CALIFORNIA-BASED ARMENIAN MILITIA SPARKS TURKISH FEARS

[Yervant1]

CALIFORNIA-BASED ARMENIAN MILITIA SPARKS TURKISH FEARS

by Yigal Schleifer

 

EurasiaNet.org

Sept 19 2011

NY

 

Today's edition of the Turkish daily Sabah has a very provocative

scoop. According to the paper, an Armenian group in the United States

is working to revive the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation

of Armenia (ASALA), a terrorist organization that was active in the

1970's and 80's and which was responsible for several fatal attacks

on Turkish diplomats during that period.

 

ASALA has been dormant since the early 1990's, but the Sabah article

claims to have exclusive information that shows that a neo-ASALA

is being created in rural California by an organization called the

American Armenian Militia. According to the Sabah, the group has some

1,000 members that it is training to be assassins and commandos. The

article also hints that this "neo-ASALA" may be supported by Israel,

in order to punish Turkey for their recent falling out, and that

Turkish Prime Minister will be raising the topic of the group's

activities during his upcoming trip to the United Nations' General

Assembly. All sensational stuff, to be sure. But is it true?

 

To find out a bit more, I did something the author of the Sabah

article didn't do, which is call the American Armenian Militia (AAM)

for comment. By dialing a toll-free phone number given on the "Contact

Us" page of the group's website, I was able to reach the group's

founder, a 43-year-old electronics engineer in southern California

who, for fear of any more negative publicity, said he only wants to

be referred to as John S.

 

The Militia, he said, was founded in 2007 and currently has about

20 members, ranging in age from 17 (the youngest age allowed) to

retirement age.

 

"We're just an Armenian community organization. That's it. What we're

mostly trying to do is get us together and train to be ready in case

there's an earthquake or a disaster happens. We're actually trying

to get in touch with FEMA and get some training from them," says John.

 

"We're not here to kill innocent people and we're not terrorists. I

don't know what they're talking about comparing us to ASALA. We are

not ASALA."

 

John says the group has done some light military training, using

rifles legally registered by its members. A photo on the Militia's

website show a silhouetted man holding what looks like an AK-47. "The

little bit of military training that we do is minor stuff. The reason

we do it is if there was a war in Armenia we're the last option left

for Armenia, then we woud go," John says. "We have no problems with

Turkey. We're not here to go to Turkey and start a war or anything."

 

The question of the alleged support from Israel draws a big laugh

from the militia leader. "We don't deal with the Israelis, with the

Russians, with the PKK. That's so crazy. We're just regular family

people," he says. (Make that "regular family people" who like to

occasionally partake in target practice with AK-47's.)

 

If anything, the AAM's website makes the group sound very similar to

other American right-wing militias: concerned with supporting gun

rights and with protecting the US from foreign invasion and from

domestic "tyranny," an organization that reflects current American

political trends rather than those back in Turkey and the Caucasus,

which are probably better reflected by the misinformation provided

by Sabah's "scoop."

 

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/64192

[Yervant1]

AMERICAN ARMENIANS ARE FORMING NEW ASALA - TURKISH DAILY

 

news.am

Sept 19 2011

Armenia

 

ISTANBUL. - The American Armenians are forming an ASALA (Armenian

Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia)-like organization, which

will combat enemies of the Armenians and protect the US against foreign

danger, the Turkish Sabah daily writes. According to the paper, this

organization, called "The American-Armenian Legion," is very active

in the Internet, including Facebook and other social networks.

 

"According to information received by Sabah, this organization formed

by the Armenians has military discipline and they are undergoing

military training. There are 2-to-5-member groups that will carry

out assassinations and other military operations," the Turkish daily

writes, underscoring that the Turkish National Intelligence Service

has gathered information on this organization and the foreign ministry

has warned the US about this organization.

 

The daily also writes that Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who will

head for US to attend UN's convention, will raise this issue, too. The

Turkish daily also alleges that, aside from the US, this Armenian

organization also operates in Russia and Lebanon. "As a result of

the very tense Turkish-Israeli relations in recent periods, Israel

is also assisting this Armenian organization. If Turkey is able to

eliminate the PKK (Kurdish Workers' Party), certain external forces

intend to implement Plan B, and bring forth the new ASALA formed by

the Armenians," the Turkish Sabah writes, alluding to Turkish National

Intelligence Service data

[Nvard]

vor Hayastan chlini, tesnes turq u azeri jurnalistnere inchov en zbaghvelu?

[MosJan]

 

TURKISH PAPER CLAIMS ASALA BEING REVIVED IN CALIFORNIA

• 
  "Neo-ASALA üyelerinin askeri eğitim kampı..." This is a Turkish headline appearing in the September 19 issue of the Turkish newspaper Sabah.Roughly translated - Members of the New ASALA Train at Military Camps.
   
  According to the Sabah article, an Armenian group in the United States is working to revive the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), an organization that was active in the 1970's and 80's.
   
  Yigal Schleifer has written a piece entitled "California-Based Armenian Militia Sparks Turkish Fears" in EURASIANET.org. Here's a preview:
   
  ASALA has been dormant since the early 1990's, but the Sabah article claims to have exclusive information that shows that a neo-ASALA is being created in rural California by an organization called the American Armenian Militia.
   
  According to the Sabah, the group has some 1,000 members that it is training to be assassins and commandos.
   
  It's an interesting and entertaining read.