The Armenian Revolutionary Army (ARA) (in
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
Հայ Յեղափոխական Բանակ (ՀՅԲ) - pronounced Hay Heghabokhakan Banak) was an
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
militant
The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...
organization that attacked at least 7 times resulting in at least 6 fatalities and 8 injuries.
The group took responsibility for the gunning down of Turkish Embassy attache
Dursun Aksoy in Brussels (1983), an
attack on Turkish embassy in Lisbon (1983), and the
attack on the Turkish Embassy in Ottawa (1985).
Armenian Revolutionary Army is thought to be the continuation of the organization
Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide
Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide (JCAG) ( hy, Հայկական Ցեղասպանութեան Արդարութեան Մարտիկներ, ՀՑԱՄ) was an Armenian militant organization active from 1975 to 1987.
JCAG conducted an interna ...
(JCAG)
[MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base]
under a different name. As JCAG stopped taking responsibility in communiques from 1983 on, it was the Armenian Revolutionary Army that carried on with the military activities.
Operations
A library in Lisbon, Portugal was bombed in 1970. This was the first attack claimed by the ARA. But as the next attack claimed by the same-named organization occurred only in 1983, many have questioned if this was actually related to the organization established in the 1980s as a continuation of JCAG or whether they were two different organizations happening to use the same name ARA.
In 1983, Armenian Revolutionary Army claimed responsibility for an attack on the Turkish Embassy attache
Dursun Aksoy who was gunned down in Brussels.
ARA took responsibility for the
1983 Turkish embassy attack in Lisbon against the
Turkish embassy in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
on 27 July 1983. It resulted in the death of 7 people, including all 5 attackers known in Armenian sources as "The Lisbon five" (Setrak Ajamian, 19 years old; Ara Kuhrjulian, 20; Sarkis Abrahamian, 21; Simon Yahniyan, 21, and Vache Daghlian, 19).
On 12 March 1985, ARA claimed responsibility for the
attack on the Turkish Embassy in Ottawa. Three ARA gunmen who attacked the
Turkish embassy in Ottawa,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
were Kevork Marachelian, 35, of
LaSalle,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, Rafi Panos Titizian, 27, of
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, and Ohannes Noubarian, 30, of
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
. They surrendered to police.
ARA's last attack occurred in 1985.
See also
*
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 ...
*
Justice Commandos Against Armenian Genocide
Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide (JCAG) ( hy, Հայկական Ցեղասպանութեան Արդարութեան Մարտիկներ, ՀՑԱՄ) was an Armenian militant organization active from 1975 to 1987.
JCAG conducted an internat ...
References
{{Authority control
Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Defunct Armenian paramilitary organizations
Armenian militant groups
Organizations based in Europe designated as terrorist
Social Democrat Hunchakian Party