Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide #CR0002411 (Also... Some alternate names are aliases, other are names for specific subgroups or cells). Armenian Revolutionary Army JCAG ARA Source: CIA, EuroTer, Interpol, MI-6 Type: Political terrorist organization Scope: A sporadic, but very violent terrorist organization, the JCAG has committed a series of assassinations and bombings mainly targeting Turkish personnel and facilities worldwide. [Interpol] Affiliations: The JCAG has expressed solidarity with other movements such as the Basque ETA [#CR000998] and the Turkish Kurds, whether the JCAG maintains operational ties with other groups is not known. [EuroTer] Recent intelligence reveals the JCAG still maintains connections as far as shared information with the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia [#CR0001430]. [MI-6] Personnel: Unknown. Believed small, numbering 100 worldwide [CIA] Operating Since: 1975 Structure: An organization of scattered cells of operatives, numbering four to six members each. Leaders: Unknown. Legitimate Connections: None known outside of the international Armenian community Resources: Smallarms, explosives and some military equipment. Excellent intelligence and training facilities. Good support and funding. Suspected Criminal Activity: The JCAG has committed a series of assassinations and bombings against Turkish personnel and facilities worldwide. Tactics usually favor ambushes of Turkish officials in or near their automobiles or bombings of Turkish facilities. In fear of negative Western public opinion attacks have limited to attacks on Turkish targets. Despite these intentions, other nationalities have been victims of JCAG terrorism. The first attack of the JCAG was believed to be the assassination of the Turkish Ambassador to Austria in his Vienna office, although the operation was also claimed by ASALA. Other actions against Turkish facilities soon followed beginning with the bombing of the Turkish Consulate and Turkish Garanzi Bank in Zurich. JCAG also bombed the offices of the Turkish airlines, the Turkish Tourist Bureau, and the Labor Attaché in Paris. In 1980 the group claimed responsibility for bombings in New York and Los Angeles. A car containing six sticks of dynamite exploded outside Turkey's United Nations mission in New York, injuring five people. Turkish Ambassador's worldwide were also assassinated or bombed including the assassination of the Turkish Ambassador to France, the Turkish Ambassador to the Vatican City, the wife, brother-in-law, and chauffeur of the Turkish Ambassador to Spain as their car was held up in Madrid traffic, wounded the Turkish Ambassador to Switzerland. Also assassinated the Turkish Consul General and his bodyguard in Sydney, Australia, the Turkish Consul General in Los Angeles as he drove to his office, Turkish Honorary Consul in Boston as he drove home, the Turkish Commercial Attaché and his wife as they parked their car in Lisbon, the Turkish Military Attaché in Ottawa, the Turkish Ambassador to Yugoslavia while his auto was stopped for a red light in Belgrade. Around 1983, a group called the Armenian Revolutionary Army (ARA) began claiming responsibility for anti-Turkish attacks and JCAG fell from use. Similarities to past JCAG attacks may indicate that ARA is a cover name for JCAG, including exploding a car bomb in Vienna, killing the Labor Attaché of the Turkish Embassy and injuring five. Killing the Turkish Deputy Director of the UN Center for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs as his car slowed for a red light in Vienna. Seized the Turkish Embassy in Ottawa, killing a Canadian security guard and holding 13 persons hostage before surrendering. In Los Angeles, a passerby was injured when a bomb damaged the travel agency owned by a man of Turkish descent. In July of 1983 the Turkish Embassy in Lisbon was seized, seven people were killed, including the wife of the Charge d'Affaires, a security officer, and the five terrorists. Additional Commentary: The JCAG is an Armenian nationalist revolutionary organization founded in 1975 seeking to re-establish an independent Armenian state within the territory occupied by the former Republic of Armenia during World War I within eastern Turkey. It has pursued this goal through attacks on Turkish diplomats and economic interests outside Turkey in the belief that Turkey bears responsibility for the slaughter of Armenians and the destruction of the Armenian Republic that occurred in 1915. JCAG differs from the other major Armenian terrorist group, the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia [#CR000] in two important respects: First, JCAG is primarily nationalistic rather than Marxist-Leninist. Therefore it has relied almost exclusively on private support from Armenian communities rather than state-sponsorship from countries hostile to Turkey. Second, the members of JCAG, being very westernized nationalists, value Western and world public opinion highly and therefore take pains to avoid harming non-Turkish nationals mindful of the potential harm such actions could render the Armenian cause. Nonetheless JCAG has conducted attacks on Turkish targets within the United States, making themselves felt there as a very serious terrorist threat to law and order. On 15 July 1983, the ASALA bombed Orly Airport near Paris, killing 7 and wounding over 60 bystanders. This event led to a crisis within ASALA as many members protested what they believed to be counterproductive violence against non-Turkish nationals. The dissenting faction became known as ASALA-Revolutionary Movement, to be distinguished from the mainline ASALA-Militant. Beginning also in July 1983, the name "Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide" dropped from use while actions similar to those of JCAG began to be claimed in the name of the "Armenian Revolutionary Army" (ARA). Many analysts believe that the JCAG merely changed its name to ARA and that it is essentially the same organization. It is also possible that members of ASALA- RM and JCAG may have amalgamated themselves into the new ARA.
RETURN TO MY TERRORIST PAGES
