Colonel Atilla Altıkat was the Turkish

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

to the Turkish Embassy in

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Canada, and was assassinated in 1982. The

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

n militant group

ASALA Asala may refer to: * Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia, an Armenian militant organization * Asalah Nasri, Syrian singer * Asala Party, a Salafist political party in Egypt * Al Asalah, a Salafist political party in Bahrain * Asal ...

claimed responsibility for the attack."Turks honour memory of assassinated diplomat: Killer still at large 20 years after slaying of Col. Atilla Altikat;" Susan Burgess. ''The Ottawa Citizen.'' Aug 28, 2002. pg. B.9 The act was forcefully condemned by the

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

Assassination

Before being assigned to Ottawa in 1981, Altıkat had been an officer in the

Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force () is the Air force, air and space force of the Turkish Armed Forces. It traces its origins to 1 June 1911 when it was founded as the Ottoman Aviation Squadrons, Aviation Squadrons by the Ottoman Empire. It was composed ...

. He was married and had two teenage children. Altıkat was killed on his way to work at around 9:00 a.m. on August 27, 1982. When his car stopped for a red light on the

Kichi Zibi Mikan The Kichi Zībī Mīkan, ( ) formerly the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway, and previously the Ottawa River Parkway, is a four-lane scenic parkway along the Ottawa River in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It runs from Carling Avenue near Connaught Avenu ...

at Island Park Drive, a car stopped nearby, a passenger got out and fired nine shots from a 9mm Browning handgun through the passenger window of the car, killing the diplomat instantly.

Other assassinations

The attack was one in a series of attacks on Turkish diplomats around the world. On April 8, 1982, the Turkish Commercial Counsellor in Ottawa, Kani Güngör, had been seriously injured in a failed assassination attempt. Two years later, a group of Armenian guerrillas attacked the Turkish Embassy in Ottawa, killing a

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security officer and seriously injuring the ambassador. While those responsible for the other two attacks were caught and prosecuted, the killing of Altıkat remains unsolved, despite the offer of a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Memorial

A monument was inaugurated, on 20 September 2012, to the memory of Col. Altıkat, in Ottawa. The inauguration ceremony was attended by his widow and two children, as well as the Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Canada,

Ahmet Davutoğlu Ahmet Davutoğlu (; born 26 February 1959) is a Turkish academic, politician and former diplomat who served as the List of Prime Ministers of Turkey, 26th Prime Minister of Turkey and Leader of the Justice and Development Party (Turkey), Justice ...

and John Baird, respectively.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altikat, Atilla 1982 deaths Assassinated Turkish military personnel Assassinated Turkish diplomats Canada–Turkey relations Deaths by firearm in Ontario Military attachés People murdered in Ontario Terrorism in Canada Turkish Air Force officers Turkish people murdered abroad Unsolved murders in Canada 1980s murders in Canada 1982 crimes in Canada 1982 murders in North America Year of birth missing Terrorist attacks attributed to Armenian militant groups

Assassination

Other assassinations

Memorial

See also

Further reading

References