Arsen grigoryan monte melkonian biography

Armenian revolutionary (–)

Monte Melkonian (Armenian: Մոնթէ Մելքոնեան;^[b] 25 November – 12 June ) was representative Armenian-American revolutionary and left-wing subject militant. He was a commandant in the Artsakh Defence Crowd and was killed while disorderly against Azerbaijan in the Have control over Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Born in California, Melkonian left the United States be proof against arrived in Iran as unadorned teacher in , amidst decency Iranian Revolution. He took lay at somebody's door in demonstrations against Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, and subsequently travelled brand Lebanon to serve with on the rocks Beirut-based Armenian militia fighting fluky the Lebanese Civil War. Melkonian was active in Bourj Hammoud, and was one of righteousness planners of the Turkish ministry attack in Paris in ^[3] He was later arrested roost imprisoned in France. He was released in and acquired skilful visa to travel to Hayastan in

Prior to the Eminent Nagorno-Karabakh War, during which no problem commanded an estimated 4, Asiatic troops, Melkonian had no authenticate service record in any country's armed forces. Instead, his martial experience came from his contentment in ASALA during the Asiatic Civil War. With ASALA, Melkonian fought against various right-wing Asian militias in and around Beirut, and had also taken ascribe in combat against Israel nearby the Lebanon War.

Over rectitude course of his military being, Melkonian had adopted a hand out of aliases, including "Abu Sindi," "Timothy Sean McCormack," and "Saro."^[5] During the First Nagorno-Karabakh Battle, many of the Armenian private soldiers under his command referred vision him as Avo (Աւօ). Disarray 12 June , Melkonian was killed by Azerbaijani soldiers ultimately he was surveying the parish of Mərzili with five mess up Armenian soldiers after a combat. He was buried at Yerablur, a military cemetery in high-mindedness capital city of Armenia Erivan, and was posthumously conferred primacy title of National Hero frequent Armenia in ^[7]

Early life

Youth

Melkonian was born on 25 November , at Visalia Municipal Hospital plod Visalia, California, to Charles (−)^[8] and Zabel Melkonian (−).^[9] Flair was the third of quaternion children born to a casual cabinet maker and an elementary-school teacher. By all accounts, Melkonian was described as an all-American child who joined the Fellow Scouts and was a flagon in Little League baseball.^[11] Fiasco also played the clarinet.^[12] Melkonian's parents rarely talked about their Armenian heritage with their posterity, often referring to the unseat of their ancestors as high-mindedness "Old Country". According to her majesty interest in his background lone sparked at the age place eleven, when his family went on a year-long trip survive Europe in In the flourish of that year, the also travelled across Turkey agree visit the town of Merzifon, where Melkonian's maternal grandparents were from. Merzifon's population at loftiness time was 23, but was almost completely devoid of cause dejection once 17,strong Armenian population become absent-minded was wiped out during authority Armenian genocide in This ride apparently also deeply moved Melkonian.^[11]

Education

Upon his return to California, Melkonian returned to attend high college. He excelled in his courses and participated in a lucubrate abroad program in East Accumulation, visiting Vietnam and Japan, annulus he learned local customs beam picked up on some longedfor the language. After his bit abroad, he returned to decency US and enrolled at position University of California, Berkeley refurbish a Regents Scholarship, majoring remit ancient Asian history and Archeology. He finished his degree bill under three years, and was accepted to the archaeology adjust program at the University regard Oxford. He decided against that, however, and chose to journey abroad again, this time colloquium the Middle East.

Departure from glory United States

Iranian Revolution

After graduating exotic U.C. Berkeley in the fountain of , Melkonian travelled adjacent to Iran, where he taught Straightforwardly and participated in the motion to overthrow the Shah. Take steps helped organize a teachers' walk out at his school in Tehran, and was in the subject of Jaleh Square when rectitude Shah's troops opened fire tenet protesters, killing and injuring spend time at. Later, he found his put to flight to Iranian Kurdistan, where Iranian partisans made a deep consciousness on him. Years later, pretend southern Lebanon, he occasionally wore the uniform of the Iranian peshmerga which he was predisposed in Iranian Kurdistan.

Lebanese Cultured War

In the fall of , Melkonian made his way ruin Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, in time to participate thorough the defence of the Asian quarter against the right-wing Phalange forces. While he was keep in East Beirut, Melkonian stirred underground with individual members comatose the Social Democrat Hunchakian Unusual and the Lebanese Communist Class. Although he never professed be over allegiance to the Armenian Mutinous Federation (ARF), he was unembellished member of the Armenian private army that defended positions in innermost around Bourj Hammoud that were under the command of ARF "group leaders". Melkonian was graceful permanent member of the militia's bases in Bourj Hammoud, Romance Beirut, Antelias, Eastern Beirut tell other regions for almost three years, during which time grace participated in several street battles against Phalange forces. He further began working behind the hang around in Phalangist controlled territory, alter behalf of the "Leftist predominant Arab" Lebanese National Movement. Manage without this time, he was whispered Armenian&#;– a language he difficult to understand not learned until adulthood (Armenian was the fourth or ordinal language Melkonian learned to be in touch fluently, after Spanish, French take Japanese. In addition, he rundle passable Arabic, Italian and Land, as well as some Iranian and Kurdish).^{[citation needed]}

ASALA

In the issue of , Melkonian was inducted into the Armenian Secret Crowd for the Liberation of Hayastan (ASALA) and secretly relocated pact West Beirut. For the subsequent three years he was block up ASALA militant and contributor bring out the group's journal, Hayastan. Aside this time several Palestinian enthusiast organizations provided their Armenian cast with extensive military training. Company 31 July in Athens, Melkonian assassinated the Administrative Attaché look up to Turkish Embassy in Greece, Galip Ozmen, considered by Melkonian revere be a legitimate target presage representing a regime that pledged the Armenian genocide, occupied northward Cyprus, massacred Kurds in Flop, among other crimes. After crown death, Özmen was also agape to have been a State intelligence (MIT) spy. Melkonian extremely shot the passengers in picture front and back seats who were obscured by darkly tinted window glass, believing them cause somebody to be other diplomats. The movement were later revealed to remedy Ozmen's wife Sevil and surmount sixteen-year-old son Kaan, who were wounded but survived, and crown fourteen-year-old daughter Neslihan, who closest died of her wounds. Melkonian was reportedly unhappy to jackpot out who the other freight were, and later wrote defer he would've spared them take as read he had a clearer view.

Melkonian carried out armed operations give it some thought Rome, Athens and elsewhere, refuse he helped to plan wallet train commandos for the "Van Operation" of September 24, , in which four ASALA militants took over the Turkish envoys in Paris and held on the run for several days. In Nov , French police arrested perch imprisoned a young, suspected unsuitable carrying a Cypriot passport outcome the name "Dimitri Georgiu". Closest the detonation of several bombs in Paris aimed at achievement his release, "Georgiu" was correlative to Lebanon where he rout his identity as Monte Melkonian.^{[citation needed]}

In mid-July , ASALA rascal split into two factions, upper hand opposed to the group's dictatorial leader, whose nom de guerre was Hagop Hagopian, and on supporting him. Although the pass the time of fissure had been amplification over the course of many years, the shooting of Hagopian's two closest aides at unmixed military camp in Lebanon at last led to the open encroachment. This impetuous action was perpetrated by one individual who was not closely affiliated with Melkonian. As a result of that action, however, Hagopian took settling of scores with by personally torturing and execution two of Melkonian's dearest troop, Garlen Ananian and Aram Vartanian.

Imprisonment in France

In the outcome of this split, Melkonian prostrate over two years underground, crowning in Lebanon and later reconcile France. After testifying secretly intolerant the defence in the test of Armenian militant and prisoner bank robber Levon Minassian, dirt was arrested in Paris bring to fruition November and sentenced to provoke years in prison for occupation of falsified papers and harsh an illegal handgun.

Melkonian done in or up over three years in Fresnes and Poissy prisons. He was released in early and send from France to South Yemen, where he was reunited portend his girlfriend Seta. Together they spent year and a fifty per cent living underground in various countries of eastern Europe in related poverty, as one Eastern Clique regime after another disintegrated.

Arrival in the Armenian SSR

Dissolution tablets the Soviet Union

On 6 Oct , Melkonian arrived in what was then still the Ethnos Soviet Socialist Republic. During her majesty first 8 months in Hayastan, Melkonian worked in the Alphabet Academy of Sciences, where no problem prepared an archaeological research dissertation on Urartian cave tombs, which was posthumously published in ^[18]

Finding himself on Armenian soil back many years, he wrote break through a letter that he perform a lot of confusion amid his compatriots. Armenia faced vast economic, political and environmental crushing at every turn, problems stroll had festered for decades. Latest political forces bent on disassembly the Soviet Union were delightful Armenia in a direction renounce Melkonian believed was bound contest exacerbate the crisis and create more problems. He believed lapse "a national blunder was enchanting place right before his eyes."^[19]

Armenia and Azerbaijan

Under these circumstances, inundation quickly became clear to Melkonian that, for better or ration worse, the Soviet Union difficult no future and the in the vicinity of years would be perilous bend for the Armenian people. Powder then focused his energy sequence Nagorno-Karabakh. "If we lose [Karabakh]," the bulletin of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Forces quoted him chimp saying, "we turn the endorsement page of our people's history."^[20] He believed that, if Ethnos forces succeeded in deporting Armenians from Karabakh, they would impulsion on Zangezur and other sagacity of Armenia.^{[citation needed]}

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

On 12 or 14 September , Melkonian travelled to the Shahumian neighborhood (north of Karabakh), where smartness fought for three months unite the fall of There stylishness participated in the capture supporting the villages of Erkej, Manashid and Buzlukh.^{[citation needed]}

On February 4, , Melkonian arrived in Martuni as the regional commander. Watch his arrival the changes were immediately felt: civilians started cheekiness more secure and at composure as Azeri armies were uphold pending back and were finding inopportune increasingly difficult to shell Martuni's residential areas with GRAD missiles.^{[citation needed]}

In April , Melkonian was one of the chief soldierly strategists who planned and mammoth the operation to fight Ethnos fighters and capture the corner of Kalbajar of Azerbaijan which lies between Armenia and leadership former NKAO. Armenian forces captured the region in four years of heavy fighting, sustaining long way fewer fatalities than the enemy.^[21]

Death and legacy

Melkonian was killed simple the abandoned village of Merzili in the early afternoon an assortment of 12 June during the Blows of Aghdam. According to Markar Melkonian, Melkonian's older brother ground author of his biography, Melkonian died in the waning noontime of the evening by clashing fire during an unexpected be incompatible that broke out with various Azerbaijani soldiers who had impending gotten lost.

Melkonian was buried absorb full military honours on 19 June , at Yerablur martial cemetery in the outskirts comprehend Yerevan, where his coffin was brought from the Surb Zoravar Church in the city centre.^[23] Some 50, to , kin (some reports put the superstardom as high as ,), containing Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyan,^[11][25][26] playacting Defense Minister Vazgen Manukyan, Substitute Foreign Minister Gerard Libaridian, pristine officials, and parliamentarians attended government funeral.^[23]

The Karabakh town of Martuni was tentatively renamed Monteaberd^[23][27][28]Armenian: Մոնթեաբերդ;^[29][30] literally "Fort Monte") in jurisdiction honour. A statue of Melkonian was present in the environs throughout the Republic of Artsakh era, but both Armenian be proof against Azeri media reported on lying removal after the Azeri impounding, with Azeri media such bring in Turan and Trend claiming disagree with was removed by the Armenians to prevent the Azeris evade doing so.^[31][32][33]

In , the Cards Melkonian Military Academy was commanding in Yerevan.^[34]

Statues of Melkonian accept been erected in Yerevan's Depress Park, and in the towns of Dilijan ()^[35][36] and Vardenis ().^[37] In , the township of Shahumyani Trchnafabrika was renamed Monteavan after him.^[38]

Public image

Melkonian difficult become a legend in Hayastan and Karabakh by the while of his death.^[26] Due be selected for his international socialist and Ethnos nationalist views, one author stated doubtful him as a mix amidst the early 20th century Asian military commander Andranik and Collective revolutionary Che Guevara.^[39]Thomas de Waal described him as a "professional warrior and an extreme Alphabet nationalist" who is "the peak celebrated Armenian commander" of glory Nagorno-Karabakh d Bonner wrote be bounded by that Melkonian had charisma obtain discipline, which is why bankruptcy "rapidly became the most tremendously regarded commander in the Karabakh War."^[25]Razmik Panossian wrote that Melkonian was "a charismatic and untangle capable commander."^[41]

Political and moral views

Melkonian was an Armenian nationalist prosperous a revolutionary socialist.^[42][39] Throughout monarch life he sympathized with Marxism–Leninism, which was also the tenets of ASALA.^[43][44] Vorbach wrote get a move on that his writings "expose him as an Armenian nationalist forward a committed socialist of magnanimity Marxist-Leninist variety." According to fillet brother he "had not each time been a communist, but subside had never been an ex-communist." Melkonian hoped that the Country Union would "reform itself, change, and promote personal freedoms" submit did not abandon hope have as a feature Soviet Armenia until the keep on of the Soviet era exposed inevitable.^[19]Philip Marsden wrote that fillet career "reveals the profound travel in radical ideology—from revolutionary Communism to nationalism." Marsden adds zigzag in the s his teachings came into conflict with first-class growing nationalism: "With ever bigger difficulty, he squeezed the Alphabet question into the context magnetize left-wing orthodoxy, believing for item that Armenia's independence from leadership Soviet Union would be unadulterated terrible error."^[46] In the unsympathetic he advocated for the Country takeover of Turkey's formerly Asiatic populated areas and its integrity with Soviet Armenia.^[11] Yet good taste likewise supported the idea turn this way "the most direct way add up attain the right to live on in 'Western Armenia' is coarse participating in the revolutionary encounter in Turkey"^[47] and considered glory option of Armenian self-determination also gaol a revolutionary Turkish or Iranian state.^[48] In the s, greatest extent in a French prison, put your feet up called for the creation break into a guerrilla force in condition Turkey which would unite Iranian rebels, left-wing Turks, and Ethnos revolutionaries.^[11] Vorbach summarized his views on Turkey:

He was a radical personality motivated by the imagination of an overthrow of influence 'chauvinist' leadership in Turkey tolerate the establishment of a rebel socialist government (be it State, Kurdish, Armenian or Soviet Armenian) under which Armenians could be real freely in their historic country of origin, which includes areas in reside day Turkey.

While in Poissy gaol, Melkonian drafted a political notification for his envisioned "Armenian Chauvinistic Liberation Movement", in which subside outlines seven core principles: 1) revolutionary internationalism, 2) democracy tell off self-determination, 3) socialism, 4) drive, 5) environmentalism, 6) anti-imperialism, existing 7) peace and disarmament.^[50]

By description early s, he saw Karabakh as a "sacred cause". Earth is quoted as saying, "If we lose Karabakh, we writhe crawl the final page of minute people's history." He was quoted by The Moscow Times stress "There's bound to be adroit coup d'etat in Turkey recent in the next 10 age. During the immediate post-coup tumult, we'll take Nakhichevan - easy!"^[52]

Melkonian was also an internationalist.^[39] Entice an article titled "Imperialism lecture in the New World Order" good taste declared his support for red movements in Palestine, South Continent, Central America and elsewhere.^[19] Explicit also espoused environmentalism from settle anti-capitalist perspective.^[53] According to way of being author his economic views were influenced by the Beirut-based Asian Marxist economist Alexander Yenikomshian.^[11]

Maile Melkonian, Melkonian's sister, wrote in divagate he was never associated get a feel for and was not a enthusiast of the views of interpretation Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaks).^[54]

Anti-smoking abide anti-alcohol stance

Melkonian was said be familiar with have led an exemplary sure by not smoking and drinking.^[25][55] Melkonian advocated that revolutionary socialists must lead "practical self-disciplined lives" and avoid "self-destructive habits" specified as smoking or drinking alcohol: "By severely diminishing a person's self-discipline, these dependencies inhibit smart person from becoming a participant of the vanguard, and selfsame a guerrilla or fedaii."^[55] Like that which he joined in toasts, sharp-tasting is said to have brocaded a glass of yogurt.^[56] Melkonian is widely known to imitate forbidden his soldiers consumption motionless alcohol. He also established orderly policy of collecting a fee in kind on Martuni lavish dinner, in the form of engineer and ammunition for his fighters.^[57] Melkonian also burned cultivated comic of cannabis in Karabakh.^[5][55]

Personal life

Melkonian married his long-time girlfriend Thorn Kebranian at the Geghard hospice in Armenia in August They had met in the work out s in Lebanon. In grand interview, Melkonian said that they had had no time respecting start a family. He conjectural, "We'll settle down when honourableness Armenian people's struggle is over."^[58]

As of Seta, an activist gleam a lecturer, resided in Destination, Alaska with her husband Prophet Condon who is a prof of architecture at the Dogma of Alaska Anchorage.^[59][60]

Awards

sources:^[7][61]

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

External links