ED Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 this is a big loos for Humanity and especialy for turks yevs mi nahatak u zoh u sa verjinne, verj! es anqam menq enq kotorelu yes drants barbaros kochvats mayr@ q*****em my son just called me and he is almost in tears and cant speak, its a sad day, I agree with Arpa, we should declare 3 days of moorning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to find the killer of a prominent Turkish journalist of Armenian descent shot to death in broad daylight Friday. Hrant Dink, editor of the Armenian-Turkish-language weekly Agos newspaper, was killed in front of the building that houses the Istanbul publication. The murder shocked all of Turkey, where Dink also has earned a reputation for promoting dialogue between Turks and Armenians, backing open borders between Turkey and the nation of Armenia, and expressing a love of his Turkish homeland. The killing prompted swift denunciation by Turkish PM Erdogan, who said the attack was a "shock" and an "insult" to the Turkish nation and a "dark day" -- not only for Dink's family but for all of Turkey as well. "The dark hands that killed him will be found and punished," Erdogan said, in televised remarks. Authorities are looking into a lead that he was shot by a young man who appeared to be 18 or 19 years old. Dink's body could be seen covered with a white sheet in front of the newspaper's entrance, before an emergency vehicle came to take it away. "Aged 53, Dink was killed by several shots fired at him shortly after midday as he was outside the premises of his privately owned newspaper in Sisli, a district on the European side of Istanbul. The police said they were looking for a youth aged about 18 or 19 wearing a jean-jacket and a white beret," said Reporters Without Borders, a journalists' advocacy group that denounced the killing. Described as a "well-known commentator on Armenian affairs," Dink had been called into court a number of times on allegations of "insulting" the Turkish state in his writing. "Some of the trial hearings have been marred by violent scenes inside and outside the courtrooms, instigated by nationalist activists calling for Dink to be punished," says a profile on the Web site of Pen American Center -- the writers' group that defends free expression. Hot-button issue Agos was established in 1996, and Dink didn't shy away from dealing with the controversies in that region over the killings of Armenians from 1915 through 1917 -- a hot-button issue in Turkey. Armenians and other countries regard those killings as a genocide, a claim rejected by the Turkish government, which says Armenians and Turks were killed in civil warfare. Andrew Finkel, a journalist in Turkey and a friend of Dink's, emphasized that Dink's killing was "a tragedy" for a country attempting to "come to terms with its past." Finkel said resentment toward Dink existed among ultranationalist Turks, and the people who staged "ugly scenes" at his trials are the same ones who staged rallies directed at Orhan Pamuk, the Nobel Prize-winning Turkish writer who faced charges of insulting Turkishness as well. He described Dink as a "bright" and brash" man who was a "well-known figure in Istanbul" and an advocate for Turkey's small Armenian community -- a once-populous group now numbering around 60,000 or 70,000. "If anything, he was a great Turkish patriot," Finkel told CNN in an interview. Joel Campagna, Mideast program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said, "Like dozens of other Turkish journalists, Hrant Dink has faced political persecution because of his work. Now it appears he's paid the ultimate price for it." Campagna said that Turkey "must ensure that this crime does not go unpunished like other cases in the past and that those responsible for his murder are brought to justice." He said that over the last 15 years, 18 Turkish journalists have been killed -- making the country the eighth deadliest in the world for journalists in that period. He said that many of the deaths took place in the early 1990s "at the peak of the Kurdish separatist insurgency." He said killings, other attacks against journalists that don't result in deaths, and the many cases of Turkish journalists facing criminal charges under "vague statutes" create a "chilling effect" among media workers. Reporters Without Borders, another journalists' advocacy group, also said a proper investigation is needed, underscoring its position that "this will be a key test for a country that hopes to join the European Union. No one would understand if Turkey failed to do everything possible to shed light on this tragedy." Turkey has long coveted membership in the EU. 'Dialogue sought' Pen American Center said Dink's publication sought to "provide a voice to the Armenian community and create a dialogue between Turks and Armenians." Here are case histories Pen lists involving Dink: -- "In 2001, the Turkish government suspended publication of Agos when Dink wrote that 'the laws (on the genocide) will cease to be a problem when Turkey shows consideration for the pain created by 24 April.' While the government brought legal action against Dink, he was found innocent and was permitted to resume printing Agos." -- "On February 13, 2004, Dink published an article titled 'Get to Know Armenia,' which discussed the modern-day impact of the Armenian massacres and urged Armenians to reject 'the adulterated part of their Turkish blood.'" -- "Dink explained that he was writing a series of articles focusing on the Armenian diaspora, and that the article was intended as a plea to Armenians to resolve their anger towards the Turks. However, the Turkish government interpreted this comment as an insult to Turkish blood, and Dink was consequently brought to trial for the article." "On October 7, 2005, the Sisli Court of Second Instance in Istanbul handed Dink a six-month suspended sentence. Dink appealed the sentence and issued a protest, saying that 'as long as I live (in Turkey), I will go on telling the truth, just as I always have.'" -- After that sentencing, Dink was "placed on trial for remarks that he made at a conference in 2002 that were deemed in violation of Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code -- 'insult(ing) to the Turkish state.'" Dink said "charges stem from remarks he made that criticized a patriotic verse Armenian school children are forced to memorize. He said that the lines 'I am a Turk, I am honest, I am hardworking' were objectionable because 'even though (he) was honest and hardworking, (he) was not a Turk, (he) was an Armenian.'" Pen said Dink had been "critical of a verse in the national anthem that he felt was discriminatory for referring to the Turks as 'a heroic race.' Dink was acquitted on February 9, 2006, although he still faced further charges of trying to influence the courts." -- Pen said that on July 12, 2006, Dink "was handed a six-month suspended sentence for insulting Turkishness after writing an article which called for Armenians to 'now turn their attention to the new life offered by an independent Armenia.'" On July 19, 2006, "the Istanbul public prosecutor opened a new case against Dink for referring to the 1915 massacre of Armenians as a 'genocide' during a July 14 interview with Reuters." Dink was awaiting his next trial on those charges. Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America, told CNN that the case is the "product of the environment that the Turkish government has created" -- its persistent denial that the killings of the Armenians last century did not amount to a genocide and "a provision of the Turkish penal code that prohibits people from speaking about the Armenia genocide." Said Hamparian: "Turkey needs to come to grips with its past." Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpa Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 ======= my son just called me and he is almost in tears and cant speak, What do you think I have been doing all morning! What a BEAUTIFUL MAN. I mean MAN, with gntaks bigger than bowling balls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpa Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Unlike the "Gna merir ari sirem".... Of course, we understand where one is coming from. We have known and loved Hrant for quite sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 (edited) I can't stand the "politically correctness" in news articles either. I came across one of these that said "Turkey, being a majority Muslim country and Armenia, allegedly being the first Christian nation in the world...." etc. So now they're taking on our Ancient history too Edited January 19, 2007 by Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marseliatsi_M26 Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 WE MUST GATHER IN FRONT OF EVERY TURKISH EMBASSY AND CONSULATE TOMORROW AT 12 am TO PROTEST AGAINST THIS CRIME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20070119/capt.sge.jwv98.190107185845.photo01.photo.default-512x353.jpg Turkish leftist protestors hold Hrant Dink's newspapaer Agos and his photos during a demonstration at Taksim square in downtown Istanbul. Dink, targeted by nationalist circles and the courts for his views on the 1915-18 killings of Armenians, was shot dead outside his office in what was immediately branded a "political assassination."(AFP/Mustafa Ozer) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vava Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 A sad day for us all. Let the Turks continue to re-enforce the world's perception of the barbarian Turk... And may God rest his soul. -- Hellektor: I understand your anger. We are all angry - but please watch the language, and blatant hate-speak. It is not welcome here, and it sullies the name of Hrant Dink who strong stance transcended petty racial hate. Marseliatsi: At Midnight?? I don't think that will make much impact. Noon would be better yes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20070119/i/r1379468738.jpg An unidentified woman cries out as she looks down from the window of the Agos newspaper office at the body of Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink on the pavement in front of the building in Istanbul January 19, 2007. Dink, who was convicted last year for insulting Turkey's identity, was shot dead outside his office on Friday. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY) http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20070119/capt.sge.jwv98.190107185845.photo03.photo.default-512x341.jpg A relative of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink is guided away by policemen from the entrance to the Agos newspaper's office in Istanbul where Dink was killed. Dink, targeted by nationalist circles and the courts for his views on the 1915-18 killings of Armenians, was shot dead outside his office in what was immediately branded a "political assassination."(AFP/Mustafa Ozer) http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20070119/i/r4164679738.jpg An unidentified man kneels near the body of Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink who lies covered on the pavement in front of his newspaper office in Istanbul January 19, 2007. Dink, who was convicted last year for insulting Turkey's identity, was shot dead outside his office on Friday. REUTERS/Stringer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20070119/i/r2812077182.jpg Armenian Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan addresses the media in Istanbul January 19, 2007, declaring 15 days of mourning for the Armenian community after Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink, a controversial writer and journalist, was shot by an unknown assailant as Dink left his newspaper office in central Istanbul. TURKEY OUT REUTERS/Anatolian/Oktay Cilesiz (TURKEY) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20070119/i/r633201743.jpg A local shouts as he visits the scene where Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink was shot dead outside his newspaper office in Istanbul January 19, 2007. Turkish broadcaster NTV said Dink, a controversial writer and journalist, was shot by an unknown assailant as he left his newspaper Agos around 1300 GMT in central Istanbul. REUTERS/Ahmet Ada (TURKEY) http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20070119/i/r552931115.jpg An ambulance arrives to take the body of Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink from the pavement in front of his newspaper office in Istanbul January 19, 2007. Dink, who was convicted last year for insulting Turkey's identity, was shot dead outside his newspaper office in Istanbul on Friday. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20070119/i/r1847597118.jpg Police forensic officers investigate the scene where Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink was shot dead outside his newspaper office in Istanbul January 19, 2007. Turkish broadcaster NTV said Dink, a controversial writer and journalist, was shot by an unknown assailant as he left his newspaper Agos around 1300 GMT in central Istanbul. REUTERS/Ahmet Ada (TURKEY) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20070119/i/r4046387001.jpg Protesters stage a sit-in as they hold pictures of Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink to protest his killing in Istanbul January 19, 2007. Dink, who was convicted last year for insulting Turkey's identity, was shot dead outside his newspaper office in Istanbul on Friday. The leaflets read, 'We all are Hirant. We all are Armenians'. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20070119/i/r2337226492.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aratta-Kingdom Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 WE MUST GATHER IN FRONT OF EVERY TURKISH EMBASSY AND CONSULATE TOMORROW AT 12 am TO PROTEST AGAINST THIS CRIME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm sure someone will organize a protest in front of turkish embassy/consulate. we must get a permit first. lets leave it to the people who will organize it. Mos Jan, thank you for the hard work you do for bringing us the latest news... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nazarian Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 (edited) Hrant Dink, the editor of 'Akos' newspaper in Turkey, was murdered today.. He was one courageous man who dared to challenge the Turkish denial of Genocide while himself living in Turkey. This murder will probably push the Turkish-Armenians further underground. What a sad day. Edited January 19, 2007 by Nazarian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annannimusss Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Yes,extremely sad.The only thing he ever did was stand up for Armenians,and now he is dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 (edited) I'm sure that all these protesters in Istanbul are Bolsahyes, mostly. Edited January 19, 2007 by Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zurderer Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 They are mostly leftist people. That is why they call themself as armenian.(An armenian will not say all of us are armenians.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 (edited) Oh, I didn't understand what "Hepimiz" or "-iz" was on the papers that they're holding when I made that comment. Edited January 19, 2007 by Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nairi Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 I maintain that the murderer is the Turkish government for refusing to acknowledge the Armenian genocide and feeding hatred unto one too many people in its country for so many decades. I am, on the other hand, glad to see so many Turks (leftist or not) come out on the streets to protest this murder. The streets could have been chillingly quiet, but they are not. As I understand it, there are still thousands of Turks out there protesting this horrendous crime. We should form as much alliance with them as we can. Insulting Turkishness as I have been reading on this thread by one too many Armenians will NOT help our case. And finally, ironically, the saying "gna spanvir, ari sirem" seems to apply all too well once again among Armenians. How much crap did Dink receive from Armenians who are now all of a sudden crying and in mourning? Let's search this forum alone. I would therefore not be surprised if we receive the same sort of reaction if, god forbid, Mutafian gets assassinated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zartonk Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 May his brave Soul be at Peace. We lost a relentless upholder of Truth and a champion of our cause. It is a SAD day for Turkey,Truth, Liberty, Humanity. A true martyr. Utmost condolence to his family, Bolsahyes & indeed all Armenians.' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DominO Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Did you guys noticed in the past couple of days the turks have been kind of passive...? The barbarians have been planning the murder of Hrant Dink for some period of time. This is not the governments doing, he was moderate and known also to criticise the Diaspora, I won't be surprised if it end up that some fanatic Turk did it. Even a nationalist Turk will know and even if he could hate the guy that this is not a positive thing for Turkey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zartonk Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 As angry as I am, I also applaud the Turk citizens who gathered in support & protest. Bravo. THAT is the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DominO Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 They are mostly leftist people. That is why they call themself as armenian.(An armenian will not say all of us are armenians.) Good observation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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