Gourgen Yanikian facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gourgen Yanikian
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| Born |
Gourgen Mkrtich Yanikian
December 24, 1895 |
| Died | February 27, 1984 (aged 88) |
| Occupation | Engineer, author |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Motive | Revenge |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder (2 counts) |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
Gourgen Mkrtich Yanikian (Armenian: Գուրգէն Մկրտիչ Եանիկեան, December 24, 1895 – February 27, 1984) was an Armenian genocide survivor. He is known for the killing of two Turkish government officials, Consul General Mehmet Baydar and Consul Bahadır Demir. These officials were seen as denying the Armenian genocide. The events happened in Santa Barbara, California, in 1973.
Yanikian was sentenced to life in prison but was released on parole in January 1984 due to poor health. Many believe his actions inspired the creation of the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA). This group was active in the 1970s and 1980s, carrying out attacks on Turkish diplomats. Their goal was to get the Turkish government to recognize the Armenian genocide and provide payments for the harm caused.
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Family Loss
Gourgen Yanikian was born in Erzurum in 1895. This was during a time of terrible attacks against Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, known as the Hamidian massacres. His family had to leave their home for safety. When they returned years later, his older brother, Hagop, was killed by two Turkish men.
Yanikian was studying engineering at the Moscow State University when World War I began. He learned about the persecution of Armenians during the Armenian genocide. In 1915, he joined the Imperial Russian Army as a volunteer to find out what happened to his family. They lived in the Ottoman Empire and he had not heard from them. As the Russian army moved forward, Yanikian saw firsthand the destruction and harm done to Armenians. When he reached Erzurum, his father's business was ruined, and he found the bodies of two relatives. He later said that he lost twenty-six members of his family during the genocide.
Life in the United States
After finishing his education in Russia, Yanikian moved to Iran in 1930 with his wife, Suzanna. He became a successful engineer. In 1946, he moved to the United States. He tried different businesses, including a theater, but faced financial difficulties. He also wrote and published several novels.
By the late 1960s, Yanikian had lost most of his money. He was living on welfare, and his wife was in a care home with dementia. He also had a long-standing dispute with the Iranian government about money he believed he was owed for construction work during World War II. He felt ignored by the U.S. government when he tried to get their help with this issue.
The memories of the genocide and the loss of his family deeply affected him. The Republic of Turkey continued to deny the Armenian genocide, which caused him great pain. Feeling he had little left, Yanikian decided to take action. He wanted to avenge his family's deaths and bring more attention to the genocide. He planned to kill officials from the country he believed was responsible.
Killing of Turkish Officials
On January 27, 1973, Yanikian, who was 77 years old, arranged to meet two Turkish officials. These were Consul General Mehmet Baydar (47) and Vice-Consul Bahadır Demir (30). He invited them to a hotel in Santa Barbara, California. He promised to give Turkey a valuable old bank note and a painting.
Yanikian had contacted the consul general three months earlier. He insisted that the consul general personally accept the items. Since Baydar did not drive, Demir came along to provide transportation. Neither Baydar nor Demir were alive during the Armenian genocide. However, Yanikian saw them as symbols of the long-standing injustice and denial.
Yanikian gave them the bank note and they began to talk. During their conversation, Yanikian revealed he was Armenian, not Iranian as he had first claimed. A heated argument followed. Yanikian then pulled out a pistol and fired shots at the two diplomats. As they lay on the ground, he fired more shots, killing them. He then called the hotel front desk and asked them to contact the police, saying he had "just killed two men."
Before the meeting, Yanikian had sent a letter to an Armenian newspaper. In it, he encouraged Armenians to "wage a war on Turkish diplomats."
The Turkish Embassy asked the United States to protect its citizens. The American Ambassador in Ankara condemned the killings. The FBI investigated Yanikian's background.
Trial and Sentencing
Yanikian pleaded not guilty to two charges of first-degree murder. He admitted he caused the deaths of the men. However, he insisted he was "not guilty" of a crime. He claimed he was "destroying two evils" and that the victims were "not human" to him. Yanikian admitted he planned the killings carefully since April 1972. He had originally thought about doing it at the consular offices but changed his mind. He worried that other employees might get hurt.
Yanikian's lawyers tried to bring in survivors of the Armenian genocide to testify. They wanted to show that Yanikian had "diminished mental capacity" due to the trauma. However, the court did not allow this. The District Attorney, David Minier, later expressed regret that he did not allow the genocide to be proven in court. He felt that such historical horrors should be exposed.
Only Yanikian himself testified about the Armenian genocide. He said he killed the Turkish diplomats because they represented the "government that had massacred his people." The jury did not find his defense convincing. They concluded that he understood he was taking human lives and did so intentionally.
Yanikian was sentenced to life in prison on July 2, 1973. A California appeals court upheld his conviction. They stated that his careful planning showed he could think clearly about his crime. Despite objections from the Turkish government, Yanikian was released on parole on January 31, 1984. This was due to his poor health. He died of a heart attack one month later at age 88.
In 2019, Gourgen Yanikian's remains were moved from the US to Armenia. He was buried at Yerablur Pantheon in Yerevan.
Legacy
Gourgen Yanikian once said, "I’m not Gourgen Yanikian but unacknowledged history coming back for the 1,500,000 Armenians whose bones desecrate my invisible existence." After his death, he became a symbol for many Armenians. He represented their anger towards the Turkish government for not recognizing the Armenian genocide. One of his lawyers, Bill Paparian, said that Yanikian "is now a piece of Armenian history."
Many believe that Yanikian's actions started a series of attacks against Turkish diplomats. These attacks were carried out by groups like ASALA and JCAG in the 1970s and 1980s. ASALA even used the name "The Prisoner Kurken Yanikian Group" at first. Because of this, Yanikian's killings are seen as the beginning of armed attacks against the Turkish government.
Some historians, like Khachig Tölölyan, suggest that Yanikian's actions are often viewed only as a symbol. They argue that people sometimes forget the full story of his life and the complex reasons behind his actions.
See also
- List of Turkish diplomats assassinated by Armenian militant organisations
- Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia
- Harry Sassounian
