Turkey on Friday remembered one of its ambassadors who was martyred in a terror attack in Vienna in 1975.
Danis Tunaligil was assassinated in a heinous attack on Oct. 22, 1975, by the ASALA [Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia] and JCAG [Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide; terror groups.
"As Turkish diplomats and representatives of Turkish society in Vienna, we once again condemn these heinous terrorist attacks in the strongest terms," said current Turkish Ambassador to Austria Ozan Ceyhun at a ceremony at the Turkish Embassy.
Ceyhun noted that Tunalıgil was the first diplomat at the level of ambassador who was martyred in attacks by Armenian terror groups.
A total of 77 people, including 58 Turkish citizens, were killed in attacks by Armenian terrorists in the 1970s and 1980s, said Ceyhun, adding that Turkey is the only nation that has lost so many diplomats in terror attacks.
Armenian terror organizations have martyred 31 Turkish diplomats and family members since the 1970s.
The vast majority of attacks were conducted by the ASALA and JCAG terror organizations.
ASALA, founded in 1975, was the first Armenian terror group to wage war against Turkey.
It not only targeted Turkey but other countries and became infamous for a 1975 bomb attack at the Beirut office of the World Council of Churches.
The JCAG was formed in 1975 in Beirut. But it is nationalistic, not Marxist-Leninist like ASALA.
Claiming that it only received support from the Armenia diaspora rather than foreign partners, the JCAG only targeted Turkey because it believed that attacking other countries would damage the so-called "Armenian struggle."
It initially gained notoriety by claiming responsibility with ASALA for the attack on Tunaligil.
*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz.
