July 27 marks 30th anniv. of Lisbon 5 attack on Turkish embassy

 July 27, 2013 - 12:20 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - July 27, 2013 marks 30 years since 5 young men occupied the Turkish Embassy in Lisbon to demand the international recognition of the 1915-23 Turkish Genocide against the Armenians.

The men, who came to be known as the Lisbon 5, were forced to set off explosives, destroying the embassy.

The members of the Armenian Revolutionary Army stormed the Turkish embassy demanding the world remember the plight of their people and the struggles faced by the descendants of the survivors from the 1915genocide. The ambassador’s residence was under siege for an hour and a half before the bomb was detonated. 7 were killed in the blast, including the ambassador’s wife, a Portuguese bodyguard, and the young people themselves.

A type-written message signed by the Armenian Revolutionary Army delivered to The Associated Press office in Lisbon said: “We have decided to blow up this building and remain under the collapse. This is not suicide, nor an expression of insanity, but rather our sacrifice to the altar of freedom.” The group said the attack had been carried out because “Turkey and its allies refused to acknowledge the genocide of Armenians”.

From the documents found in the hotel rooms, the police identified the five as Setrak Ajamian, 19 years old; Ara Kuhrjulian, 20; Sarkis Abrahamian, 21; Simon Yahniyan, 21, and Vache Daghlian, 19 (known in Armenian sources as “The Lisbon five”). They were buried in Beirut at the Armenian national cemetery in Bourj Hammoud.