The Hate Trap - The Anatomy of a Forgotten Assassination

Haluk Şahin

The first bullets of a bloody campaign of terror

Two Turkish diplomats were killed by an elderly Armenian-American on January 27th 1973 in Santa Barbara, California. What appeared to be a freak crime committed by a “maniac” later proved to be the opening shots of a campaign of terror against Turkish diplomats and officials that lasted two decades, taking the lives of dozens of Turkish diplomats along with more than 60 others in nearly 600 terrorist attacks around the world.

This book focuses on the first “forgotten assassination” and presents shocking new information derived from the recently declassified FBI documents, court transcripts and the findings of historians. How did the murderer, Gourgen Yanikian, set his trap? What did he really want to achieve? Why was the trial of Soghomon Tehlirian , the Armenian hit man who killed Talat Pasha in Berlin in 1921, so important for him? What were the human and historical ramifications of this double assassination? How is it linked to the murder of Hrant Dink, the Turkish-Armenian journalist, in 2007?

The author was a friend of one of the slain diplomats and journalist Dink. Yet, his book is an objective account of one of the most consequential political crimes of the 20th Century. It covers much new ground and reads like a detective story. Its powerful message against racial hatred and violence is perhaps more important today than ever.