"ASALA, the Nemesis for the Armenian Genocide"
Urban Guerrilla against Turkey
Paul Moussault & Barbara Sahakian
Քաղաքային Գերիլա՝ ընդդեմ Թուրքիայի
Փոլ Մուսսալտ & Բարբարա Սահակյանը
"In 2015 it is a century ago that the first genocide in modern history took place. This occurrence will be commemorated worldwide with, for instance, conferences, books, memorial services, films and new monuments. The erstwhile urban guerrillas will be both honoured and abused. The Armenian Republic and Turkey, arch-enemies still, will more than ever try to emulate each other to convince the world of their being right. Forty years ago, young Armenians took up arms in order to make the world sit up and take notice. The Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) proved that armed struggle could actually be an effective means of propaganda to influence public opinion in a positive way. However, this in fact could not last forever. What was then seen as a national struggle for freedom is now just called terrorism. For Turkey the ASALA is still a spectre; whenever something appears in the press about the Armenian Republic or the genocide, the government immediately warns against a renewed ASALA threat whereas this organisation has ceased to exist as an urban guerrilla in 1988. So far, there are no really serious books or comprehensive scientific treatises but only some superficial (counter) studies in Turkish and a few monographs.
The publication of ASALA, the Nemesis for the Armenian Genocide – Urban Guerrilla against Turkey will fill this gap."
