revolutionary Army (ARA) are generally thought to be the armed wing of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), a left-wing Armenian nationalist and Pan-Armenian political party established in the 19th century, which at the time sought the independence of Armenia from the Soviet Union.Francis P. Hyland, Armenian Terrorism: the Past, the Present, the Prospects, Boulder-San Francisco-Oxford: Westview Press, 1991, pp. 61-62; Yves Ternon, La Cause arménienne, Paris: Le Seuil, 1983, p. 218; The Armenian Reporter, January 19, 1984, p. 1. The JCAG and the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), a Marxist-Leninist group, were the two major Armenian groups who carried out attacks mostly against Turkish targets in retaliation for the Armenian genocide in 1915; their goals were the recognition of the genocide by the Turkish government and the establishment of an independent Armenian state that would have included parts of Turkey. The ARF was instrumental in the creation of the First Republic of Armenia in 1918, which existed for two years until it was annexed by the Soviet Union, the successor state of the Russian Empire which had previously ruled eastern Armenia. After the Soviets came to power, the ARF leadership was exiled, where the organization maintained its existence internationally through the Armenian diaspora.
Armed campaign Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide (JCAG) carried out attacks from 1975 to 1987, and according to Gary LaFree the peak of their attacks occurred in 1980. The existence of JCAG was discovered in May 1976, when a member was killed by his own bomb in the headquarters of ARF in Paris.Yves Ternon, p. 221 It was confirmed when French political scientist Gaïdz Minassian was allowed to consult the archives of ARF for his doctoral thesis.Gaïdz Minassian, Guerre et terrorisme arméniens, Paris, Presses universitaires de France, 2002, pp. 32-34 and 106-109. In several occasions, the official newspapers of ARF in the United States, France and Lebanon justified the "armed struggle" and published official communiqués of JCAG.Asbarez, April 24, May 1st and 22, 1973; Haïastan, July 1981 and special issue on Sassounian affair, February 1984; The Armenian Weekly, August 21, September 17, December 10 and 24, 1983, January 14 and 28, 1984 and December 31, 1986.Haïastan, February and April–May, 1983
The legal branches of the ARF fundraised to pay the lawyer costs of arrested JCAG members, the most famous case being Harry Sassounian, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the assassination of the Turkish general consul in Los Angeles.Michael M. Gunter, "Pursuing the Just Cause of their People". A Study of Contemporary Armenian Terrorism, Westport-New York-London, Greenwood Press, 1986, pp. 70 and 74; "More Than $70 000 Raised for Hampig Sassounian Defense Effort", Asbarez, 25 février 2002. According to Dashnak newspaper Asbarez (October 15, 1983), several dozens of thousands of Armenians (ARF sympathisers and militants) participated to the Sassounian solidarity groups. French ARF organized a demonstration in front of US consulate in Lyon, in protestation against Sassounian's arrest.« Soutien à Sassounian (Lyon) », Haïastan (Paris), juin 1982, p. 6. The ARF also supported Harutyun Krikor Levonian and Alexander Elbekyan, who were sentenced to twenty years imprisonment for the assassination of Galip Balkar, Turkish ambassador to Yugoslavia, in Belgrade, and Max Hraïr Kilndjian, sentenced to two years imprisonment as an accessory in the attempted murder of the Turkish ambassador to Switzerland.Yves Ternon, pp. 223-224.
In 1982, an attempt to bomb the building of Turkish consulate in Philadelphia was stopped by the FBI. The leader of the group, Vicken Hovsepian, was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment, a sentence confirmed in appeal."Court Finds Four Armenian Youth Guifly of '82 Attempt on Consulate", The Armenian Reporter, October 18, 1984; Verdict of appeal court In January 2001, another leader of the American ARF, and former chairman of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), Mourad Topalian, was sentenced to 37 months imprisonment for illegal storing of weapons and explosives for JCAG.Armenian Terrorists at Work in USA, NBC, 2005; JCAG's activities were concentrated in European and North American countries, targeting Turkish interests, mainly the assassination of Turkish diplomats.Geopolitical and -Economic Changes in the Balkan Countries - Page 75 by Nicholas V. Gianaris
In 1983, the JCAG took the name of "Armenian Revolutionary Army (ARA)", and like before, ARF-affiliated press published ARA communiqués as well as articles supporting its aims.Michael M. Gunter, pp. 56-61; Francis P. Hyland, p. 62; Gaïdz Minassian, p. 92; Global Terrorism Database.The Armenian Weekly, July 14, October 12 and November 19, 1984.Aram Khaligian, "The Necessities of Violence and National Culture in the Liberation Struggle," The Armenian Weekly, 31 December 1986, p. 15; Haïastan, April and December 1985, December 1986.
Every year the ARF organizes international ceremonies in honor of the five ARA members who attacked the Turkish embassy in Portugal, especially in Glendale, Los Angeles, in New Jersey, Beirut, Paris and Décines-Charpieu.Gaïdz Minassian, op. cit., p. 93.The Armenian Weekly, February 6, 1984, pp. 6-7; "Lisbon 5 Commemoration and Ceremony for the Repose of Souls Held in Lebanon", Asbarez, July 27, 2004; "Sacrifice of Lisbon 5 Remembered at Glendale’s Saint Mary Church", Asbarez, July 27, 2008; "Community Remembers Sacrifice of Lisbon 5", Asbarez, August 1st, 2008; http://www.fra-france.com/index.php?page=article&id=55 ; http://www.fra-france.com/index.php?page=article&id=36 ; After three ARA perpetrators of attack against Turkish embassy in Ottawa were sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole for 25 years, ARF attacked the verdict.Haïastan, December 1986.
Under the name of "Greek-Bulgarian-Armenian Front", the JCAG perpetrated two attacks in Australia: the bombing of Melbourne's Turkish consulate, for which ARF member Levon Demirian was sentenced and served 10 years in prison, and the bombing of a mail sorting facility in Brisbane, on January 19, 1987.Police Life Magazine, December 2006.
Attacks October 22, 1975, Vienna, Austria: Turkish Ambassador to Austria, Daniş Tunalıgil, was assassinated in his office.Global Terrorism Database; Gaïdz Minassian, Guerre et terrorisme arméniens, Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 2002, p. 44; Michael M. Gunter, "Pursuing the Just Cause of their People. A Study of Contemporary Armenian Terrorism, Westport-New York-London, Greenwood Press, 1986, p. 68. October 24, 1975, Paris, France: Turkish Ambassador to France, İsmail Erez, was assassinated. His car's driver Talip Yener was also killed in the attack.Global Terrorism Database; Gaïdz Minassian, ibid.; Michael M. Gunter, ibid. May 28, 1976, Zürich, Switzerland: Two bombs caused extensive damage to the office of Garanti Bank and of Labor Attaché of Turkish embassy.Armenian Terrorism: the Past, the Present, the Prospects, Boulder-San Francisco-Oxford: Westview Press, 1991, p. 111 May 29, 1977, Istanbul, Turkey: a double bombing in railroad station and airport killed five persons and wounded 64.Yves Ternon, La Cause arménienne, Paris: Le Seuil, 1983, p. 221; Armand Gaspard, Le Combat arménien, Lausanne: L'Âge d'homme, 1984, p. 75. June 9, 1977, Rome, Italy: Turkey's Vatican Ambassador, Taha Carım, was assassinated.Global Terrorism Database; Michael M. Gunter, ibid. June 2, 1978, Madrid. Spain: Turkish Ambassador to Spain Zeki Kuneralp's car was attacked. His wife Necla, retired Turkish Ambassador Beşir Balcıoğlu, and their driver, Antonio Torres, were killed. Kuneralp was not in the car.Global Terrorism Database; Michael M. Gunter, ibid. Christopher Walker wrote that "as with all terrorism, often murdered shockingly inappropriate people, such as the wife of Zeki Kuneralp, whose family had been instrumental in seeking rapprochement between the different nationalities of post-Ottoman Turkey".Armenia. The Survival of a Nation, London-New York: Routledge, 1990, p. 380 October 12, 1979, The Hague, Netherlands: Ahmet Benler, son of the Turkish Ambassador to the Netherlands Özdemir Benler was assassinated.Global Terrorism Database; Michael M. Gunter, ibid. Responsibility for the attack was also claimed at the same time by the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA). December 22, 1979, Paris, France: Turkish attaché for tourism in France, Yılmaz Çolpan, was assassinated.Global Terrorism Database; Michael M. Gunter, ibid. January 20, 1980, Madrid, Spain: several bombs exploded at Madrid Airport, injuring twelve people.Francis P. Hyland, p. 153. February 6, 1980, Bern, Switzerland: Turkish Ambassador to Switzerland Doğan Türkmen was attacked. Türkmen escaped with minor wounds. Max Hraïr Kilndjian was sentenced as an accessory to two years imprisonment by the tribunal of Aix-en-Provence.Comité de soutien à Max Kilndjian, Les Arméniens en cour d'assises. Terroristes ou résistants ?, Marseille: Parenthèse, 1982 April 17, 1980, Rome, Italy: JCAG gunmen opened fire on the Turkish Ambassador to the Holy See, Vecdi Turel, seriously wounding him, and slightly injuring his bodyguard, Tahsin Guvenc. October 6, 1980, United States: Harut Sassounian attempted to kill the Turkish general consul, Kemal Arikan. Sassounian was sentenced to 6 years of jail; his brother Hampig "Harry" Sassounian assassinated Kemal Arikan in 1982 and was sentenced to life imprisonment (he was granted parole in 2021).Global Terrorism Database; Michael M. Gunter, p. 82