Turkish diplomats assassinated in Los Angeles by Armenian terrorists remembered

Memorial ceremonies were held in Los Angeles, California, to honor Turkish diplomats who were assassinated by Armenian terrorists in 1973 and 1982.

Memorial events held in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles

The Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles organized two separate ceremonies to commemorate the victims.

The first event took place in Santa Barbara, where Mehmet Baydar, Türkiye’s Los Angeles consul general, and Consul Bahadir Demir were assassinated on Jan. 27, 1973, by an Armenian terrorist. The second ceremony honored Consul General Kemal Arikan, who was killed on Jan. 28, 1982, at the location of his assassination in Los Angeles.

Attendees included Türkiye’s Los Angeles Consul General Sinan Kuzum, Azerbaijan’s consul general, members of the Southern California Turkish American Association (ATASC), and members of the Turkish community.

“Commemorated with respect Consul General Kemal Arikan, assassinated in a heinous attack by the Armenian terrorist organization JCAG on January 28, 1982. May God bless his soul,” the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles stated on social media platform X.

Consul General highlights past attacks on Turkish diplomats

During the memorial, Kuzum emphasized that Baydar and Demir were the first foreign ministry officials to fall victim to the Armenian terrorist organization’s acts. He noted that Armenian terrorists targeted numerous diplomats, their spouses, and children in similar attacks.

“As members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we continue to feel the deep pain of these losses,” Kuzum said.

History of attacks on Turkish Diplomats

The assassination of Consul General Baydar and Consul Demir in Santa Barbara in 1973 marked the first attack on diplomats/officials and their family members abroad.

The perpetrator, an Armenian-American named Gurgen Migirdic Yanikyan, carried out what was initially classified as an act of individual terrorism. However, the incident set off a wave of targeted assassinations against Turkish diplomats.

Consul General Arikan was later assassinated in Los Angeles in 1982 by Armenian terrorist groups. The majority of attacks on Turkish diplomats were carried out by Armenian terrorist organizations, such as the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) and the Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide (JCAG).

Armenian terror organizations have killed 31 Turkish diplomats and family members since the 1970s.  According to official data, a total of 77 people—58 of them Turkish citizens, including 31 diplomats and members of their family—lost their lives in attacks carried out by these terrorist organizations.

The vast majority of the attacks were conducted by the ASALA and the JCAG. ASALA, founded in 1975, was the first Armenian terrorist organization to wage war against Türkiye. It not only targeted Türkiye but also other countries and became infamous for a bomb attack on the Beirut office of the World Council of Churches in 1975.

The JCAG was formed in 1975 in Beirut.