Karekin Pastermadjian

Garegin or Karekin Pastermadjian , better known by his nom de guerre Armen Garo or Armen Karo (Արմէն Գարօ; 9 February 1872 – 23 March 1923) was an Armenian activist and politician. Armen Karo was a leading member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation for more than two decades. He was one of the masterminds of the 1896 occupation of the Ottoman Bank in response to the Hamidian massacres, and of Operation Nemesis, in which several perpetrators of the Armenian genocide were assassinated. Between 1918 and 1920 he served as the first ambassador to the United States from the First Republic of Armenia.

Biography

Early life

Karekin Pastermadjian was born in Erzurum. He finished his elementary education as one of the first graduates of the Sanasarian College of Erzurum. in 1891. Later in 1894, he continued his studies in France to study agriculture at the Agricultural School of Nancy-Université. In 1901 he founded a lab in Tiflis for chemical research.

Armenian-Tatar massacres, 1905-1907

During the Armenian–Tatar massacres of 1905–1906 the ARF was involved in armed activities. Pastermadjian organized the self-defense of the Armenians in Tiflis. Pastermadjian was a deputy from Erzurum for 2 terms. He was a member of the Ottoman Parliament from 1908 to 5 August 1912. His document of election (tr: mazbata) is found in the library of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye. During his four years in Constantinople (Istanbul) as a deputy, he worked for the railroad bill which was known to the public as Chester's bill.

From that day until March of the following year, he remained at the head of that battalion, and led it into eleven battles in the neighborhood of Alashkert, Toutakh, and Malashkert, until Dro recovered and returned to resume the command. In the summer of 1915, he went to Van during the Defense of Van, becoming one of the first to enter the city after the Russians had liberated it.

There are several organizations with chapters named after him, including the Armenian Youth Federation "Armen Garo" Chapter of Racine, Wisconsin, and the "Armen Karo" Armenian Revolutionary Federation Student Association of Canada.

Selected works Why Armenia should be free: Armenia's rôle in the present war... (1918) Armenia and Her Claims to Freedom and National Independence (1919) Armenia a Leading Factor in the Winning of the War (1919) Memoirs (read online).