In 1973 , two Turkish diplomats were assassinated in Los Angeles by Kourken Yanigian , an elderly man who survived the Armenian Genocide . This event might have been forgotten had it not initiated a chain of events which turned it , and its perpetrator , into a symbol representing the end of the conspiracy of silence which since 1915 had surrounded the Armenian Genocide . ASALA was founded in 1975 ( thought to correspond to the 60th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide ) in Beirut , Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War by Hagop Hagopian ( Harutiun Tagushian ) , pastor Reverend James Karnusian and Kevork Ajemian , a prominent contemporary writer , with the help of sympathetic Palestinians . Another major figure in the establishment of ASALA was Hagop Darakjian , who was a driving force in the earlier operations of the group . Darakjian headed the group for a period of time between 1976 and 1977 when Hagopian was unable to lead due to injuries sustained from his involvement with the Palestinians . At the beginning , ASALA bore the name of " The Prisoner Kurken Yanikian Group " . Consisting primarily of Lebanese-born Armenians of the Diaspora ( whose parents and/or grandparents were survivors of the genocide ) , the organization followed a theoretical model based on leftist ideology . ASALA was critical of its political predecessors and Diasporan parties , accusing them of failing to deal with the problems of the Armenian people . The apex of the group 's structure was the General Command of the People of Armenia ( '' VAN '' )
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia