José Antonio Gurriarán

José Antonio Gurriarán (born 1939) is a Spanish journalist and assistant director of the "Pueblo" newspaper.

Being accidentally injured during an Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) attack in Madrid,[1] on December 29, 1980, he was interested what the group's purposes were and he found and interviewed ASALA members.

In 1982, his "La Bomba" book was published, supporting the Armenian cause. The book reissued several times also in English translation.

La bomba

On December 30, 1980, José Antonio left the building of the newspaper "The People" (Pueblo) and entered a telephone booth to talk to his wife. The plan was to go to see a movie by Woody Allen and then to have a dinner at a restaurant. It was the end of the year. When José Antonio put down the headset, two bombs exploded in the nearby headquarters of airlines Swissair and TWA. Nobody died, but José Antonio was among the 9 injured.

As soon as he was released from the hospital, José Antonio wanted to know who made that attack. Still in the hospital, where he struggled to save both his legs, he started to read books and materials about the case and the history of the Armenians.

Combining therapy recovery with the detailed study of a nation, in 1982, he found and met the leaders of ASALA in Lebanon. Militants covered their faces with balaclavas and never left the Kalashnikov throughout the day. The Spanish journalist, who relied on his cane, gave a book by Martin Luther King, as a gift, to the leader of the Armenian group, to think about the path they have chosen.

Soon after the incident, "La Bomba" was released; it relayed the personal experience of a Spanish journalist and the tragic story of survival of a whole nation.

Books

  • La Bomba. La Bomba." Primer libro de Gurriarán sobre la cuestión armenia publicado por Editorial Planeta en 1982, año y medio después del atentado por bomba que sufrió en la Plaza España de Madrid. Es un relato biográfico y directo del autor, en el que vierte pensamientos y sensaciones, miedos y esperanzas desde aquella noche del 29 de diciembre de 1980 en la que una potente carga explosiva, colocada por nacionalistas armenios del ESALA (Ejército Secreto para la Liberación de Armenia), contra unas líneas aéreas, le dejó malherido. Es la búsqueda incesante de los porqués de este atentado, la investigación y reconstrucción de los hechos por parte de quien siempre militó en las filas del pacisfismo y era devoto de Gandhi, Lhuter King y Lanza del Vasto. El autor logró reunirse en Líbano con los autores del atentado, y con dirigentes del ESALA. En 2011 Sirar Ediciones publica el libro en armenio. En 2015 se edita en francés (Editorial Thadée). Este mismo año y con motivo del 100 aniversario del Genocidio Armenio, el director de cine Robert Guédiguian realiza y presenta en el Festival de Cine de Cannes (Francia) la película "Une histoire de fou" (Una historia de locos) basada en este libro. José Antonio Gurriarán lo reedita en Amazon La Bomba en español, versión en papel o digital.)

See also

References

  • La Bomba, by José Antonio Gurriarán, 1982, El doctor Centeno, Jerez de la Frontera, CA, Spain ( ISBN 8432036323)
  1. ↑ (in Spanish) Ángeles García, José Antonio Gurriarán, el periodista herido en un atentado armenio: "Me he salvado porque me he negado a morir", El Pais, 6 February 1981
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