In the pocket of one of the Armenians was a slip of paper. Once they were established in the embassy the men used these numbers to call the media and publicize their actions. Terrorists need an audience and the media provides it. As someone once said, terrorism is theatre.
Violence is the backdrop.
The media the stage. And the terrorists the lead actors. But whoever said that forgot to include the police and government in the equation. In a terrorist incident the police and government have the difficult job of trying to strike a balance between the public's right to know and their obligation and duty to try and resolve the incident without loss of life. I'm sure those of you who are police officers are already aware of the type of problems and issues that can arise when the police and media come into conflict, each believing the other is interfering with how they do their job.