Assassination Of Hrant Dink

[Aratta-Kingdom]

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: TURKEY: ARTICLE 301 IS A THREAT TO FREEDOM OF

EXPRESSION AND MUST BE REPEALED NOW!

 

Public Statement

 

 

AI Index: EUR 44/035/2005 (Public)

News Service No: 324

1 December 2005

 

 

Amnesty International is extremely concerned at the frequent use of

Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TPC) to prosecute human rights

defenders, journalists and other members of civil society peacefully

expressing their dissenting opinion. Article 301, on the denigration

of Turkishness, the Republic, and the foundation and institutions of

the State, was introduced with the legislative reforms of 1 June 2005

and replaced Article 159 of the old penal code. Amnesty International

repeatedly opposed the use of Article 159 to prosecute non-violent

critical opinion and called on the Turkish authorities to abolish

the article.

 

 

The organization is now concerned that the wide and vague terms

of Article 301 mean that it too can be applied arbitrarily to

criminalize a huge range of critical opinions. It states that:

1. Public denigration of Turkishness, the Republic or the Grand

National Assembly of Turkey shall be punishable by imprisonment of

between six months and three years.

 

 

2. Public denigration of the Government of the Republic of Turkey,

the judicial institutions of the State, the military or security

structures shall be punishable by imprisonment of between six months

and two years.

 

 

3. In cases where denigration of Turkishness is committed by a

Turkish citizen in another country the punishment shall be increased

by one third.

 

 

4. Expressions of thought intended to criticize shall not constitute

a crime.

 

 

The final qualification of the article in paragraph 4 suggests that

expressions amounting to "criticism" rather than "public denigration"

are not punishable. Amnesty International considers that the attempt

to draw a distinction between criticism and denigration is highly

problematic. The lack of legal certainty of the crime will lead to

arbitrary interpretation by prosecutors and judges. Even the Turkish

Minister of Justice himself, Cemil Cicek, has reportedly stated that

"the whole issue comes down to how the laws are interpreted".

 

 

Amnesty International believes that Article 301 poses a direct

threat to freedom of expression, as enshrined in Article 19 of the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and

in Article 10 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human

Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR). Turkey is a State Party to both

conventions and therefore the Turkish government has a legal obligation

to uphold this freedom. Nevertheless Amnesty International receives a

steady flow of cases opened against individuals under Article 301, for

expressing a wide variety of opinions. Some of these cases are outlined

below. The organization hopes that the international attention focused

on the novelist Orhan Pamuk's case will also cast light on the cases

of lesser known individuals prosecuted under the same legislation.

 

 

With regard to the concerns above, Amnesty International notes

also the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, which

states that the limits of acceptable criticism are broader as regards

politicians than private individuals (Lingens v Austria, 1986); are

wider with regard to government (Castells v Spain, 1992); and that

the authorities of a democratic state must accept criticism even if

provocative or insulting (Ozgur Gundem v Turkey, 2000). In addition,

the law has to be accessible and formulated with precision sufficient

for the citizen to regulate their conduct (Sunday Times v the United

Kingdom, 1998). Furthermore, Amnesty International notes Recommendation

1589 (2003)1 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,

which urges states inter alia to "abolish legislation that makes

journalistic freedom of expression subject to criminal prosecution";

"to stop immediately all forms of legal and economic harassment of

dissenting media" and "to incorporate the case-law of the European

Court of Human Rights in the field of freedom of expression into

their domestic legislation and ensure the relevant training of judges".

 

 

Cases opened under Article 301

 

 

Orhan Pamuk is an internationally-known Turkish author whose novels,

including Snow and My Name is Red, have been translated into many

languages and have received wide critical acclaim. He is facing

charges under Article 301 for comments he made during an interview he

gave to a Swiss newspaper (Tages Anzeiger) on 5 February 2005. In the

interview, Orhan Pamuk stated, "30,000 Kurds and a million Armenians

were murdered. Hardly anyone dares mention it, so I do. And that's

why I'm hated". The first hearing of his case will take place in the

Sisli Court of First Instance No. 2 in Istanbul on 16 December 2005.

 

 

Hrant Dink is a journalist and the editor of the Armenian-language

weekly newspaper Agos, which is published in Istanbul. On 7 October

2005, Hrant Dink was given a six-month suspended prison sentence by

the Sisli Court of First Instance No. 2 in Istanbul for "denigrating

Turkishness" in an article he wrote on Armenian identity. According

to the prosecutor in the case, Hrant Dink had written his article

with the intention of denigrating Turkish national identity. The

court suspended the sentence as the journalist had no previous

convictions, on condition that he does not repeat the offence. Hrant

Dink is currently appealing the decision. However, he is also being

prosecuted under Article 301 for another offence (see below). Should

he be imprisoned, Amnesty International would consider him to be a

prisoner of conscience.

 

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4319370.stm

 

 

BBC NEWS

October 7, 2005

 

Turkey sentences Armenian writer

 

 

Journalists have raised concerns about aspects of the penal reforms

A journalist in Turkey has been found guilty of insulting Turkish

identity and given a suspended six-month jail sentence by a court in

Istanbul.

Hrant Dink, of Armenian-Turkish descent, wrote a newspaper column which

he argued was aimed at improving relations between Turkey and Armenia.

 

 

The prosecution interpreted one part as an insult, but Mr Dink has said

he will appeal against the ruling.

 

 

The verdict follows criminal code reforms as Turkey seeks to join the

EU.

 

 

The reforms were intended to improve freedom of speech in Turkey.

 

 

The article written by Mr Dink addressed the killings of hundreds of

thousands of Armenians during Ottoman rule in 1917.

 

 

Armenians, supported by several countries, want Turkey to recognise the

events as a genocide. Turkey rejects that description, saying the

deaths occurred in a civil war in which many Turks were also killed.

 

 

Humiliation

 

 

A paragraph in the article calling on Armenians to symbolically reject

"the adulterated part of their Turkish blood" was taken as offensive.

 

 

If I'm guilty of insulting a nation then it's a matter of honour not

to live here

 

 

Hrant Dink

 

 

The judge ruled that Mr Dink's newspaper column implied that Turkish

blood was dirty.

 

 

He is the editor of a bilingual Armenian-Turkish newspaper, Agos.

 

 

The BBC's Sarah Rainsford said the judge ordered a suspended sentence

as it was Mr Dink's first offence.

 

 

But the nationalist lawyers who brought the case were disappointed.

 

 

"There was an obvious humiliation and result of this case should be at

least two and a half years or three years criminal charge," one said.

 

 

"But I think that Turkish courts are under big pressure due to these

European Union accession talks."

 

 

'No crime'

 

 

Mr Dink's lawyer Fethiye Cetin said the ruling showed how little had

changed under Turkey's new criminal code, despite international and

internal pressure.

 

 

"There was no crime here," she told the BBC. "We expected our client to

get off."

 

 

Our correspondent says human rights lawyers believe his case shows

there are still no-go areas for discussion here and the new laws leave

substantial room for interpretation.

 

 

Mr Dink says he will appeal against the ruling. But if he cannot clear

his name, he will leave the country.

 

 

"If I'm guilty of insulting a nation," he told the BBC, "then it's a

matter of honour not to live here."

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

PanARMENIAN.Net/ December 25 2005

 

The Turkish court initiated a new criminal

against Hrant Dink, the editor-in-chief of Akos Armenian newspaper

published in Istanbul. Basing on the suit brought by the Turkish Union

of Lawyers a new criminal case was as well initiated against three

journalists of Akos for the attempt "to exert pressure upon court."

In October Hrant Dink was put to 6 months' probation for "outraging

the Turkish nation" by criticizing Article 301 of the reviewed

Criminal Code. It means that the "journalist of Armenian origin will

not be deprived of liberty if he doesn't repeat his actions." The

editor-in-chief appealed the verdict in the Turkish Supreme Court. In

case the new accusation is confirmed Hrant Dink and three journalists

may be sentenced to imprisonment from 9 months to 4.5 years. Hrant Dink

stated it's his right to criticize the verdict brought in October and

if the Supreme Court confirms it, he will appeal to the European Court

of Human Rights." To remind, in an article published in early 2004

Hrant Dink called upon Armenians "to overcome the hostility against

Turks, since it poisons the blood." Akos editor Karin Karakashli

voiced opinion that the court withdrew these words and accused Dink of

calling the Turkish blood poisonous. Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk was

accused according the same article on the initiative of the Union of

Lawyers. Even Turkish analysts and journalists say that these court

examinations caused more damage to Turkey's international authority

that Pamuk's statements on the genocide perpetrated against 1 million

of Armenians and 30 thousand Kurds.

 

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

International Freedom of Expression eXpress

IFEX, Canada

Dec. 10, 2005

 

 

Restrictions on freedom of expression persist; judiciary must acquit

novelist and set firm precedent, says Human Rights Watch

 

 

Country/Topic: Turkey

Date: 09 December 2005

Source: Human Rights Watch

Person(s): Orhan Pamuk, Hrant Dink, Ersen Korkmaz, Ismet Berkan, Murat

Belge, Haluk Sahin, Erol Katircioglu, Hasan Cemal

Target(s): editor(s) , journalist(s) , publisher(s) , writer(s)

Type(s) of violation(s): legal action

Urgency: Bulletin

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is an 8 December 2005 Human Rights Watch

press release:

 

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

TURKS TRY TO INTIMIDATE THIS WRITER BY THREATENING HIM WITH LAWSUIT

By Harut Sassounian Publisher, The California Courier

 

 

AZG Armenian Daily #150

 

 

25/08/2005

 

 

Armenian Genocide

 

 

While Turkish leaders are desperately trying to convince the world

that their country is civilized enough to join the European Union,

they are actually proving the exact opposite with every passing day.

 

 

Despite the fact that the Turkish leaders are supposed be on their best

 

 

behavior in order to impress the Europeans, they have yet to grant

equal rights to Turkey~Rs many religious and ethnic minorities. They

also refuse to return to Greek and Armenian charitable foundations

in Turkey their properties confiscated by the Turkish government

decades earlier.

 

 

In an attempt to fool the international community, on the one hand

Turkish officials have advocated the setting up of a joint commission

with Armenians ostensibly to study the facts of the Armenian Genocide,

while on the other hand, they have forced the cancellation of a

symposium organized by three leading universities in Turkey, thereby

preventing the discussion of this issue even among Turkish scholars.

 

 

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has boldly announced that

his government is ready to admit the Armenian Genocide if sufficient

proof is presented, while Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is bragging

that Turkey has inundated journalists, scholars, universities,

libraries and parliamentarians worldwide with revisionist books on

the Armenian Genocide.

 

 

As the human rights of millions of Turkish citizens are violated on

a regular basis, it comes as no surprise that the Turkish government

is prosecuting Hrant Dink, an Armenian journalist in Turkey, for

allegedly insulting Turks in an article he wrote in his newspaper,

AGOS. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to a 1-6 year jail term.

 

 

Turkish officials and their agents are so used to silencing,

intimidating and jailing anyone who disagrees with them that they

dare to bully also their opponents overseas who are beyond their

reach. No dissent is tolerated!

 

 

This writer is quite familiar with the Turkish practice of suppressing

free speech. As the author of a weekly column that is very critical of

Turkish denialist and oppressive policies, I receive a lot of abusive

e-mails from Turks from around the world. Most of these Turks forget

that the despotic methods they practice at home to bully people or

force them into silence do not work in Western countries where freedom

of expression is basic right.

 

 

Last week, when a young Armenian lady, Maral Der Ohanesian, sent

a couple of e-mails to Dr. Sedat Laciner, editor of the Journal

of Turkish Weekly in Ankara, an on-line Turkish propaganda site,

complaining about the distortions in one of its articles, he

shamelessly accused her of "fabricating" arguments.

 

 

The JTW had cleverly edited an Swiss info wire story by including

revisionist statements on the Armenian Genocide and deleting criticism

of the Turkish position, thereby giving the false impression that

Peter Briner, the President of the Senate foreign affairs committee

of Switzerland, had made statements which he had not.

 

 

When Maral forwarded to me her exchange of e-mails, I sent a strongly

worded private e-mail to JTW, castigating the staff for accusing

Maral of fabrication when they themselves had distorted the original

news item beyond recognition. Within hours of my letter, the JTW

published on its front page a "press release" with the following

sensational title: "JTW Condemns The California Courier Publisher

Harut Sassounian." Not happy with my criticism, the JTW resorted to

calling me an extremist Armenian and threatened that "the JTW will

start a legal action in California" against me. The JTW also posted

my e-mail on its web site.

 

 

I received dozens of e-mails and phone calls from around the world,

from both Armenians and non-Armenians alike, among them several

attorneys and judges, who assured me that there was nothing illegal

in what I had written to the JTW. Criticizing a publication is not

against the law in civilized countries. That, apparently, is not the

case in Turkey.

 

 

A reader from Canada wrote: "The prospect of a lawsuit against you

by the JTW in California must be extremely encouraging. They silenced

their own in Turkey. They try to silence foreign parliaments and now

they~Rre trying to silence an American journalist. It~Rs wonderful

the way they are keeping the issue alive. A lawsuit would provide

a superb opportunity for a US court to pronounce itself definitely

on the Armenian Genocide." Another reader from Armenia wrote:

"Congratulations on being vilified by the Turkish press! It~Rs an

achievement, and I consider it a badge of courage. Keep on pissing

them off." A fellow publisher wrote in his newspaper: "Turks have

unwittingly made [this writer] an even bigger hero."

 

 

The real issue is not these empty Turkish threats. As we do not

live in Turkey, no one in this country is scared or intimidated by

such tactics.

 

 

What~Rs more important is that these Turkish propagandists had

apparently started celebrating a little prematurely. The JTW, quoting

Peter Briner, had gleefully reported that the Armenian Genocide

issue would "never" be taken up by the Swiss Senate. Dogu Perincek,

the leader of the Turkish Labor Party, who had been interrogated

by Swiss prosecutors last month for denying the Armenian Genocide,

also claimed credit for this false report. He gave a press conference

to announce that his outspoken statements on this issue as well his

testimony in Switzerland had influenced the Swiss Senate to withdraw

a pending resolution on the Armenian Genocide. Perincek called his

antics "a great success."

 

 

Here is a more accurate report of what really transpired: To begin

with, Perincek~Rs bombastic statements not only got him in legal

trouble in Switzerland, but helped generate great publicity for

the issue of the Armenian Genocide in Switzerland and throughout

Europe on the eve of a decision by the Europeans to consider starting

negotiations for Turkey~Rs membership in the EU. Turkey then decided to

 

 

deliver a note of protest to Switzerland and cancelled the scheduled

visit of the Swiss Economics Minister Joseph Deiss to Turkey. These

foolhardy Turkish actions made the genocide issue even more newsworthy

throughout the world.

 

 

Erwin Jutzet, the President of the Foreign Affairs Commission of Swiss

Parliament reacted sharply to the Turkish bullying tactics by stating:

"Turkey has to stop reacting so sensitively to such events. It

would be better to recognize once and for all the genocide of the

Armenians." Jutzet said it was up to Turkey to make a positive move

rather than "always taking offense and resorting to blackmail. If

Switzerland were to turn its back on Turkey, it would be a bad sign

for EU entry."

 

 

More bad news surfaced for the cocky Turkish propagandists, when

Sen. Peter Briner denied having said that the Armenian Genocide would

"never" be debated in the Swiss Senate. He countered that these false

reports were "based on either a misquote or a misunderstanding." He

added: "I can never be sure what will be on the Senate~Rs agenda, of

course, but right now the postponement of Economics Minister Joseph

Deiss~R invitation to Turkey will certainly be discussed" during the

Foreign Affairs Committee~Rs next meeting on August 23. At that time,

any member of the Committee could raise the issue of the Armenian

Genocide. Should that happen, the self-declared premature Turkish

victory could end up being a defeat, thanks to the boastful behavior

of Mr. Perincek and his band of incompetent propagandists.

 

 

Even worse for Turkey, the Swiss government declared that its law

against denial of genocide also applies to the Armenian Genocide. The

Swiss Foreign Ministry (DFA) issued a formal statement following a

meeting between Ambassador Jean-Jacques de Dardel, the head of the

Political Affairs Division of the Foreign Ministry, and the Ambassador

of Turkey in Switzerland, in connection with the proceedings against

Perincek. The Foreign Ministry stated:

 

 

"During the meeting, the DFA underlined the applicability of Swiss law

in this matter and recalled that article 261 bis of the Swiss Penal

Code stipulates that any person who denies, minimizes or justifies a

genocide or other crimes against humanity is liable to prosecution. It

is the task of the Swiss judicial instances to decide on the modalities

 

 

of the application of the legal provisions of our country."

 

 

Despite the boastful and threatening statements emanating from various

Turkish propagandists, the fact remains that ever fewer countries

are going along with Ankara~Rs denials of the Armenian Genocide. The

Turkish officials have less than six weeks to come to their senses and

realize that they have to make a bold move on the Armenian Genocide

issue if they have any hope of salvaging their sinking prospects for

the start of EU negotiations on October 3.

 

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

http://www.cpj.org/news/2005/Turkey14dec05na.html

 

 

TURKEY: Journalists face criminal prosecution

 

 

 

New York, December 14, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the recent prosecution of journalists under laws that criminalize comment about the Turkish state, its institutions, and history.

 

In the past three months, the authorities have used the catch-all provisions of Article 301 of the penal code to stifle writing about the massacres of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces 90 years ago, and articles critical of the judiciary and the military. According to CPJ research at least eight journalists have been convicted of, or face criminal charges, under Article 301 despite official promises to end criminal prosecutions of journalists.

 

"These prosecutions show that Turkey still has a long way to go to meet its international obligations to reform restrictive media laws as it pursues its application for membership of the European Union," said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper. "We urge the authorities to accelerate the reform of those laws and to drop criminal charges against journalists for their reporting."

On December 2, 2005, an Istanbul state prosecutor charged five journalists— Murat Belge, Haluk Sahin, Erol Katircioglu and Ismet Berkan of the daily Radikal, and Hasan Cemal of the daily Milliyet—with violating Article 301. The article outlaws "public denigration of Turkishness, the Republic, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (Parliament) ... the Government of the Republic of Turkey, the judicial institutions of the State and the military or security structures."

If convicted, the journalists face between six months and 10 years in jail. Their trial is scheduled to begin on February 7, 2006.

The charges stem from columns published in Radikal and Milliyet that strongly criticized Turkish court rulings banning an academic conference on the Armenian massacres. The court stopped the conference from taking place at two Istanbul universities, once in May and again in September, but organizers held the conference on September 24 by moving it to a third university at the last minute, according to international press reports.

 

In October, an Istanbul criminal court sentenced Hrant Dink, editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, to a six-month suspended term for violating Article 301. The charges stemmed from a series of articles Dink wrote in early 2004 dealing with the collective memory of the Armenian massacres of 1915-1917 under the Ottoman Empire. He called on Armenians to move beyond historical anger toward Turks and "turn to the new blood of independent Armenia." Turkish authorities did not elaborate on what they considered insulting in Dink's work. But Dink told CPJ at the time that his conviction was, "a political decision because I wrote about the Armenian genocide and they detest that, so they found a way to accuse me of insulting Turks."

Armenians have sought for many years to have the international community recognize the killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as the first genocide of the 20th century.

 

On November 16, 2005, the appeals court upheld the suspended 20-month jail sentence of Burak Bekdil, a columnist for the English-language Turkish Daily News, for a satirical article he wrote in August 2001 criticizing Turkey's judicial system, according to news reports. He was convicted under a law that that was replaced by Article 301.

 

Last week, a court in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir began hearing a criminal case against Birol Duru, a correspondent for Dicle News Agency. Duru is charged under article 301 with "public denigration of the military or security structures" in response to an article he wrote which accused Turkish security forces of burning forests in southeastern Turkey. According to press reports and human rights organizations, Duru has been detained since August 10, 2005, when he was in Dinabey village in the Yedisu district investigating allegations that the local military commander grew cannabis with villagers. The court denied Duru bail and adjourned until December 29, 2005.

 

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-turkey/dink_3246.jsp

 

 

 

http://www.googlesyndicatedsearch.com/u/op...mp;q=hrant+dink

 

 

HRANT DINK: FORGING AN ARMENIAN IDENTITY IN TURKEY

 

Open Democracy, UK

Feb 7 2006

 

 

Ustun Bilgen-Reinart

 

 

The Armenian-Turkish journalist is deeply hurt by a recent court

sentence but he remains hopeful about Turkey's future, reports Ustun

Bilgen-Reinart.

 

 

On 8 October 2005, a court in ªiºli, Istanbul sentenced Hrant Dink,

the editor-in-chief of Agos, the only Armenian newspaper in Turkey,

to six months in prison (suspended for good behaviour), for having

written an article that "insulted and belittled Turkishness". He

still faces charges for remarks he made at a conference in Urfa,

southeastern Turkey in December 2002; and in December 2005 another

suit was opened against him and two Agos colleagues by the Turkish

Union of Lawyers. These two additional cases carry possible sentences

of six years and four-and-a-half years respectively; the first comes

to court on Thursday 9 February 2006.

 

 

Hrant Dink was devastated by the October conviction. "I was found

guilty of racism!" he says. "How can this be? All my life I have

struggled against ethnic discrimination and racism. I would never

belittle Turkishness or Armenianness. I wouldn't allow anyone else

to do it, either."

 

 

If the court of appeal does not overturn the ruling, Dink says he

will leave Turkey, "my country of three thousand years."

 

 

"In my article, I was talking about the Armenian identity", Dink

explains in an interview at Agos's office in Istanbul's bustling

commercial neighbourhood of Osmanbey. "It's not my job to criticise

the Turkish identity - that's up to the Turks."

 

 

"I've come up from the ranks of the left in this country", he says.

 

 

"I know what you can and cannot do here. I have shared all the pain

inflicted on the left since the 1970s. I thought I knew this country

well, but this ruling took me by surprise."

 

 

It is ironic that Dink got into trouble for suggesting to diaspora

Armenians that it was time to rid themselves of their rage against

the Turks. "Armenians, especially of the diaspora, tend to have a

problem associated with the role of other that the Turk has played

in forming the Armenian identity", Dink says. "There is a certain

history. A trauma. The Turk has become such a source of pain that it

"poisons the Armenian blood", as the Anatolian saying goes. In my

article, I was addressing the Armenian world and saying: "There are

two ways of getting rid of this poison. One way is for the Turks to

empathise with you, and take action to reduce your trauma. At the

moment this seems unlikely. The second way is for you to rid yourself

of it yourself. Turn your attention towards the state of Armenia and

replace the poisoned blood associated with the Turk, with fresh blood

associated with Armenia.'

 

 

It was the reference to "poisoned blood associated with the Turk"

that got Dink in court.

 

 

Also in openDemocracy on Armenians in Turkey, including an article

by Hrant Dink himself:

 

 

"Love me, or leave me?" The strange case of Orhan Pamuk" (October 2005)

 

 

Gunes Murat Tezcur, "The Armenian shadow over Turkey's democratisation"

(October 2005)

 

 

Hrant Dink, "The water finds its crack: an Armenian in Turkey"

(December 2005)

 

 

If you find this material enjoyable or provoking, please consider

commenting on it in our forums - and supporting openDemocracy by

sending us a donation so that we can continue our work for democratic

dialogue

 

 

The legacy of 1915

 

 

The "trauma" he refers to goes back ninety years, to the convulsions

of the first world war and the dying days of the Ottoman empire.

 

 

Once a mighty empire spanning three continents, the Ottomans faced

staggering losses during the late 19th century. In 1911, Ottoman

territories in north Africa were lost to the Italians. In 1913, the

Balkan wars ended with defeat, and as Bulgarians and Serbs won their

independence, close to 5 million impoverished and bitter Muslim Turks

fled from southeastern Europe to seek refuge in Anatolia. Then the

"great war" that was to convulse Europe broke. European empires were

shaken to the core, while uprisings shook the Ottoman empire.

 

 

In eastern Anatolia, some Armenian nationalists took up arms for

independence and joined the invading Russian army. The hardline leaders

of the Committee of Union and Progress in the Ottoman government -

known as "Young Turks " - were all from Balkan stock.

 

 

They felt betrayed by the non-Muslim peoples of the empire. They

promised the remaining lands would not become a second 'Macedonia'

as they called the bulk of the Balkans (see Dogu Ergil, Ottoman

Armenians During the Collapse of the Empire). They decided to rid

Anatolia of its Armenian population.

 

 

In 1915, the majority of Anatolia's 2 million Armenians were deported

to Syria and Mesopotamia. Hundreds of thousands (the highest estimate

is 1.5 million) died or were killed in the process.

 

 

The strength of diversity

 

 

Today, as Turkey starts accession talks with the European Union,

the country is under pressure to recognise those deaths as "genocide."

 

 

Turkey refuses the term. In fact, the subject has long been taboo

in Turkey. A crucial event in overcoming the silence occurred in

September 2005, when the first conference discussing "Ottoman Armenians

During the Decline of the Empire: Issues of Scientific Responsibility

and Democracy" was held - amidst a storm of controversy - at Bilgi

University in Istanbul.

 

 

Hrant Dink says the fact that he lives in Turkey, with the Turks,

has kept him emotionally healthy and free of the "disease that

afflicts many diaspora Armenians." But he also knows something about

discrimination.

 

 

"As a child, I didn't know what it meant to be Turkish or Armenian.

 

 

At Armenian boarding school in Istanbul, I recited the Turkish credo

every morning, but I was also told I should preserve my Armenian

identity. I never came across my own name in school books - only

Turkish names. As an adolescent, I heard the word 'Armenian' used as

a swearword. As a Turkish citizen, I saw high-court decisions that

referred to Armenians as 'foreigners living in Turkey'. The Armenian

orphanage that I worked so hard to establish was confiscated by

the state."

 

 

Dink says no one at home or at school ever spoke about the events of

1915, but throughout his childhood, he sensed loss and trauma through

an internalised feeling of history. "We all have an intuition about

something broken in the past", he says. "It's in our genetic code.

 

 

Each Armenian family has losses that go back to the time when survivors

were scattered all over the world. "

 

 

"Even if you flee from that sense of history", he adds, "history

doesn't let go of you. In Turkey, you face so many attacks against

the Armenian identity that you find yourself in a defensive position

whether you want it or not. During the 1970s, there was news of the

Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (Asala) and the

killing of Turkish diplomats. My identity was always other, and often

belittled. I saw again and again that I was different. Many people who

were like me were leaving this country, but I didn't want to leave -

I wanted to stay and fight for what I thought was right."

 

 

"In the end, I decided that how they defined me wasn't important. I

had to define myself. I am an Armenian of Turkey, and a good Turkish

citizen. I believe in the republic, in fact I would like it to become

stronger and more democratic. I don't want my country to be divided,

but I want all the citizens to be able to live fully and contribute

their diversity to this society - as a source of richness."

 

 

Despite the October court sentence - one "that has done me great

harm", he says - Dink is surprisingly optimistic about Turkey's

future. "Turkey is going through a process of internal dynamism,"

he says. "It is experiencing the interaction of the east and the west

within itself. This interaction can lead sometimes to confrontation

and sometimes to agreement, but if it results in a kind of harmony,

that would be a positive outcome."

 

 

Far from viewing Turkey's moderate Islamist government as a threat,

Dink sees it as a potential instrument of harmony. "No authoritarian

pressure has been able to suppress religious movements in this

country. We see today that in power they seem less radical than they

were in previous years; that they tend to tame themselves in order

to remain on the political stage. They're satisfied with the freedom

to perform their religious rituals. In this country, Islam will renew

and reform itself, without harming either the republic or secularism;

and when this happens, it will set an incredible example for Europe

and the world. It will show the world that the east can renew and

reform itself - without the intervention of outsiders like Bush with

his bombs in Iraq. The transformation that will result from Turkey's

own internal dynamics will set a great example of the interaction,

reconciliation and harmony of the east and the west."

 

 

"You must find it surprising that I'm so hopeful", Dink smiles. But

when asked about the appeal of his sentence, his face darkens. "If

the high court does not exonerate me", he says, "The only honourable

option for me is to leave. If I am judged guilty of racism, I can

no longer live with the Turks. I cannot bear to think that people

who meet me on the street might think: 'This is the guy who said the

Turks have poisoned blood.'"

 

 

[neko]

There are a lot of pictures here:

 

http://www.milliyet.com.tr/content/galeri/...mp;galeriid=789

 

(Some of them have been posted here earlier, some have not.)

[ED]

I have no doubt the sincerity of Turkish public’s outcry and the respect in this Killing.

And I hope this is the first step of redeemtion (s) for Turkey about Armenian Genocide along with other crimes committed by Turks.

 

For us the sad chapter will never be closed and completely healed. I wish it could have been that simple.

Life must go on, they must realize this!

And we should begin to look for the future and do what we must do.

I never seen my ancestors Land, I dreamed of it many times, so does my son and many here in this forum.

Maybe I won’t be alive to see free and united Armenia, but I'm very sure my Son and Grandchildren will! some day in near future.

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

Those who don't learn from history, are doomed to repeat it. What happened in turkey, even for the Constantinople armenians, was an instinct driven act. It takes a time before one learns to think, to evaluate, and to act with confidence. People who are deprived from their basic right of free speech, cannot think independently, will not evaluate without having a strong sense of fear, and must not be expected to have any progress in life. Blind optimism is for the weak. Those who have guts to look to the reality with an open eye, have learned about the true character of the turk.

 

For the past 1,000 years the turks have massacred millions of armenians. The turks have succeeded because we were too blind and full of romantic ideas. Instead of looking to the reality with an open eye, we have always hoped that tomorrow will be better-without even seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. Before 1909 Adana massacres, the young turks have adoped a constitution and promised equality and brotherly love. Almost 100 year after the Adana massacre, one must be stupid to belive that the turks will change. Less then 15 years ago, the turkish army was about to cross the border with armenia to defend their azeri brothers. After the Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad, and Shahumyan massacres, we must have force them to apologizse. Why don't we at least give them a time to learn to say ' I'm sorry'? Why do we deprive them from their right to face the harsh reality and learn to become civilized? Is it in our blood to always forgive without being asked to forgive? If that is the case, then one must never blame the turks for what they did.

 

 

 

[MosJan]

http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_serv...ervice_ID=13244

 

“It was not an individual who killed Hrant Dink!”

1/24/2007 7:00:00 PM GMT

 

Dear Sheikha,

 

I wonder what’s the reason behind ignoring the killing of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in front of the editorial offices of his Armenian weekly on your news outlet?!

 

The brutal killing can only be described as an example of attack on journalists’ pursuit of freedom of expression.

 

Who’s behind the assassination? An individual criminal or was it a plot organisted by a country, authority, or a terrorist organisation?

 

Thanks for your time.

 

Awaiting your reply.

 

Edmund

[MosJan]

Dear Edmund,

 

There are several complicated layers to the case of Dink’s killing.

 

As states a famous Turkish saying: 'A sword won't cut without inspiration from the pen.'

 

The anger sparked by the death of Mr Dink stems from two facts, no. 1 that he was a journalist, who exercised his right to freedom of expression, and another fact that he was the influential voice in Turkey's Armenian community who’s been the source of anger and troubles to nationalists for calling the mass killing of Armenians in the early 20th century 'genocide'.

 

Some would argue that both facts are related. I agree, but the clouds of controversy surrounding the brutal killing is pointing the finger of blame at the government rather than defending freedom of expression.

 

Some have actually accused the Turkish state.

 

What proves my theory is the fact that like Dink, Orhan Pamuk, Turkey's finest pen, faced trial for the same reason that brought the death of Dink, i.e. attacking Turkey’s past.

 

I was recently in Istanbul lecturing on freedom of speech, and I was shocked to hear days after my return about the killing of a journalist, whether it was an act of revenge; for defending the Armenian community, or to silence him and stop him from removing the veil over particular phases of the Turkish history.

 

Whether Dink’s views were correct or not, the belief that killing and violence achieve intended goals is a fallacy, no matter what these goals are.

 

If Dink was killed because of using freedom of expression, or for defending Armenians, tomorrow will bring 100 other Dinks doing the same thing that prompted those who killed the prominent journalist commit such a crime.

 

Nothing is a good reason for killing!

 

Sheikha Sajida,

The Sheikha can be reached via e-mail at Content@Aljazeera.com

[MosJan]

some other posts made on Aljazeera.com

 

option a blame it on the jews option b blame it on failed bush policies. noway could it be another toothless angry arab

 

Good Comment (Click to Rate) IP Address: 83.31.102.46 luke from usa

The west and the jews have big plans for the region. They are trying to create a big war in the middle east so that they can split powerful Muslim countries into small weak states easy to control. Turkey is a strong Muslim country, so its on there list. as bush the terrorist said, we will wage a crusade against the terrorist, which he means muslims and islam, a war of more than a hundred years. What kind of war is that? A hundred years? The west haze big plans for the region. Muslims must wake up, smell the coffee and UNITE. We need Islamic unity back. Its the only unity the west and Zionist are afraid of.

Standard Comment (Click to Rate)

 

 

Amazigh from Morocco

As states a famous Turkish saying: 'A sword won't cut without inspiration from the pen.' In America we teach our children the opposite saying “The pen is mightier than the sword.” What are you people teaching your children over there?

Standard Comment (Click to Rate) dhudi from from usa

 

Turkey admitting the ethnic clensing/genocide of the Armenians a century is long overdue. Until they admit that the crime happened and teach that it was wrong there will be more sins committed by the children, like the youth who killed Hrant Dink. The whole world knows what they did and when and how. Turkey must stand up, be brave and admit the crimes of the great-grandfathers. This also challenges Israel to stand up, be brave and admit their ethnic clensing of the Palestinians.

 

(Click to Rate) IP Address: 162.135.0.6 Piet from USA

I could be wrong, but I suspect this decoy distraction kiling of this famous innocent man has something to do wit Iraq, the Kurd part. It was a week ago when this nation had a bombing and then others did the same to the American embassy there cus they figured out that U.S. had something to do wit it. Turkey don't want the Kurd area to be an indivdiual state but Georgetony want this cus they have the majority oil gas fields and they cuold just concentrate thier regime in that area, instead of Baghdad, to contrll it and make huge profits. By bringing intr3national attention to this nation bruutal pa55, I believe now the occupiers are putting Turkey on notice to stay out of thier business in the Kurd area of Iraq. God cees and knows all. Peace to the world.

Standard Comment (Click to Rate) IP Address: 69.210.130.75 Space Peeple from Milky Way

 

 

Well, I am really surprised to hear that US parents teach their children "Pen is mightier than sword". Looks like it is not working, because as far as I know U.S. exports more "swords" than "pens"!? Killing of a journalist is something both the Turkish government and the Turkish people hated over the years. But the matter is not as simple as it looks (nothing is in this world of conspiracy). Someone is trying to escalate the separation between the Armeniansand Turks. If you read Turkish history, no nation could defeat Turks by sword! Defeating from inside by dividing the nation is the only way and everybody knows this. So, this is what they are doing. But, Turks defended themselves for the last 1000 years and we will not be defeated by these dirty plays. One day the sword will turn back to the ones who put them out there in the first place to divide peace loving nations in order to create revenues for fat bosses!

(Click to Rate)

[MosJan]

Hrant Dink and the culprits of his murder

Thursday, January 25, 2007

 

CENGIZ ÇANDAR

 

The man Hrant Dink was a very, very dear friend to me, as he was to scores of people who had the privilege of knowing him closely.

The lines of anybody who knew could not help the agony to dominating the lines he or she is writing.

He was not a colleague. He is widely described as a Turkish-Armenian journalist who was assassinated last Friday in front of his office, the bilingual, Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos. Wrong. Hrant Dink was not a journalist. True, he was the editor in chief and founder of Agos. Yet, he was not a journalist; he was more than that. He was the secular �ethnarch,� leader of an ethnic community� of the Turkish Armenian community, decimated to nearly 70,000 people, most all of whom now inhabit Istanbul, after the alleged genocide perpetrated in the remote eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

Being the secular ethnarch of the Armenian community in Turkey put him at odds with the officially recognized ethnarch, the Patriarch of the Armenian Gregorian Church in Istanbul, Mesrop Mutafyan, who could not hold back his tears during his eulogy at the funeral ceremony.

Whether what has happened was genocide or not has never been Hrant Dink's main concern. For him, there was no doubt about it. For official Turkey that was the case. Nevertheless, the credible Turkish accounts put the number of perished Armenians in that period at 300,000, while the Armenian claim focused on the figure of 1.5 million. Throughout his life, Hrant Dink tried to convert the issue from an obscene difference of arithmetic to something noble: The duty to recognize a tragedy falls to both Armenian and Turk consciences. He stood against Turkey being forced to confess any wrongdoing against the Diaspora Armenians to whom, while he has been inviting his countrymen, the Turks, to acknowledge and perceive what has happened through their conscience. He discovered two magic codes from old Turkish language. He asked his kinsmen to stop asking the Turks and Turkey for �ikrar�, meaning �confession� and in turn he called for the Turkish public opinion for �idrak,� kind of an equivalent to the combination of �acknowledgement� and �perception.�Despite all these efforts, he could not help prevent feelings of vengeance by Turkish nationalists who operated under a venomous climate to bully Turkey's liberals and democratic elements or those who feel committed to stop Turkey's march to the European Union. They were aided by the notorious Orwellian Article 301 of Turkey's penal code and a reluctant government that is counting on appeasing the nationalist sentiment during an election year.A perceptive American, Stephen Kinzer wrote in Boston Globe that Turkey is being torn apart by an epochal crisis of identity. The old and oppressive political tradition is dying, but its elements are becoming disturbingly violent. Very true, as it took the life of Hrant Dink as he was sacrificed at the altar of Turkey's turbulent epoch of transformation.However, with the loss of Hrant Dink, a colossal bridge uniting a Turkish and Armenian tragic past with a hopeful future for both is brutally blown up. The disappointment is not only for Turks and Armenians in this respect but all those advocates of human rights, democracy advocates and the pro-EU elements in Turkey. That was a real hard blow and the gap created by the loss of such a Prometheus-like figure in Turkey will be very difficult to overcome, despite the unprecedented manifestation of tens of thousands in Turkey who marched in the funeral procession of Hrant Dink, chanting, �We are all Armenians� and �We are all Hrant Dink.�Unfortunately, we are not. As suggested, �Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan could try a grand gesture. He might open the border with Armenia, closed since the early 1990s. He could advocate an international conference, where Turkey could argue its case that there was no centralized attempt to wipe out the Armenians. After all, Turkey already officially accepts that 300,000 people died. Best of all, Erdoğan could abolish Article 301, which makes intellectuals like Dink a target.�But, as also predicted, none of this is likely to happen, since Turkey has presidential and parliamentary elections this year, and as long as ultranationalists pose the main challenge to Erdoğan's ruling party, the AKP seems in no mood to persist in the reform process. Because, Europe whose support is critical for the government and in extending political credit to Turkey, is not in such a mood, as well.Therefore, the culprits of Hrant Dink's assassination extend from the suburbs of the Black Sea town of Trabzon to Brussels and Paris, with its strong Armenian electorate. That makes Hrant Dink's assassination even more ironic and tragic...

[MosJan]

Who killed Hrant Dink?

Everbody has a different killer for Hrant Dink

 

BURAK BEKDIL

 

A teenager, according to the full forensic report and according to that same teenagers own testimony. It was “The murderer state,” according to left-wing fanatics and Dink, who betrayed the lands where “he was fed,” himself, according to right-wing fanatics.

 

The secularist state establishment, according to the Islamists. The Islamist government, according to secularists. The “deep state,” according to deep state-connoisseurs. Foreign secret services, according to conspiracy-connoisseurs. “The blood-thirsty Turks - the descendants of genocide-makers,” according to the Turk-hating Armenians. The Armenians, according to Armenian-hating Turks. Xenophobic Turks, according to the separatist Kurds. Separatist Kurds, according to xenophobic Turks. Article 301 and the jurists who convicted Dink of insulting Turkishness, according to the liberals. The list of potential culprits, as newspapers read, can be widened endlessly. During the near-civil war of the 1970s various groups of ultra-nationalist and Islamist Turks literally slaughtered each other on the streets (when they did not slaughter the common enemy that was the communists); the ultra-nationalists killed Islamists because they highlighted their Muslimness before their Turkishness, and, likewise, Islamists killed the ultra-nationalists because they highlighted their Turkishness before their Muslimness.

 

About a year ago, in this column I wrote: “…This is where I see danger, ultra-nationalists becoming Islamists and Islamists becoming ultra-nationalists. … These usually split groups may in the future get mixed together and comprise a huge anti-Western bloc…” Ogün Samast who pulled the trigger is no different than his mentor who had bombed a McDonald's restaurant because the eatery was “a symbol of American imperialism;” or Alpaslan Arslan who less than a year ago shot up a chamber of supreme judges because they had banned the Islamic headscarf; or the teenager who killed a Catholic priest because the man was “an enemy of Islam;” or even anyone who belonged to the crowd of a few thousand people who wanted to lynch a handful of youths because they protested prison conditions. Samast is only an example of a dare-devil/loser among a bunch of nearly four million similar young Turkish men ages 15-19 whose cultural tradition is no richer than the book “Those Crazy Turks” and the film “Valley of the Wolves.” It's a matter of demographics. Turkey, in the last few decades, has “produced” too many young people (nearly eight million are in the 15-19 age group) than it could afford to healthily take care of i.e. educate, employ and provide social security. Inevitably, an alarmingly large part of these young men and women have “gone astray.” Some have joined the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK); some have joined one or another of the mushrooming sects of Islam to become soldiers of Islam; some have gone to fight the “infidels” in lands as far away as Pakistan and Afghanistan, some went to Iraq or Chechnya; some have become petty criminals and some, as in the case of Samast, have preferred to “defend the honor of Turkishness.”

 

In fact, they are the same thing although they ostensibly represent opposite or different political doctrines - it's only a matter of where and how they grow up. The PKK man who kills in the name of an “independent Kurdistan” is the same man who kills a priest or a judge in the name of “Islam” or the man who killed Dink in the name of “Turkishness” or the man who robs your house, steals your car, rapes tourists or snatches bags on posh streets. He is the same man who goes to the local Internet café for child porn, violent computer games or to read the daily brainwashing political material from his favorite radical Web site.

 

I wonder if the boring clichéd commentators on the Dink murder could answer any of the following questions: Can a whole nation be held responsible for one (or a few) heinous act(s) of a fanatic(s)? If yes, are the Dutch a “murderer nation” because Volkert van der Graaff, a non-Muslim Dutchman, for example, murdered Pim Fortuyn? Did any Turk hold Turkey's Armenians responsible for the murders by ASALA of scores of Turkish diplomats? Dink's conviction of “insulting Turkishness” was approved by the Court of Appeals. Does that mean Dink had really insulted “Turkishness?” Legally speaking, Dink was a man who did so. Where, then, is the thin line between what is legal and what is fair in this country? What other legal but unfair convictions/acquittals have come out of the Turkish legal system? A clear majority of Turks have behaved in a way that deserves praise since Dink was murdered - all of the government, the opposition and the public. But hadn't they behaved this way before? Should one be murdered so that he is judged fairly? Do Turks and Greeks always need a terribly punishing earthquake to understand that they have been, are and will be neighbors? Do Turks and Armenians need a shocking murder to remember that they lived together peacefully for four centuries? Fine, the government is to be blamed for Article 301. But did the European Union not give its consent to that piece of legislation it later criticized so much? Did Brussels not say Turkey, with its Article 301 in effect, was fit for opening membership talks with? Did the EU make a “strategic” assessment of Turkish candidacy over a “fair” one? No answer to these questions will bring back the pigeon who thought “in this country people don't harm pigeons.” Unfortunately, they do.

[MosJan]

Azerbaijan’s National Security Ministry denied rumors that instigator of Dink’s murder was trained in Azerbaijan

 

Read it in Russian

 

The International Herald Tribune in its report on murder of Armenian-language Agos newspaper editor Hrant Dink says that instigator of the murder Yasin Hayal was trained at camps for Chechen militants in Azerbaijan. The article published today says that Yasin Hayal was convicted in the bombing of a McDonald's restaurant in Trabzon in 2004 and had said to police that he learned how to make bombs from Chechen militants in a camp in Azerbaijan.

 

As spokesman for the Azerbaijani National Security Ministry Arif Babayev told Mediaforum, statements of the author of the article grounds upon no facts. “I am very sorry that such a respectable newspaper published such inadequate information. Opinions about Chechen camps in Azerbaijani were sounded before. But no such opinion was confirmed. There no facts, no proofs, no evidence. And there cannot be. I do not rule out hostile actions in such publication coming out.”

 

Editor of Agos newspaper Hrant Dink was shot dead on January 19. Ogun Samast, 17, was arrested as a suspect of killing the editor. During the investigation, Samast announced he was incited to kill Dink by Hayal.

 

[karakash]

Armenian National Committee of America
Eastern Region
PO Box 1066, New York, NY 10040
Tel. (917) 428-1918 * Fax. (718) 478-4073 * Email. ancaer@anca.org

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release ~ 2007-01-24
Contact: Tony Vartanian ~


ONE THOUSAND GATHER TO CONDEMN
THE ASSASSINATION OF HRANT DINK

NEW YORK, NY - A crowd of more than 1000 gathered opposite the Turkish Mission to the United Nations on Tuesday evening, Jan. 23, in a tremendous outpouring of grief and anger over the murder of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. The vigil was organized by the Armenian National Committees of New York and New Jersey, with participation from area Armenian organizations as well as a small number of progressive Turkish activists and intellectuals.

Dink was Editor of the Armenian-Turkish newspaper Agos, and was a leading voice of reform and democratization within Turkey. He was assassinated in Istanbul on Jan. 19 by a 17-year-old Turkish youth amid a growing tide of Turkish government pressure to silence Dink’s writings on the Armenian Genocide.

The event began at 6:30 pm with opening remarks by Herand Markarian of the ANC. Speaking in Armenian, Markarian stressed that Dink’s murder was an affront not only to Armenians, but to all those who stand for democracy and justice. “We are all Hrant Dink,” Markarian pronounced, echoing mourners at Dink’s funeral in Turkey. Markarian also noted the presence of hostile demonstrators approximately 50 young Turkish zealots who had assembled across the street from the vigil. In their attempt to disrupt the proceedings, these men loudly chanted “Armenian lies” and other hateful slogans and obscenities, leading Markarian to remark, “This is the culture of hate and intolerance we are up against today. We cannot allow such vile provocations to deter us from seeking justice.” Markarian’s comments drew a loud, energetic response from the crowd.

Markarian then invited Curtis Sliwa, Guardian Angels founder and New York radio personality, to the podium. Sliwa forcefully condemned Dink’s murder and repeated his solidarity with Armenian demands, noting that such acts were likely to continue until Turkey comes to terms with its past. Sliwa’s remarks were met with loud applause from those assembled.

The program continued with remarks by Antranig Kasbarian of the ANC. Speaking in English, Kasbarian noted that Dink was not an extremist, but a proponent of dialogue and moderation. In this vein, Dink’s murder becomes all the more heinous, indicating Turkey’s extreme intolerance of any moves toward change. Kasbarian emphasized that this was not an isolated act, but the result of Turkey’s ongoing policies of denial and suppression of dissent. “We all know this crime doesn’t end with a 17-year-old extremist. When the murderer says he isn’t sorry, and that Hrant Dink deserved to be murdered, then the true culprit is official Turkish culture which breeds hate and intolerance,” Kasbarian noted. “We shouldn’t look for hidden agendas in describing this killing. The agenda is clear for all to see.”

Dink’s murder would likely dash Turkey’s bid to join the European Union, explained Kasbarian. “Clearly, this crime is a major setback for Turkey. The country’s Prime Minister and Justice Minister now try to convince us of their sorrow and regret, but these officials only recently defended Dink’s conviction for “insulting Turkishness” with his writings on the Armenian Genocide. This clearly indicates that Turkey is not ready to join the civilized states of this world.”

Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Church, then led a brief prayer while flowers were distributed to attendees. After brief introductory words, Archbishop Choloyan led the group in prayer while counter-protesters continued to attempt to denigrate the proceedings. They were eventually drowned out by the large crowd.

Kasbarian then read a brief biography of Hrant Dink and excerpts of recent statements made by Dink. He also acknowledged the presence and solidarity of progressive Turkish activists and intellectuals. One young woman from Istanbul, who was invited to address the gathering stated that she knew Hrant Dink personally, and that his loss was a loss for all freedom-loving people, Armenians and Turks alike. She concluded by reciting a poem she had written in Dink’s memory.

Participants then laid flowers before a candle-lit platform in Dink’s memory.

Kasbarian concluded with a call to action: “Hrant Dink’s death cannot go in vain. If we are to honor his memory, then we must continue our quest for justice. Make your voices heard: Struggle for Armenian Genocide recognition. Struggle for U.S. and Turkish acknowledgement of this crime, and of the larger cause we all hold so dear.”

The gathering dispersed shortly before 8pm.

####

[Stormig]

Number of Turks present - 30

That is pure, utter disrespect and disregard toward the multitudes of Turks present. Again, something Dink wouldn't approve of.

[karakash]

That is pure, utter disrespect and disregard toward the multitudes of Turks present. Again, something Dink wouldn't approve of.

 

I was referring to the number of Turks in the anti-Armenian protest in NYC on tuesday night.

[zurderer]

can anyone find and post the original statement of Hrant Dink - for which he was convicted

 

http://www.agos.com.tr/ermenikimligi.html

 

It is turkish and articles are about armenian identity. (I am sure you can easly find a Turkish speaker.)

[Zartonk]

Ultra-nationalists threaten to blast ‘Agos’ editorial office

 

 

/PanARMENIAN.Net/

 

Yesterday in the evening, approximately when the Turkish Prime Minister visited slain Armenian-Turkish bilingual weekly editor-in-chief Hrant Dink’s family, the ‘Agos’ editorial office received a letter from an earlier unknown ultra-nationalistic organization “Squadron of Avengers”, RFE RL reports. Particularly, the letter says, ”After killing of a priest in Trabzon one more enemy of Turkey died and next time the whole ‘Agos’ editorial office will blast in order all the enemies would die.” The unknown author of the letter underlines that these warnings concern those who will dare express their dreams aloud. “If you call the events of 1915 a ‘genocide’, it means that you have not seen real genocide. Genocide starts now,” says the letter. After receiving the letter ‘Agos’ staff immediately turned to the police. Currently the editorial office is surrounded by law enforcement bodies. The building has undergone a thorough search, but no explosive device was found. But security services continue to keep the district, where ‘Agos’ office is situated, under strong control.

 

[Arpa]

Ultra-nationalists threaten to blast ‘Agos’ editorial office

/PanARMENIAN.Net/

Only the Agos office?

No, no, not enough.

Give those kahbeoghlus enough explosive power to blow that stinky nest of rats, aka Istanbul, to the moon.

Edited January 25, 2007 by Arpa

[MosJan]

LIST OF SUSPECTS OF DINK KILLING EXTENDS

 

*

 

article's photo

The police took in custody Erhan T., a student from Trabzon, as one more suspect of Hrant Dink’s killing. He was detained after the evidence given by Yasin Hayal who admitted organization of the murder. However later he confessed he received orders from Erhan T. Hayal handed the weapon to Ogun Samast who shot the journalist. 17-year-old Samast may be sentenced from 18 to 24 years of imprisonment but in case of involvement of any organization in the murder the sentence can be reduced to 4-5 years, reports France Press.

[MosJan]

Ogün Samast has regretted the murder

25.01.2007 17:49 GMT+04:00 Print version Send to mail In Russian In Armenian

 

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ ‘Agos’ bilingual Armenian-Turkish weekly editor Hrant Dink’s suspected murderer Ogün Samast signed a confession saying that he regretted the murder, and that his intention had been to give himself up to the police in Trabzon after meeting with his family. This amounts to a change in his confession because during his preliminary investigation he had said he did not regret killing Dink. “While I was watching TV at my uncle's house, just after the murder, I understood that I committed a big crime because people were saying ‘Turkey will be in a very difficult situation.” 17-year-old Samast said. Meanwhile, Dink’s lawyer Erdal Doğan mentioned that they would demand a bone analysis test to determine Samast's real age. If Samast's actual age turns out to be above 18, he stands to be tried with a life sentence. Hakan Hakeri, Associate Professor of Criminal Law at Selçuk University in Konya, said Samast would receive a sentence of 18 to 24 years in prison, since he is not legally an adult. But in this case, it would increase the sentence of the so-called “older brothers” behind the murder.

 

[MosJan]

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made a visit of condolence to the family of Hrant Dink

25.01.2007 14:54 GMT+04:00 Print version Send to mail In Russian In Armenian

 

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made a visit of condolence to the family of ‘Agos’ editor-in-chief Hrant Dink, the Turkish-Armenian journalist who was gunned down on Friday. He offered his condolences to Rakel Dink, the wife of the slain journalist, and other family members, Cihan News Agency reports. No press members were allowed inside the house. Erdogan stayed over one hour at Dink's residence, much longer than the visit, which had been planned as 20 minutes. Turkish premier then proceeded to the Armenian Patriarchate located in the Kumkapi quarter, also located on the European side of the city. He met Patriarch Mesrob II and extended his condolences to the spiritual leader of Armenian community living in Istanbul.

 

PM Erdogan could not attend the funeral of Dink on Tuesday since he, along with his Italian counterpart Romano Prodi, was attending the opening ceremony of a tunnel connecting capital Ankara and Istanbul. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul did not attend Dink's funeral too.