The Turkish consulate attack (also known as Van Operation,Council of Europe, Documents, Vol. 1, May 1984, Report by Amadei, p. 9 hy, «Վան» գործողություն) was an attack on the Turkish

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth coun ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France, on 24–25 September 1981. According to a statement issued by

Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) was a militant organization active between 1975 and the 1990s whose stated goal was "to compel the Turkish Government to acknowledge publicly its responsibility for the Armenian genocide ...

, army's militants demanded to release

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

s in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

including two Armenian clergymen Father Manuel Yergatian and Pastor Hrant Guzelian and 10 non-Armenians.Guerilla threat to kill 40 in Paris siege, The Sydney Morning Herald, Sep. 25, 1981, p. 3

Takeover

The attack began about 11:30 a.m. when four members of

, calling themselves a "Yeghia Keshishian Suicide Commando",Armenians Surrender After Killing 1, Holding 50 in Paris. The Washington Post. September 25, 1981, Friday, Final Edition took over the consulate, killing a Turkish guard, wounding the Turkish

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

, and taking 56 people

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...

.The Hundred Year's War. Newsweek. October 5, 1981, United States Edition. Section: International; Pg. 56 The consulate, a nine-story building on the

Boulevard Haussmann Boulevard Haussmann, long from the 8th to the 9th arrondissement, is one of the wide tree-lined boulevards created in Paris by Napoleon III, under the direction of his Prefect of the Seine, Baron Haussmann. The Boulevard Haussmann is mostly ...

, not far from the

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...

, was surrounded by dozens of French policemen a few minutes after it was seized.

Sharpshooter A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with " marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" ...

s took up positions on buildings opposite the consulate, and the area was cordoned off by riot policemen, causing huge traffic jams. Several buildings adjoining the consulate were evacuated. The gunmen, who said they were members of an organization called

the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) was a militant organization active between 1975 and the 1990s whose stated goal was "to compel the Government of Turkey, Turkish Government to acknowledge publicly its responsibility for t ...

(ASALA), threatened to blow up the consulate building and everyone inside if the French police tried to intervene.60 held 15 hours in a siege in Paris
The New York Times. September 25, 1981, Friday, Late City Final Edition According to

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

, "the guerillas sent out a Turkish official from the consulate" to hand over a paper containing their demands to police. At the same time, in a statement issued and delivered to the

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

office during the siege, ASALA's "Suicide Commandos of Yeghia Kechichian" threatened that if Turkey did not release certain "Armenian

s," and if French authorities intervened in the consulate takeover, all of the hostages would be executed." The Turkish prisoners whose release the militants demanded were said to include two clergymen and five Turkish and five

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

"revolutionary fighters." The French and Turks knew from experience that they should take the

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

seriously. Based in Beirut, the Secret Army had claimed at least 136 attacks against Turks in the previous six years, including sixteen killings and scores of bombings in cities including

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Zurich and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. The radicals had killed six Turkish officials in Paris alone, starting with Ambassador

İsmail Erez İsmail Erez (28 September 1919 – 24 October 1975) was a Turkish diplomat who held several high-ranking posts in the Turkish Foreign Service. Life and career İsmail Erez was born on 28 September 1919, in Bakırköy district of Istanbul. His ...

and his chauffeur in 1975. The Armenian group sought to avenge the genocide of their people by

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Turkey's ambassador to France, Adnan Bulak, refused to negotiate, saying that Turkey holds no Armenian political prisoners. "We will not negotiate with

terrorists Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

. That is

Turkish Government The Government of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Hükûmeti) is the national government of Turkey. It is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative democracy and a constitutional republic within a pluriform multi-party ...

policy. We perhaps have some Turkish political prisoners of Armenian origin, but there are no Armenian political prisoners." The

French Government The Government of France (French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who i ...

started talks by telephone and through the consulate's windows. The Turkish guard

Cemal Ozen Cemal is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Jamal (Arabic: جَمَال jamāl) which means "beauty, charm". People named Cemal include: First name * Cemal Erçman (1896–?), Turkish weightlifter * Cemal Nalga (born 1987) ...

was released about six hours later to a police medical team, but he died shortly afterwards in a Paris hospital. Again and again, a militant appeared at a window to shout demands, holding a grenade in his left-hand, a pistol in his right hand—and shielding himself with a terrified hostage. Eventually, one of the injured militants emerged, flashing a

V sign The ''V sign'' is a hand gesture in which the index and middle fingers are raised and parted to make a V shape while the other fingers are clenched. It has various meanings, depending on the circumstances and how it is presented. When displa ...

and shouting, "I demand

political refugee The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another ent ...

status." Shortly after midnight, the militants' leader started the negotiations that led to the end of the ordeal at about 2 a.m. He was promised by French authorities that the four militants would receive

political asylum The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another enti ...

. "If we had refused asylum," explained Interior Minister

Gaston Defferre Gaston Defferre (14 September 1910 – 7 May 1986) was a French Socialist politician. He served as mayor of Marseille for 33 years until his death in 1986. He was minister for overseas territories in Guy Mollet’s socialist government in 1956� ...

, "they would have become desperate men." The next day, however, the French Government issued a statement saying that the men would have to stand trial on charges growing out of the assault, including the death of a Turkish guard. "However sorrowful the historical events that the perpetrators of this act invoked," the French statement said, the takeover "was an inadmissible assault on elementary

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

and becomes even more intolerable because once again Turkish

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

s assigned to France have been attacked." Coverage of takeover received one of the highest television ratings in France in 1981.

Charges and trial

The four militants were charged with the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

of a security guard and the attempted murder of the vice-consul. The men were also charged with the illegal detention of the 56 hostages and breaking arms laws. During the trial, demonstrations took place in Paris, in support of the defendants. They also received strong support from

Henri Verneuil Henri Verneuil (; born Ashot Malakian; 15 October 1920 – 11 January 2002) was a French-Armenian playwright and filmmaker, who made a successful career in France. He was nominated for Oscar and Palme d'Or awards, and won Locarno International ...

, Mélinée Manouchian, the widow of the

French resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

hero,

Missak Manouchian Missak Manouchian (Western hy, Միսաք Մանուշեան; , 1 September 1906 – 21 February 1944) was a French-Armenian poet and communist activist. An Armenian genocide survivor, he moved to France from an orphanage in Lebanon in 1925. ...

, and singer Liz Sarian.

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...

sent a letter to the court. Entering the court smiling, the handcuffed defendants all made the victory "V" sign with their hands. Defendant Kevork Guzelian told the court: "Whatever your verdict, our action is already a victory."Four Armenians sentenced in Paris. The Globe and Mail (Canada). February 1, 1984 Wednesday

Patrick Devedjian Patrick Devedjian ( hy, Պատրիկ Դեւեջեան; 26 August 1944 – 28 March 2020) was a French politician of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party. A close adviser of Nicolas Sarkozy since the 1990s, he was Minister under the Pri ...

withdrew from the mayoral election in Antony, to defend the four young Armenians in court. Devedjian and his team have ensured that the chairman of the court banned the participants of the hearings from calling the defendants ''terrorists'' instead demanding to use the term ''combatant'' (fighters). The four militants – Vasken Sako Sislian, Kevork Abraham Guzelian, Aram Avedis Basmajian and Hagop Abraham Dzhulfayan – were convicted on 31 January 1984 to 7 years in prison (including the years of their stay in detention pending trial). During the reading of the verdict, the majority of the participants (mostly Armenians) also got up upon hearing the words “accused, stand up”. Singer Rosy Armen sang “Wake Up, Lao”, and she was joined by the many voices of those present. The verdict received large resentment in Turkey. The international press alleged that the light sentences to four ASALA members charged with the takeover of the Turkish consulate in Paris were a part of a secret deal that French Socialist government struck with ASALA in January 1982. In exchange, ASALA undertook to conduct no further attacks on French soil, while the French government also granted ASALA the unrestricted use of French airports. Belief in this suspected agreement was further bolstered after Interior Minister Gaston Defferre called ASALA's cause "just". Sislyan, Guzelian and Dzhulfayan were released from the

Fleury-Mérogis Fleury-Mérogis () is a commune in the Essonne department in northern France, in the southern suburbs of Paris. The commune has the Fleury-Mérogis Prison, France's and Europe's largest prison. Population Inhabitants of Fleury-Mérogis are know ...

prison in France on August 5, 1986. The fourth convict – Aram Basmajian – committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

a year earlier and was buried at the

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figures ...

. The Armenians called their attack on the consulate "Operation Van," after the city which they traditionally regard as the symbol of resistance to the Turks. According to

Monte Melkonian Monte Melkonian ( hy, Մոնթէ Մելքոնեան; November 25, 1957 – June 12, 1993) was an Armenian-American revolutionary and left-wing nationalist militant. He was the leader of an offshoot of the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation ...

, at that time a member of ASALA who helped to plan and train commandos for the "Van Operation", this so-called "Van Operation" by the "Yeghia Keshishian Suicidal Commando" marked "ASALA's historic peak. It became the greatest single military/

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

success ever achieved in the history of the

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

...The post-Soviet wars
by Christoph Zürcher

References

{{Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia 1981 in international relations 1981 in Paris 1981 murders in France 1980s trials Armenia–France relations Consulate attack in Paris Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia Attacks on buildings and structures in Paris

Consulate attack in Paris Hostage taking in France Murder in Paris Murder trials September 1981 crimes September 1981 events in Europe Terrorist attacks attributed to Armenian militant groups Terrorist incidents in France in 1981 Terrorist incidents in Paris Trials in France 1980s murders in Paris