Turkey commemorates martyred Turkish diplomat

By Ahmet Furkan Mercan

ANKARA (AA) - The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday commemorated the martyrdom of Turkish diplomat and his daughter, who were assassinated by an Armenian terrorist group in 1980.

Galip Ozmen was assassinated with his 14-year-old daughter Neslihan on July 31, 1980, in Athens by the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) terrorist group; his wife, Sevil Ozmen, and his 16-year-old son, Kaan Ozmen, were also seriously injured but managed to survived.

"We commemorate with respect and mercy our Athens Embassy attache Galip Ozmen and his daughter Neslihan Ozmen who were martyred by the terrorist organization, ASALA, on July 31, 1980,” the Foreign Ministry said in a post on its official Twitter account.

Founded in 1975 in Beirut, Lebanon, during the Lebanese Civil War, the ASALA is responsible for hundreds of bloody terror acts.

During the 1975-1984 period, Turkish ambassadors and diplomats were targeted around the world by Armenian terrorist groups.

ASALA martyred over 30 Turkish diplomats and officials in various attacks during that decade. The Armenian terrorist acts intensified from 1980 to 1983, when 580 of the 699 attacks occurred. The terrorist attacks ended in 1986.