Assassination Of Hrant Dink

[zurderer]

armenian afraid to attend such things. (Just guess why they afraid?) They dont attend it much. Greeks?assyrians? joke?

[Aratta-Kingdom]

Italian Prime Minister Condemned Dink Murder

 

23.01.2007 12:53

 

YEREVAN (YERKIR) - Italian Premier Romano Prodi met with his Turkish counterpart on Monday after earlier condemning the killing in Istanbul of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, PanARMENIAN.Net. "It is a very serious episode on which I hope full light will be shed," Prodi said in an interview with Turkish newspaper Sabah published Monday.

 

According to Hurriyet, Sisli Mayor Sarigul has announced that his municipality will be setting free hundreds of pigeons and passing out thousands of carnations on Tuesday as part of the funeral proceedings for murdered journalist Hrant Dink.

 

“The eyes of the whole world would be on Turkey to see what stance the country was taking against acts of terror like Dink's murder,” he said.

 

after the torture and the death of Dink, suddenly the butcher becomes a peace loving angel.

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

PRIMATE MEETS WITH FAMILY OF SLAIN JOURNALIST, SPEAKS TO INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

 

January 22, 2007

 

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), has arrived in Istanbul for the funeral of slain Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. Archbishop Barsamian will be representing His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, and the Armenian-American community at the funeral.

 

The Primate was received at the Patriarchate by His Beatitude Archbishop Mesrob II Mutafyan, Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul. The Patriarch and the Primate met privately to discuss the state of the Armenian community in Turkey following the assassination. They also reviewed plans for Dink's funeral, which will be held Tuesday, January 23, 2007, at the St. Mary Church next to the Patriarchate.

 

Following his meeting with the Patriarch of Istanbul, the Primate was received at the offices of Agos, the paper Dink led as editor. He had an opportunity to comfort and speak with the colleagues and friends of Hrant Dink who plan to carry on his work in publishing Agos. It was on the doorstep of his office that Dink was assassinated last Friday.

 

Following his visit to the Agos editorial offices, the Primate paid a private, pastoral visit to Rakel Dink, Hrant's wife, at their home. The Primate conveyed the personal prayers of His Holiness Karekin II as well as those of the more than 1 million Armenian-Americans.

 

Following his pastoral visit with Rakel Dink and her children, the Primate spoke with CNN International, which is in Turkey covering the assassination.

 

Dink, a long-time champion of the Armenian community in Istanbul, was shot down Friday outside his office. In 2005, Dink was charged with insulting Turkey by writing about the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey between 1915 and 1918. The Turkish government's official policy is to deny that the genocide occurred. One suspected killer has been arrested, and authorities have several others in custody.

 

Before departing for Istanbul the Primate led a requiem service at New York City's St. Vartan Cathedral. He directed all Armenian Churches throughout the Eastern Diocese to hold such services on Sunday, January 21, 2007.

 

"We are gathered today to join the world in grieving the loss of a brave man, a talented journalist, Hrant Dink. His assassination in Istanbul represents not only a loss for the Armenian people, of whom he was a faithful son and articulate writer, but a loss for all people of the world who love truth, free speech and responsible journalism," the Primate said in his remarks before those gathered at the St. Vartan Cathedral. "He used his position to challenge those who deny the Armenian Genocide, to shine the light of truth upon that dark chapter and educate his neighbors about a shameful past that is hidden."

 

"For discussing the truth - the attempted extermination of the Armenians in Ottoman Turkey - he was harassed on the street, tried in court, and, ultimately, shot dead outside of his office," the Primate continued. "May God rest his soul, and may He welcome this noble champion of the Armenian people into His heavenly kingdom."

 

For the Primate's complete remarks, visit the News and Events section of the Eastern Diocese's website: www.armenianchurch.net.

 

[neko]

60,000 armenians live in istanbul. the supporters of Dink up to this point were the kurds, greeks, assyrians, and the leftists. 'those photos' tell you nothing compared to what you seen on tv and what you read in the news papers. 'if the Dink's murder is to have any positive outcome' it would be the turks questioning the reality they live in.

 

That is the positive outcome that I am suggesting. There are public figures in Turkey who think they can rant all sort of rabble-rousing obscenities and lies - and as long as nothing particularly violent occurs then it is OK. This should shut them up for a long while (not because they have changed their views, but because they are now on the defensive and their viewpoint is not defendable).

 

But it is worth remembering that most people here (HyeForum) would not want any positive outcome if it results in something positive for Turkey.

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

NATIONAL ETHNIC PRESS AND MEDIA COUNCIL OF CANADA

 

Conseil national de la presse et des medias ethniques du Canada

 

Canada’s Other Voices

 

Office of the President

 

Another act of barbarism the killing of Hrant Dink in Turkey

 

The murder of the journalist underscores that the country has no common values with the European societies.

 

Toronto, Jan. 19. The National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada on the occasion of today’s assassination of the Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, of Armenian cultural heritage, editor-In-Chief of the weekly Agos, is expressing the horror of the members of the Council for this barbaric murder as being an example of the mentality and culture of this country against the principles of free expression and the rights of the minorities living under the Turkish administration.

 

The National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada, taking this opportunity is condemning in the strongest terms this assassination of one of this country’s free voices and is asking the United Nations to investigate the circumstances of this murder and the European Union and all the nations of the free world to disassociate themselves from the fascist establishment of Ankara and terminate immediately every negotiation with Turkey aiming in the membership of this society to European Family, until the rights of all of its people are going to be respected and the free voices of political dissidents respected.

 

Thomas S. Saras, President, NEPMCC

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

GENOCIDE CONTINUES: TURKISH LEADERS Are Responsible for Dink’s Murder

 

 

 

By Harut Sassounian, Publisher, The California Courier

 

The cold-blooded murder in Istanbul of Hrant Dink, the editor of the bilingual Armenian/Turkish Agos newspaper, has been condemned by leading officials and prominent individuals throughout the world.

 

Turkish leaders who reviled and mistreated him and took him to court repeatedly on trumped up charges of "Insulting Turkishness" are now expressing their "sincerest" condolences to his family. These are crocodile tears. Alarmed by the massive outpouring of sympathy for the 52-year-old murdered Armenian editor, these Turkish officials are simply engaged in damage control. Seeing that Turkey stands to lose a great deal from a political assassination that was carried out in broad daylight, with Dink’s body lying on the cold pavement for hours shown on worldwide TV screens, and realizing the devastating effect this would have on their country's tarnished reputation, they have decided to unleash a charm offensive, becoming overnight great admirers of Hrant Dink and staunch defenders of freedom of expression and minority rights! Who are they fooling?

 

These are the same leaders who painted a bull’s eye on Dink’s back by labeling him an enemy of the Turkish nation. And then, they refused to provide him with any protection after he informed them that his life was in danger due to the steady stream of ominous death threats he was receiving.

 

In his last column, published on January 10, Dink foretold the immediate danger to his life: "The threats reaching hundreds kept coming for months through phone calls, e-mails and letters…. The deep force was trying to single me out and make me an open target in the eyes of the people of Turkey…. That great force which had decided once and for all to put me in my place and had made itself felt at every stage of my lawsuit, through processes I would not even know about, was present once again behind the scenes. … The diary and memory of my computer are filled with angry, threatening lines sent by citizens from this particular sector. Let me note here at this juncture that even though one of these letters was sent from [the neighboring city of] Bursa and that I had found it rather disturbing because of the proximity of the danger it represented and [therefore] turned the threatening letter over to the Shishli prosecutor’s office, I have not been able to get a result until this day."

 

While a 17-year old fanatical young man, hired by "dark forces," is said to have pulled the trigger, many others have a share of responsibility in Dink’s murder. It is noteworthy that the Turkish police, after apprehending the assassin and a group of collaborators, discovered that he was armed and directed to carry out this murder by another extremist who was trained in the use of weapons by Chechens in Azerbaijan. It is becoming increasingly clear, and Dink said so himself in his January 10 column, that he was being targeted by "a deep force."

 

Given the sinister nature of the clandestine ruling circles of Turkey, known as the "Deep State," an international panel of investigators must be constituted in order to uncover the far-reaching tentacles of these conspirators. It is obvious that Turkish leaders are not going to investigate themselves. They are also not too eager to expose the connections to Azerbaijan.

 

For decades, successive Turkish governments have denied the facts of the Armenian Genocide and vilified those who have dared to speak about it. While the long arm of the Turkish regime has reached everywhere in the world to counter all mention of the Armenian Genocide, it has been even more effective in silencing its domestic opponents. Turkey passed laws that made it illegal to refer to the Armenian Genocide and adamantly refused to change its repressive laws, even when European Union officials were pressing them or pleading with them to do so. Turkey’s "Deep State" created an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, so no one would dare to utter a word on this subject. This atmosphere of intolerance gave a free rein to extremists and agents of the "Deep State" to eliminate "all enemies of the nation." Therefore, Turkish officials are directly responsible for Dink’s murder.

 

In a vain effort to appear accommodating, the Foreign Ministry of Turkey issued a blanket invitation to leaders of Armenia and the Diaspora to come to Istanbul for the funeral of Dink. The announcement said that the Turkish government would pay all travel and hotel expenses for Armenians accepting this invitation, making it clear that only "moderate" Armenians would be welcome. It would be interesting to know whom the Turkish government identifies as a "moderate" and which Armenian would accept direct payment from Ankara.

 

There has been, however, one major and an unexpectedly positive development since Dink’s tragic death. Tens of thousands of Turks and others have been marching in the major cities of Turkey, shouting: "We are all Hrant Dink; We are all Armenians!" This is an unprecedented act. It indicates that there is such intense indignation, among at least a segment of the Turkish population, at the repressive environment dominating the country for so long that they no longer fear showing their resentment. If this circle of decent and humane Turks would expand in the near future, it would bode well for Turkish-Armenian relations and lead to popular pressure to stop the lies on the Armenian Genocide.

 

If the Turkish government wants to take concrete and meaningful actions to indicate its goodwill following the tragic death of Hrant Dink, it should immediately repeal Article 301 which effectively bans any reference to the Armenian Genocide, open the border with Armenia, and stop the denials and the funding of denialist propaganda on the Armenian Genocide.

 

The U.S. government should also do its part by having the Congress pass a resolution on the Armenian Genocide, followed by a presidential statement issued on April 24 reaffirming the genocide. Similarly, the French Senate should adopt the pending law which intends to penalize the denial of the Armenian Genocide in France.

 

Substantive, not cosmetic changes must take place in Turkey in order to stop such senseless killings. The European Union should finally speak with a forceful voice rather than trying to appease the Turkish leadership which has been heretofore very reluctant to carry out any substantial reforms. Otherwise, Dink would have sacrificed his life in vain. He was a voice for reason and peace in Turkey. He called himself a vulnerable "pigeon." He put his life on the line and it was mercilessly cut short.

 

Will such killings ever stop in Turkey? Will the Armenian Genocide, 92 years later, continue to claim more innocent victims? It is time to stop paying lip service to reforms and start taking decisive action to end the repressive atmosphere in Turkey. The Turkish people, marching by the thousands in recent days, may have triggered such a salutary movement. Will they be able to overthrow their oppressive yoke and force their leaders to become more humane? Only time will tell!

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

 

 

But it is worth remembering that most people here (HyeForum) would not want any positive outcome if it results in something positive for Turkey.

 

so you dare to speak for most people? turkey is a country where mullas, generals, and the politicians rule every aspect of the life. people in turkey are brainwashed and the above mentioned bastards use it as a tool to advance their interests and rule the country. changing the mask doesn't mean to be changed from within. hye forum, on the other hand, is an open forum where people are well informed about all the issues concerning the armenians.

Edited January 23, 2007 by ArmoArmeN

[Aratta-Kingdom]

armenian afraid to attend such things. (Just guess why they afraid?) They dont attend it much. Greeks?assyrians? joke?

 

do you think before you speak? if the armenians are afraid and the turks are not, then why the hell your country has become a big ghetto? are saying the turks have no brain to know what's goog and what's bad for them? why the hell is the country ruled by the generals, mullas, and the politicians? unlike Hrant Dink, why did the turks who were prosecuted left the country?

why you say greeks and assyrians are joke? why did you leave the kurds and the leftists out?

Edited January 23, 2007 by ArmoArmeN

[Aratta-Kingdom]

French President Conveyed Condolences to Dink’s Widow

 

 

 

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ French President Jacques Chirac conveyed condolences to Hrant Dink’s widow. “I can’t find the words to condemn this horrifying crime that deprived Turkey of one of the bravest and freedom-loving voices. In his Agos newspaper and in all his statements Dink urged to struggle for the historical memory and the Armenian-Turkish reconciliation,” the French President’s letter says. A number of French top officials, including Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, also expressed condolences to Hrant Dink’s widow, reports RFE/RL.

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

Dear ArmoArmeN,

 

That's what I was screaming in this post!

 

So you also see the red thread!

 

is see the history is repeating itself. the political climate is such as it was 100+- years ago.

 

[zurderer]

do you think before you speak?

 

a little. It is healty to think before talk.

 

if the armenians are afraid and the turks are not, then why the hell your country has become a big ghetto?

 

Because, Turks did not suppressed like armenians and they are not minority. why did my country become a big ghetto is totally a different question.

 

are saying the turks have no brain to know what's goog and what's bad for them?

 

They have brain as much as armenians. (Answer your own question.)

 

why the hell is the country ruled by the generals, mullas, and the politicians?

 

That is stupid. Firstly, We have no mullas and Imams have no power except to repeat what state say.

 

Secondly, Politicians should be rule the country, but no they dont rule country too.

 

Why generals rule country? well, They scare people with dangers(PKK, armenia, greece, even USA and israel.), and they have guns.

 

unlike Hrant Dink, why did the turks who were prosecuted left the country?

 

Unlike Dink, They are not enough man. I should add unlike dink, I dont respect them much.(Even I accept some of their ideas.)

 

why you say greeks and assyrians are joke? why did you leave the kurds and the leftists out?

 

Because there are not much greeks and assyrians.(3000 greek, and have no idea about assyrian. Should be less than greeks.)

 

I leave kurds and leftist out, because there are a lot kurds(I dont want to discuss If they attended or not.) at istanbul, and leftist attended protest largely.

[Yervant1]

 

But it is worth remembering that most people here (HyeForum) would not want any positive outcome if it results in something positive for Turkey.

You are dead wrong here assuming that most forumers will be against it.

If the outcome is positive for both sides and they continue with honesty and for correcting the wrongs of the past and admitting the AG, most forumers here will have positive attitude as long it's sincere.

[MosJan]

400~500 years of history and experiences w/ turks tells as that not much if will be changed or has ben changed

 

 

even as optimistic as i'm i can;t take everything that we are told AS IS

 

i wish to be worng / but ...............

 

[Takoush]

That is the positive outcome that I am suggesting. There are public figures in Turkey who think they can rant all sort of rabble-rousing obscenities and lies - and as long as nothing particularly violent occurs then it is OK. This should shut them up for a long while (not because they have changed their views, but because they are now on the defensive and their viewpoint is not defendable).

 

But it is worth remembering that most people here (HyeForum) would not want any positive outcome if it results in something positive for Turkey.

 

So long as all Turks go back to Mongolian Turkmenistan, give us back all our 7 villayets, then only then we can sit down and talk.

 

 

[Yervant1]

i wish to be worng

This is exactly my point, if we've given good honest steps most would want to be wrong.

As I said before I wish and hope that the tragic death of Hrant will give out positive results. In a short time we'll know if their grief was true and sincere in the meantime we have every right to be sceptical. We will see if their sorrow turns into positive dialogue or another trick.

 

[nairi]

The day of Hrant Dink's funeral is almost over. We're all mourning his death, even as many of us disagreed with many of his views while he was still alive.

 

The Turks have taken over the streets of Istanbul. At least for a few days, the Turks seem to have been learning something from Dink's death, whatever it may be.

 

Our intellectuals and columnists have been expounding conspiracy theories, accusations towards Turkish hypocrisy, and wondering how quickly this Turkish "folly" will pass, and how fast things will return to what they once were before Hrant's death.

 

The entire world and Armenians have their eyes set on Turkey. We hope that Dink's unfortunate murder will teach Turkey something of itself--something that will benefit Armenians, naturally.

 

The question I have is: what lessons are Armenians to draw from Dink's murder? Are we going to continue allowing our undemocratic government to exist? How many Armenian journalists still need to be beaten to silence or self-censorship in Armenia and the diaspora until we walk the streets en masse chanting "We are all responsible for our own fate"?

 

What lessons are Armenians to draw from Dink's murder? Which of our columnists is going to be the first to address this question? And which Armenian will be the first to listen?

[neko]

[/b]

 

So long as all Turks go back to Mongolian Turkmenistan, give us back all our 7 villayets, then only then we can sit down and talk.

 

You are showing I was correct, in bold size 4.

[neko]

so you dare to speak for most people? turkey is a country where mullas, generals, and the politicians rule every aspect of the life. people in turkey are brainwashed and the above mentioned bastards use it as a tool to advance their interests and rule the country. changing the mask doesn't mean to be changed from within. hye forum, on the other hand, is an open forum where people are well informed about all the issues concerning the armenians.

 

You are the one who dares speak for 80-or-so million people as if they were one monolithic block. Turkey is a country whose population has freedoms that people in many other countries would be envious of, and whose population has restrictions which people in many other countries would consider completely intolerable, and whose population has some social attitudes that are admirable, and at the same time has other social attitudes that are malevolant, unjustifiable, backward, and self-harming.

Hyeforum follows the "80% rule".

 

[Error 404]

neko who cares now?

 

We can talk about those values as soon as Turkey recognizes the genocide and as soon as we have our lands back. Then we can talk and talk and talk.....

[Takoush]

You are showing I was correct, in bold size 4.

95 members in my family were annihilated, killed in cold blood, they were my own grandparents my own great aunts, great uncles and basically my family from both my own mother's and my own father's side between 1915 and 1922. And I see 92 years later the same things happening over and over again; how can I believe in the Turkish government anymore?

 

Yes I am a second generation survivor myself.

 

You tell me after a heroic, intellectual good meaning, in good faith an Armenian jounalist is killed by Turkey, yes Turkey. This killing was plotted by Turkey beforehand. No other pro Genocide Turkish intellectual man or woman was killed, except Hrant Dink because he was Armenian. They probably did this to scare those Turkish pro-Armenian and pro-Genocide Turks as well. They most probably did this to poor Hrant to divert the US's acceptance of the Genocide Bill.

 

What did change since the 1915 through 1923 massacres by Turkey? You go figure yourself.

 

The only reason so I have heard from the latest news that a great many Turks are as if, yes as if mourning it is becausae they have been plotted, planned before Dink's killing to do that so they'll look good in front of the eyes of Europe and the Western world, obviously because they want to get into the European Union.

 

And you are not believing now of the good intentions and good deeds of these fine people of this Forum? Think what you are saying before you voice yourself. They too have seen most of their families parish in 1915 and till now the killings are still going on. Not to mention the Turkish government has been paying mega millions of dollars to the U.S. congress to shut their mouth for the Genocide Bill not to pass.

 

What do you expect these fine people to believe or to say to you now?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 24, 2007 by Anahid Takouhi

[DominO123]

Hyeforum follows the "80% rule".

 

That's it Steve, aren't you given free speech? You are taking this forum just too much seriously, do you really think that this represent the Diaspora, most are just minding their business in their daily life, many use internet in their free time as a way to evacuate their daily pressure, just like you do.

 

About Turkey, you are probably right, it is indeed a hospitable place, people there do like to open their doors to others. As long as you do not open any taboo subjects everything is fine. But when one of the taboos in question is the 'Armenian', obviously Armenians will be seing only that. National selfishness is not proper to Armenians, it is an evolutionary adaptation of a society.

Edited January 24, 2007 by QueBeceR

[Aratta-Kingdom]

a little. It is healty to think before talk.

 

 

tell it to your politicians who have brainwashed think for your people.

 

 

 

Because, Turks did not suppressed like armenians and they are not minority. why did my country become a big ghetto is totally a different question.

 

 

 

why your country became a big ghetto? it's simple. people don't think. what is more shameful then to let the other do the thinking for you? i once told you the words of Hrant Dink 'the government of turkey fears not from external pressure, but the awakening of it's people'. minority or not, it's not healty when you don't think

 

 

 

They have brain as much as armenians. (Answer your own question.)

 

 

i'm sure they do. but they haven't been using it up to this point.

 

 

 

 

 

That is stupid. Firstly, We have no mullas and Imams have no power except to repeat what state say.

 

 

 

you are stupid. so does the imam of kars, right? is it your state policy to take properties from the armenians and give it to ignorant imams? isn't that an act of genocide?

 

 

IMAM OF KARS DOES NOT ALLOW ARMENIAN TOURISTS TO LIGHT CANDLES IN

CHURCH TURNED INTO MOSQUE

 

 

KARS, AUGUST 15, NOYAN TAPAN - ARMENIANS TODAY. A number of Turkish

newspapers ("Hurriet", "Milliet" and some others) reported on August

15 that the imam of the city of Kars did not allow a group of tourists

from Armenia to light candles and hold a religious ceremony at the

Church of Twelve Apostles turned into a mosque. The Armenian Apostolic

Church was turned into a mosque in 1998 and called Qumpet Chamii. Imam

Mehmed Altun prohibited the Armenian tourists from lighting candles or

singing in the former church. According to the imam, such ceremonies

are not allowed in a mosque, the newapaper "Marmara" wrote. Later the

tourists intended to light candles in the garden of the former church,

but this time some locals intervened, preventing them from doing

so. The Armenian tourists had to interrupt their ceremony and leave.

 

 

 

 

 

Secondly, Politicians should be rule the country, but no they dont rule country too.

 

 

what the hell are you saying? didn't have an anwer got involved in having a trash talk?

 

 

 

 

Why generals rule country? well, They scare people with dangers(PKK, armenia, greece, even USA and israel.), and they have guns.

 

 

 

W W U.S. and Israel have been supporting you for dacades and this is the respond they get? you have massacred millions of armenians, greeks and kurds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unlike Dink, They are not enough man. I should add unlike dink, I dont respect them much.(Even I accept some of their ideas.)

 

did you ask if they respect you?

 

 

 

 

 

Because there are not much greeks and assyrians.(3000 greek, and have no idea about assyrian. Should be less than greeks.)

 

 

so you are saying after the istambul porgoms almost no greek or assyrian are left in the city?

 

 

 

 

I leave kurds and leftist out, because there are a lot kurds(I dont want to discuss If they attended or not.) at istanbul, and leftist attended protest largely.

 

it makes no difference if you left the kurds and the leftists out. your word has not weight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

Murdered Armenian Editor in Turkey Received 2600 Death Threats

 

 

 

Assyrian International News Agency

Jan 22 2007

 

Hrant Dink, The Armenian journalist and editor in chief of newspaper

AGOS, who was murdered last week in Turkey, had received 2600 death

rates by email, the police reported, as well as numerous threats by

telephone and letters.

 

Two weeks ago the Turkish foreign minister Abdullah Gul urged all

Turkish organizations to counteract all efforts to have the genocide

of Assyrian, Armenians and Greeks recognized.

 

Hrant Dink was charged for the notorious paragraph 301 ("insulting

Turkish identity") in the Turkish penal code. During the trial Hrant

Dink was stigmatized by the media and was labeld a traitor and enemy

of Turkey.

 

Hrant Dink ended his last article with the quote below:

 

"I can feel restless as a dove but I know that in this country people

do not touch and disturb the doves. The doves continue their lives

in the middle of the cities. Yes indeed a bit frightened but at the

same time free."

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

UNESCO Deplores Killing of Journalists, Media Workers in Turkey, Iraq

 

NewsBlaze, CA

Jan 22 2007

 

Condemning the killings of journalists in Iraq and Turkey, the head

of the United Nations body mandated to protect press freedom today

once again stressed the vital role played by the media in establishing

democracy and the rule of law.

 

Those murdered in recent days included Hrant Dink, editor of the

Turkish Armenian-language weekly Agos, and at least six Iraqi reporters

and media workers.

 

"Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right and press freedom,

its corollary, is a cornerstone of democracy and rule of law,"

UNESCO Director-General Koiro Matsuura said in a statement

on Mr. Dink's killing. "I welcome the speed with which the Turkish

authorities investigated this case, proof of their determination not

to let this heinous crime go unpunished," he added.

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

California-Armenians Condemn Dink Killing

 

GLENDALE--More than 800 community members gathered at the St. Mary's Church hall Sunday evening to express their united condemnation on the assassination of Agos editor Hrant Dink, who was gunned down in front of his editorial offices in Istanbul Friday.

 

The gathering was organized jointly by the Western Region boards of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Armenian Democratic League (Ramgavar party) and the Social Democratic Hunchakian party, each of whose representatives expressed their condolences and condemned the killing as an act against freedom of speech and expression.

 

Glendale City Clerk Ardashes Kassakhian was the Master of the Ceremonies, who invited the representative of the Organization of Istanbul Armenians Simon Acilacoghlu who provided Dink's biography and discussed the slain journalist's life work.

 

Assemblymember Paul Krekorian also condemned the assassination, saying "Republic of Turkey has blood on its hands for that journalist's brutal murder."