In October of 1984, nine New Afrikan freedom fighters were surrounded and arrested by over 400 New York City police officers and federal agents.  The eight who eventually stood trial became known as The New York Eight."  Police found sawed-off shotguns, sub-machine guns, dynamite bombs, and bank blueprints in the apartment of ringleader Randolph Simms (Coltrane Chimurenga).  The New York Eight were charged with conspiring to free black activists Kuwasi Balagoon and Sekou Odinga.  Balagoon was imprisoned for participating in a 1981 robbery of a Brinks armored car, which resulted in the death of two police officers and a guard.  Odinga was convicted of conspiring to commit the same robbery.  The prosecution also alleged that the New York Eight planned to rob banks in order to finance their activities.<br /><p>The prosecution described the New York Eight as "a highly organized, dedicated cell of armed bandits. ... Their goal: robbery of armored trucks and liberating their confederates from prison." (quoted in the Associated Press, 10/22/84)  The jury, however, saw things differently, and acquitted all 8 defendants of conspiring to free Balagoon and Odinga and to commit grand larceny.  Coltrane Chimurenga, Roger Wareham, Robert Taylor, Yvette Kelley, Ruth Carter and Clay Omowale were all convicted of possessing illegal weapons, and Viola Plummer was convicted of falsely identifying herself to the police.  All seven were sentenced to community service.  The eigth defendent, Jose Rios, was acquitted of all charges.<br />"

Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) -- Ally (Suspected)

<a href="terrorist_organizations_by_country.asp?id=BE">Belgium</a>, <a href="terrorist_organizations_by_country.asp?id=FR">France</a>, <a href="terrorist_organizations_by_country.asp?id=IT">Italy</a>, <a href="terrorist_organizations_by_country.asp?id=UK">United Kingdom</a>

Relatively little is known about the New Armenian Resistance (NAR) compared to other Armenian terrorist groups of the 1970s and 1980s, such as the Armenian Revolutionary Army (ARA) and the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA).  It has been hypothesized that NAR may in fact be an arm of the ASALA based in Europe.  We do know for sure that, like the other groups, the NAR was formed to increase awareness of the Armenian genocide and further the cause of Armenian independence. <p><br /> Between 1895 and 1915, Turkey attempted to systematically eliminate the sizable Armenian minority living within its borders; estimates of the final death toll range anywhere between a few hundred thousand to upwards of two million people.  The anger of the Armenian people, both in Armenia and abroad, only grew with time.  Turkey added fuel to the fire by refusing to acknowledge the scope of the killings or apologize publicly for them.  By the early 1970's some Armenians began to turn to terrorism as a means of redressing their grievances.  Many Armenians hoped that, as the Holocaust had increased international support for the founding of Israel, increasing awareness of the Armenian genocide (brought on by their terrorist acts) might help them gain an independent homeland.  If NAR was just a European arm of ASALA (which operated primarily in the Middle East), then we can also assume that NAR, like ASALA, was heavily influenced by Marxist-Leninism.  However, we cannot be certain about the nature of the NAR-ASALA relationship, and there is nothing about NAR's statements or choice of targets that would necessarily suggest communist leanings.<br /><br />