ANCA CAPITOL HILL VISITS INCLUDE CONVICTED FELON AND ARMENIAN TERROR LEADER TOPALIAN
Turkish Press
March 11 2008
In an apparent motion of condoning a convicted felon who
U.S. authorities linked to at least four terrorist attacks, the
Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) included Mourad Topalian
prominently in its recent meetings with Members of Congress.
According to ANCA press releases and other Armenian web sites, last
week Topalian was part of an ANCA-Western Region delegation visit to
Capitol Hill.
About Mourad Topalian
In the indictment, Federal authorities connected Topalian to at
least four terrorist attacks on U.S. soil: the October 12, 1980
bombing at the U.N. Plaza in New York City; the June 3, 1981 bombing
at the Anaheim Convention Center in Los Angeles; the November 20,
1981 bombing of the Turkish Consulate building in Beverly Hills;
and the October 22, 1982, attempted assassination of the Turkish
Honorary Consul`s office building in Philadelphia.
Topalian was a leader in the Justice Commandos of the Armenian
Genocide (JCAG), the militant wing of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF), for which ANCA serves as foreign agent in the
United States. According to the indictment, Topalian recruited
bombers and assassins from Armenian American youth, and provided
weapons demonstrations at Armenian Youth Federation summer camps in
Franklin, Massachusetts. He also sent Armenian youth to Beirut to
train in weapons and explosive tactics.
U.S. Marshals uncovered Topalian`s unsavory past when they connected
him to a storage locker in Bedford, Ohio that hid moldering high
explosives as well as machine guns and ammunition. The storage
locker was just 250 feet from a children`s day care center and also
dangerously close to a gas station, elementary school and public
highway. Federal authorities estimated that had the explosives ignited,
the explosion would have killed at least 500 people, mostly children
and highway drivers.
Topalian eagerly pleaded guilty to a three-year prison sentence and
three years of further supervised release — a plea bargain that
would not have been accepted if it had been made after the attacks of
September 11, 2001. United States v. Mourad Topalian, Case No. 1:99,
CR 358, The ATAA appeared at Topalian`s sentencing hearing
and submitted a Victim`s Impact Statement with supporting affidavits
of victims of Armenian terrorism and hate crimes. The Victims Impact
Statement, prepared and delivered by Constitutional Law expert Bruce
Fein, and International Law Fulbright Scholar and ATAA President-Elect,
Gunay Evinch, is available at
About Armenian Terrorism
Since 1974, Armenian terrorists have committed over 230 attacks,
killing over 70 and seriously injuring over 550 innocent people, as
well as causing hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage
worldwide, including in the United States. ANCA apparently feels
no remorse for these crimes committed in the name of anti-Turkish
hatred. In 1982, ANCA-WR Representative Leon Kirakosian condemned
the efforts of the FBI to arrest Armenian terrorists as "dirty work
against the Armenian people."
Two main groups compose the Armenian terror network: the Marxist,
Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) and the
ultranationalist JCAG. Both ASALA and JCAG have claimed responsibility
for mentioned attacks.
ANCA Today
In 2000, ANCA presented Mourad Topalian with the "Freedom Award" for
his "dedication to advancing the Armenian cause," praising his "unique
brand of leadership in driving forward and promoting Armenian history
and the cause of the Armenian nation." Unique indeed. ANCA`s adulation
of Topalian did not cease after his conviction. ANCA sponsored charity
events in honor of his legal defense fund and later welcomed him back
into the fold without a word of public censure.
ANCA`s condoning of Topalian`s crimes and Armenian terrorism present
a grave concern to American society. The legitimization of violence
and hate crimes by some Armenian organizations and by Armenia,
who recruits former JCAG and ASALA terrorists to its military and
militias in western Azerbaijan, creates a chilling effect on dialogue,
and should be carefully monitored by the authorities and policy makers.