1986 Turkish consulate bombing in Melbourne

Last updated

Melbourne Turkish consulate bombing
Location Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Coordinates 37°50′18″S144°59′18″E / 37.83826°S 144.98827°E / -37.83826; 144.98827
Date23 November 1986
2.16 a.m. (AEST)
Target Turkish Consulate
Attack type
 car bombing
Weapons4 kg bomb device
Deaths1 (one perpetrator)
PerpetratorsHagop Levonian (killed)
Levon Demirian
No. of participants
2

The Melbourne Turkish consulate bombing was an attempt to bomb the Turkish Consulate in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on 23 November 1986. A car bomb exploded in the basement car park, killing Hagop Levonian, one of the bombers, who was a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF). [1]

Contents

Background

This was a second Armenian attack on Turkish diplomats and agencies in Australia. In 1980, in a local example of a much wider international campaign, two Turkish officials, the Turkish Consul-General in Sydney, Şarık Arıyak, and his 28-year-old bodyguard were gunned down by two people. The Justice Commandos for the Armenian Genocide claimed responsibility for the assassination and despite a $250,000 reward offer by the Turkish Embassy, no charges were laid, and their assassins remained at large. In the 1970s and 1980s, Turkish diplomats were considered the second-greatest security risk worldwide, after Americans. Until 1986, 42 Turkish diplomats were killed by militants. [2]

On 12 July 1983, ASIO intercepted JCAG member, Krikor Keverian, with four handguns in his baggage when returning from Los Angeles. On 14 July, another Armenian, Agop Magarditch, apparently panicking after hearing of Keverian's arrest, reported weapons in a shipment of furniture and personal items en route to him from Los Angeles. The shipment was intercepted and a submachine gun, five pistols and ammunition were found, with information on how to carry out an assassination. ASIO believes that this delayed the consulate attack for three years. [3]

The federal police had the consulate, on the first floor, under 24-hour surveillance since the 1980 assassination of the Turkish consul, but the guard was withdrawn in 1985. [4]

The attack

In 1986 the Turkish Consulate at 44 Caroline St, South Yarra, was devastated by a car bomb. The blast occurred at 2:16 am, Melbourne time. One man, Hagob Levonian, was killed in the blast, which went off prematurely as he was setting the car bomb while Levon Demirian waited in a car nearby. The body of Levonian was found "scattered in hundreds of pieces". The men were members of a group known as the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and planned the bombing as a political protest in retaliation for the genocide of the Armenians in 1915 in Turkey. [5]

The 4-kilogram (8.8 lb) device severely damaged the five-storey building in which the consulate was one of several tenants, blasted a crater in the reinforced concrete wall and caused an intense fireball to strike nearby buildings, damaging about 20 buildings in the exclusive shopping and residential Toorak Road precinct of fashionable South Yarra. [5] Within minutes of the bomb going off, police and emergency services were on the scene. They evacuated the area up to 100 metres (330 ft) from the bomb site, including elderly women from a war widows' home. [2] Gas leaking from the consulate building was brought under control, and 70 firemen tackled fires that had broken out in shops and offices. Police said a 22-year-old student who was studying on the third floor of the building when the bomb exploded escaped serious injury because she had drawn the heavy curtains, which protected her from the blast. She had only minor scratches, and was treated for shock by ambulance officers. [6]

In a telephone call to the Agence France-Presse news agency in Sydney, an unidentified and heavily accented caller warned of further violence after reading out a list of grievances against Turkey. "There will be more," he said. [2] Responsibility was claimed by the previously unknown "Greek-Bulgarian-Armenian Front", but it is believed that JCAG was behind this attack. [7]

In Canberra, Minister for Foreign Affairs Bill Hayden said the Government would review diplomatic security procedures following the bombing. He condemned the bombing "in the strongest possible terms", [2] and said Australia's regret at the incident had been conveyed to the Turkish government. "Australia would not tolerate acts of terrorism, wherever they occurred", he said. State Minister for Police and Emergency Services Race Mathews said there was concern that Victoria had become part of the international terrorist circuit. A special task force of more than 20 police was set up to investigate the bombing. [2]

Trial and sentence

Levon Demirian, an Armenian-Australian restaurateur of the Sydney suburb of Epping, was charged with murdering Hagob Levonian of the Sydney suburb of Willoughby. He was also charged with having conspired with Levonian to commit an illegal act by having used an explosive device which would have intentionally and without lawful excuse caused damage to a building and endangered lives of others. When Demirian's home was searched, police found a notebook containing the names, addresses and movements of Turkish Embassy staff, as well as books and diagrams on electronic devices and circuitry. Police alleged they also found 174 sticks of gelignite at the restaurant where Demirian worked. The original receipt was found on a part of the body of the man killed in the explosion. [8]

The prosecutor Dickson told the jury the accused and his accomplice traveled from Sydney to plant the bomb. The bomb was intended to go off on Monday morning when people arrived for work, by which time the two men would be back in Sydney. Police believed many more would have died if the bomb, detonated at night, had gone off during the day, as intended.

Demirian fled back to Sydney with his wife and child the morning after and returned to a restaurant his family operated in Lane Cove.

Demirian admitted being in Melbourne at the time of the explosion and admitted purchasing the white Torana which was used to place the bomb under the consulate only hours before the blast.

The consulate bombing was not the first time Demirian had come to the attention of investigators. In 1980 he was questioned over the assassination of Turkish consul-general Sarik Ariyak and his bodyguard in Sydney. They died in a hail of machine gun bullets fired by the pillion passenger of a motorcycle.

After five hours of deliberation the Supreme Court jury found Demirian guilty on both the murder and conspiracy charges. On 27 November 1987 Demirian was sentenced to life imprisonment with a 25-year minimum, which had to be served in full under the law of the state of Victoria. Justice Kaye also sentenced him to 10 years on the conspiracy charge and ordered it to be served concurrently with the life sentence for murder. He was refused bail because it was feared that Demirian, if granted bail, would leave the country. At the time of his arrest he was carrying an air ticket to Beirut.

Demerian then began a minimum 25-year sentence as the country's number-one high-risk security prisoner for masterminding Melbourne's 1986 Turkish Consulate car bombing. After the appeal to the Supreme Court the murder conviction was overturned, and he served 10 years. [9] As of 2006, Demerian lived in Sydney. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 Bali bombings</span> Terrorist attacks in Indonesia

A series of bombings occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack killed 202 people. A further 209 people were injured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia</span> Armenian militant organization that operated from 1975 to the early 1990s

Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) was a militant organization active between 1975 and the 1990s whose stated goal was "to compel the Turkish Government to acknowledge publicly its responsibility for the Armenian genocide in 1915, pay reparations, and cede territory for an Armenian homeland." ASALA itself and other sources described it as a guerilla and armed organization. Some sources, including the United States Department of State, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan listed it as a terrorist organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Hilton Hotel bombing</span> Terror attack in 1978 in Sydney, Australia

The Sydney Hilton Hotel bombing occurred on 13 February 1978, when a bomb exploded outside the Hilton Hotel in George Street, Sydney, Australia. At the time the hotel was hosting the first Commonwealth Heads of Government Regional Meeting (CHOGRM), a regional offshoot of the biennial meetings of the heads of government from across the Commonwealth of Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russell Street bombing</span> Terror attack in 1986 in Melbourne, Australia

The Russell Street bombing was the 27 March 1986 bombing of the Russell Street Police Headquarters complex in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The explosion killed Angela Rose Taylor, the first Australian policewoman to be killed in the line of duty. The materials for the bomb were stolen from Tyrconnel Mine. Several men were arrested for suspected involvement with the bombing. Stanley Taylor and Craig Minogue were convicted of murder and various other offences related to the bombing. Peter Reed and Rodney Minogue were acquitted of any offences related to the bombing, but Reed was convicted of a number of offences related to his arrest, which involved a shootout with police officers in which he and an officer were wounded. He was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment.

Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide (JCAG) was an Armenian militant organization active from 1975 to 1987.

The following lists events that happened during 1980 in Australia.

Abdul Nacer Benbrika, also known as Abu Bakr, is a convicted criminal, who served a custodial sentence of fifteen years, with a non-parole period of twelve years, for intentionally being the leader and a member of a terrorist organisation. Benbrika was one of 17 men arrested in the Australian cities of Sydney and Melbourne in November 2005, charged with being members of a terrorist organisation and of planning terrorist attacks on targets within Australia. Benbrika is alleged to be the spiritual leader of the group. All 17 men pleaded not guilty. On 15 September 2008 Benbrika was found guilty as charged and subsequently sentenced.

Terrorism in Australia deals with terrorist acts in Australia as well as steps taken by the Australian government to counter the threat of terrorism. In 2004 the Australian government has identified transnational terrorism as also a threat to Australia and to Australian citizens overseas. Australia has experienced acts of modern terrorism since the 1960s, while the federal parliament, since the 1970s, has enacted legislation seeking to target terrorism.

The Orly Airport attack was the 15 July 1983 bombing of a Turkish Airlines check-in counter at Orly Airport in Paris, by the Armenian militant organization ASALA as part of its campaign for the recognition of and reparations for the Armenian genocide. The explosion killed eight people and injured 55.

Mourad Topalian is a prominent Armenian-American political activist, former chairman of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), who visited the White House several times. In 1999, Topalian was charged by the United States government with conspiracy acts, possession and storage of weapons and explosives. In 2001, he was convicted of storing stolen explosives and owning two machine guns, sentenced to 37 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

The Turkish consulate attack was an attack on the Turkish consulate in Paris, France, on 24–25 September 1981. According to a statement issued by Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia, army's militants demanded to release political prisoners in Turkey including two Armenian clergymen Father Manuel Yergatian and Pastor Hrant Guzelian and 10 non-Armenians.

Galip Balkar, Turkish ambassador to Yugoslavia, was assassinated on 9 March 1983 in downtown Belgrade, capital of Yugoslavia. He died two days later as a consequence. The responsibility for the attack was taken by the Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide (JCAG), an Armenian militant group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 Istanbul bombings</span> Series of four al-Qaeda suicide bombings in Istanbul, Turkey

The 2003 Istanbul bombings were a series of suicide attacks carried out with trucks fitted with bombs detonated at four different locations in Istanbul, Turkey on 15 and 20 November 2003.

The assassination of Orhan Gündüz, Turkish businessman and diplomat, took place on May 4, 1982, in Somerville, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrorism in France</span> Overview of terrorism in France

Terrorism in France refers to the terrorist attacks that have targeted the country and its population during the 20th and 21st centuries. Terrorism, in this case is much related to the country's history, international affairs and political approach. Legislation has been set up by lawmakers to fight terrorism in France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Şarık Arıyak</span> Turkish diplomat, victim of Armenian terrorism (1930–1980)

Şarık Arıyak was a Turkish diplomat killed by an organization named Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide in Sydney, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">December 2017 Melbourne car attack</span> Incident in December 2017 in Melbourne, Australia

On 21 December 2017, at 4:41 pm AEDT, a driver rammed pedestrians with his car at the corner of Flinders Street and Elizabeth Street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, killing one person and injuring seventeen others, including himself. The sole fatality, an elderly man, died eight days after the attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ustaše in Australia</span> Croatian ultranationalist movement in Australia

At the end of World War II in 1945, members of the fascist Croatian ultranationalist and genocidal Ustaše regime from the collapsed Nazi puppet state of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) fled from the Balkan region to avoid imprisonment and execution at the hands of the Yugoslav Partisans. With the help of Western authorities, who now viewed the fiercely anti-communist stance of the Ustaše favourably in the emerging Cold War, thousands of members of the regime were allowed to migrate to other countries, including Australia.

References

  1. ↑ Terror trails on the home front. The Canberra Times, 25 September 2001.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Group warns of further attacks as police seek blast centres. The Advertiser. 24 November 1986 Monday
  3. ↑ Nicholson, Brendan. ASIO detected bomb plot by Armenian terrorists. The Australian. 2012-06-04. URL: . Accessed: 2012-06-04. (Archived by WebCite at )
  4. ↑ Sydney Morning Herald. Terror Returns To Australia. 25 November 1986
  5. 1 2 Security stepped up in Australia. Herald Sun. 25 June 1993 Friday
  6. ↑ Sydney Morning Herald. Terror Group Says It Will Strike Again. 24 November 1986
  7. ↑ Francis P. Hyland. Armenian terrorism: the past, the present, the prospects. Westview Press, 1991. ISBN   081338124X, 9780813381244, p.223
  8. ↑ Turk consulate's address found in notebook: police. Courier-Mail. 28 November 1986 Friday
  9. ↑ "Terror Attack in Toorak". Archived from the original on 8 May 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.Police Life Magazine, Victoria Police, December 2006. pp 13.
  10. ↑ Bomber lives among us now. Herald Sun, 6 July 2006.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.