Assassination Of Hrant Dink

[Yervant1]

AKCAM: TALAT ***** HAS BEEN AVENGED

by Taner Akcam

 

http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/02/08/akcam-talat-*****-has-been-avenged/

February 8, 2012

 

The Armenian Weekly publishes below an article by Prof. Taner Akcam

arguing that Hrant Dink's murder was orchestrated as revenge for the

assassination of Talat *****, the mastermind of the Armenian Genocide.

 

The Turkish version of this article appeared in Taraf newspaper on

Jan. 23. Since the appearance of the article, new revelations related

to the Dink case have reinforced Prof. Akcam's argument. We thank

Fatima Sakarya for the English translation.

 

Yasin hayal: Did you know that the man who killed Talat ***** was

never punished, and that he was released?

 

The ruling coming out of the Hrant Dink trial has shocked all of us.

 

Shock is a good thing, a beautiful thing actually. It's a sign of

innocence and clarity. It shows that people's consciences are still

clear, and reflects their belief that the most natural thing in the

world is to expect, at a minimum, something very ordinary and humane

from one another. In fact, there's no reason for us to be so shocked.

 

If we knew where the people who are hiding Hrant's murderers stand;

if we knew how they view us; and, more importantly, if we were able to

make that connection between Hrant Dink's murder and the genocide of

1915, we wouldn't have been so shocked. We would have heard them say,

"Are they crazy? Have they lost their minds? Would this state ever

give up one single brick of its foundation?" Our shock is caused by

the mistake of not seeing the strong connection between this murder

and the Armenian Genocide. What is shocking is the fact that we were

shocked in the first place. It's a pity that we can't see what they

see, or know what they know.

 

Hrant Dink was murdered in order to avenge Talat *****'s murder.

 

Everything, and I mean everything, was organized in a way to seek

revenge for the assassination that occurred in 1921. Upon his release

after serving time in prison for his role in the McDonalds bombing of

2004 in Trabzon, Yasin Hayal, the person who planned Hrant's murder,

spoke about Talat ***** with his father. He asked his father, "Dad,

do you know how Talat ***** was killed?" Yasin Hayal himself knew

a thing or two about it, and added, "Did you know that the man who

killed Talat ***** was never punished, and that he was released?"

 

Why didn't they kill Hrant Dink in front of his home? Or why didn't

they kidnap him, kill him, and dump his body in some remote location,

just like the many crimes designated "perpetrator unknown" in Turkey?

 

If they had wanted to, they could have, but they preferred not to.

 

Instead, they killed him in front of Agos, on the street, in broad

daylight, with a bullet to the back of his head. Why? Because through

Hrant, they wanted to take Talat *****'s revenge from the Armenians.

 

Talat ***** was murdered by Soghoman Tehlirian, a survivor of the

genocide, in Berlin on March 15, 1921. Tehlirian approached Talat *****

from behind and shot him in the head. On June 3, after a two-day trial,

the assassin was found not guilty of murder.

 

But the murder has another similarity that we're not aware of. Those

who planned Talat *****'s assassination had decided that Tehlirian

shouldn't escape, that he should remain at the scene and submit

himself to arrest. Likewise, according to evidence from the Hrant

Dink investigations, gunman Ogun Samast was to remain at the scene,

or submit to arrest elsewhere in Istanbul. Everything was supposed to

occur the way it had in 1921. The goal was not only to avenge Talat

*****'s assasination, but to remind us of the genocide of 1915, of

the strangling of the voices of Armenians. They were trying to say,

"We will not give a single Armenian the chance to speak freely on

this soil after 1915." Oh, if only we had known what they knew,

seen what they saw...

 

God came to the rescue of those among us who were shocked and could

not see the connection between the genocide of 1915 and Hrant Dink's

murder. Rauf Denktas died around the same time. It was as if God

was telling us, "Are you blind? Open your eyes, observe. Are your

brains so dull? See and understand." He wanted us to see the line of

government-VIPs standing at Rauf Denktas's funeral, to open our eyes

and understand the connection between Hrant and 1915.

 

Who was Rauf Denktas? He was on the team that paved the road leading

to Hrant Dink's murder. Denktas was the president of the Executive

Board of the Talat ***** Committee, which was responsible for the

Talat ***** meetings and activities in Europe-Lausanne in 2005,

Berlin in 2006, and Paris and North Cyprus in 2007. It was formed to

organioze actions against Armenians in Europe and Turkey under the

slogan, "The Armenian Genocide is an international lie." It was one

of the most important mass organizations of Ergenekon. A number of

its founding members are now defendants or detainees of the Ergenekon

prosecution. During the investigations, defendants were questioned

over the Talat ***** Committee and its activities. Ferit Ilsever,

a defendant and member of the Talat ***** Committee, complained that

17 of the 49 questions directed at him were about the committee. He

believed, rather innocently, that the investigation being conducted

over "the veil of the Ergenekon terror organization" was actually

against the struggle they were waging "against the 'Armenian Genocide'

lie."

 

While Hrant Dink's real murderers remained free in Istanbul, all these

state VIPs were getting in line to attend Rauf Denktas's funeral. They

were sending us, the shocked ones, the following message: "We built

up this state on 1915. To shed light on the Hrant Dink murder means

to question the establishment of this state, to pull bricks out of

its foundation. Why would you expect us to reveal the truth of Hrant

Dink's murder? Don't you get it? We are all Rauf Denktas, and we will

always be on Talat *****'s side."

 

Ninety years of denial policies have blinded our eyes, dulled our

brains, and atrophied our brains. We can't see the link between the

genocide of 1915 and Hrant's murder the way they can and do. They made

us forget 1915, but they never forgot it. They've dulled our memory of

1915, but they themselves never forgot it. We've been so dumbed down

that some of us get spooked by the very word "genocide," especially

when someone says, "The genocide ought to be recognized." Some of us

still don't want to link Hrant's death with confronting our history,

the history of 1915. In fact, Hrant is what we were forced to forget,

the thing that was hidden from us.

 

Remember the fairy tales where the hero is given a key to the 40th

room that is never to be opened? Think of a room in an old house where

the trunk that holds our deepest secrets is hidden away. Hrant is the

key. To unlock the secrets of his murder is to open all the secrets

behind the formation of our republic. But this government doesn't

have the guts or the will to do this because they are "partners of

the secret."

 

Our Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip Erdogan], our President [Abdullah

Gul], [Deputy Prime Minister] Bulent Arinc, and other members of

the administration have stated that they are unhappy with the ruling

and that the public conscience has been wounded. There's no better

way to mock someone than this. As an old politician once said,

"Did someone tie your hands, that you weren't able to capture the

murderers?" Are you telling me that the same people who have access

into the "cosmic room" (top-secret room) of the general staff can't

find those who planned Hrant Dink's murder when even the public has

a good idea of who might be behind it? It isn't just crocodile tears

you're shedding; it's beyond that! You realize, don't you, that your

behavior is an example of supreme disrespect towards those who have

not let go of this prosecution for five years.

 

Once his sentencing was official, Hrant intended to take his entire

family and walk the deportation route from his birthplace Malatya

to Der Zor; he wanted to abandon Turkey. He used to say, "They don't

want me here, just like they didn't want my ancestors. And if that's

the case then there's no point in my staying here. I'm going to follow

their path out." Hrant wasn't ignorant about 1915, the way we are. He

experienced the connection between the 1915 genocide and what was

being done to him, every single day; he felt it in his bones. Before

he died he told me that he wanted to turn the courtroom, where he was

being prosecuted for the use of the word genocide, into a scene out

of history. He said, "Yes, I'm going to come out and say that 1915

was a genocide and I'm going to turn the courtroom into a tribunal

of history." They didn't give him the chance.

 

We need to open our eyes and shed light onto our dulled minds. Hrant

Dink was murdered to avenge Talat *****. Hrant is "1.5 million + 1."

 

Without seeing that and knowing that, we will never understand this

murder nor reveal the truth about it. During the days leading up to

2015, we will never learn the truth about this murder without saying,

"Yes, 1915 was a genocide and it must be recognized," and "Hrant was

murdered because he reminded you of all the Hrants from 1915." This

is the only way to save our Muslim faith and our Turkishness from

the past and from the hands of today's murderers.

 

I know how hard it is to live as an Armenian in this country. I

understand and feel deep inside of me the emotions behind the words

"I can't live here anymore," and the wish to abandon the land you

were born in. I don't know if I have the strength to do it but I

want to scream out: You are the light that will let us redefine

our Turkishness. You are the opportunity to remind the Muslims in

Anatolia today of the Muslims of yesterday who, when faced with the

annihilation of Armenians, said, "There's nothing in the Kuran that

allows this" and who opposed it and tried as much as they could to

save the lives of Armenians. If you go, there is no meaning left

to Turkishness or Muslim faith. You give us the opportunity and the

possibility to take this country and save it from being the country

of murderers and those who protect them.

 

I'm not saying this to convince you of something. These words are for

Hrant Dink's friends: You are writing history. You are signing on to a

principle on this soil. By never letting go of this case for the past

five years and saying "This case isn't over until we say it's over,"

you honor Turkey and you represent its tomorrow. You show us how

this republic can be redefined, not as the country of murderers and

their protectors, but as the common land of all citizens of diverse

religious and ethnic roots.

 

Let Hrant Dink be our symbol. Let him be our Martin Luther King. If

they want to lock arms around Rauf Denktas and Talat *****, then let

us form a tight circle around Hrant. Let Hrant and "1.5 million +1"

be the thing that separates our republic from their republic.

[MosJan]

Hrant Dink photos up for auction

 

Photos showing slain Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink fishing at the seaside have gone up for auction, private broadcaster NTV reported on its website today.

 

The three photos, taken while the Dink was fishing on Büyükada island, will be part of an auction that also includes 300 other photos.

 

The bidding for the photos will begin at 1,500 Turkish Liras.

 

The auction, hosted by the Artium Gallery, will take place Feb. 23 at the Sofa Hotel. The photos will be on display until then in the Artium building in Teşvikiye, Istanbul.

 

Dink, the editor-in-chief of the weekly Agos, which is published in Armenian and Turkish, was gunned outside his newspaper's office in 2007.

http://www.oratert.com/english/regional-news/17915.html

[MosJan]

Դինքի սպանության գործով արդարացվածը երիտասարդին ձերբակալել են բռնաբարության մեղադրանքով

 

Հրանտ Դինքի սպանության գործով կասկածյալներից 25-ամյա Զեյնել Աբիդին Յավուզը, ով դատարանի որոշմամբ արդարացվել էր, այս անգամ ձերբակալվել է բռնաբարության մեղադրանքով։

 

Firat գործակալության փոխանցմամբ՝ Զեյնել Աբիդին Յավուզը 2 ամիս առաջ սոցիալական կայքերից մեկի միջոցով ծանոթացել է 14-ամյա Է.Ու.-ի հետ։ Զեյնել Աբիդին Յավուզը 2 ընկերների հետ աղջկան տարել են մի տուն եւ դանակի սպառնալիքով բռնաբարել։

 

Աբիդին Յավուզը եւ հանցակից ընկերները ձերբակալվել են։

 

 

[MosJan]

Turkish young man justified in Dink murder case detained for rape

 

Turkish young man Zeynel Abidin Yavuz, 25, who was justified in Armenian chief editor Hrank Dink murder case, was detained for raping an underage.

 

Yavuz contacted a 14-year-old girl through social networks. Later Yavuz with his two friends took her home and raped threatening with a knife, Firat agency reports. Yavuz and his two friends are arrested

 

 

[Yervant1]

German-Turkish-Armenian Project Dramatizes Search for Identity

ARTS | DECEMBER 29, 2012 3:55 PM

By Muriel Mirak-Weissbach

 

Special to the Mirror-Spectator

 

BERLIN - Her name is Sabiha, the same name as the favorite adopted

daughter of Kemal Mustafa (Atatürk), who as a female pilot was a

symbol for her nation. But this Sabiha is German, and lives with her

immigrant mother, whom she calls Anne - `mother' in Turkish. This

Sabiha, we learn from her best friend (actually soul mate), also named

Anne, is 150-percent German, and only learns Turkish when she attends

university. She soon feels drawn to Turkish nationalist circles, and

even participates in nationalist demonstrations, honoring Talaat

*****, for example.

 

But who is Sabiha really? Is she German? Is she Turkish? Or is she,

perhaps, something else? Could she be Armenian?

 

This is the question posed by a new play whose debut took place in

Berlin at the Theater unterm Dach (Theatre under the Loft) in October.

Composed by the well-known German-Turkish author and activist Dogan

Akhanli, the play, titled `Anne's Silence,' is a monologue,

brilliantly performed by Bea Ehlers-Kerbekian, of Armenian descent,

and directed with startlingly-modern creative insight by Ron

Rosenberg. The play dramatizes the search for personal identity in the

context of a polemical confrontation with the official Turkish policy

of genocide denial, a policy which lies at the core of nationalist

identity. As the program notes comment, the production presents the

`speechlessness of the successor generations to the nationalist

criminals' in this search, and Sabiha, `by living and expressing her

own conflict, can find herself and overcome the cycle of violence and

memory suppression, identity loss and isolation.'

 

Sabiha herself condones nationalist ideology, and agrees to translate

a speech for a well-known intellectual from Turkey who has come to

Berlin to address a `day of action' organized by nationalist Turks on

March 15, to commemorate the anniversary of the assassination of

Talaat ***** on the Hardenbergstrasse. She cannot bring herself to

translate certain menacing phrases uttered by the speaker against

Hrant Dink, the editor of Agos, who had researched the Armenian

heritage of Atatürk's daughter Sabiha, because she thinks the

formulations would be offensive in Germany. However, in her own short

speech which follows, she too denounces the Genocide as a lie. She has

decided to begin her speech with a joke, which is to suggest that she

too is Armenian, since her name is Sabiha. To her surprise, instead of

laughing, the people cry out, `God forbid!' Sabiha's mother has also

come with her to the rally, and when they return home she asks her

mother why she is called Sabiha. It is then that she learns that,

indeed, she was named after that adopted daughter of Atatürk.

 

Sabiha's mother dies one day very suddenly, collapsing on the floor in

the kitchen. When her panicked daughter loosens the woman's blouse in

an attempt to ease her breathing, Sabiha discovers an Armenian cross

tattooed between her breasts and is profoundly shaken. Later, she

discovers a silver cross and a bible in her dead mother's hope chest,

and also finds a copy of Agos. Her mother had gotten it from the

Turkish speaker at the demo, who had held it up in agitation while

denouncing Dink. After Sabiha reads the paper, she calls the Agos

office and tells the editor she thinks she, too, might be Armenian.

His answer, she tells us, was: `In this country, no person can be sure

of his or her identity.'

 

When an assassin's bullet kills Hrant Dink, Sabiha follows events on

Turkish television, participating from afar in the funeral proceedings

as thousands of Turks carry hand signs saying `We are all Hrant. We

are all Armenians!' and witnesses his widow's moving address. Sabiha's

final vision is that of her mother along with thousands of saddened

women like her, ascending and being turned into cranes in flight. `Now

is the time,' she says, `to break Anne's silence.'

 

In this tightly-composed monologue, actress Bea Ehlers-Kerbekian plays

all the roles, thus giving artistic expression to the different but

related identities. First she appears on stage as Sabiha's friend,

Anne, who says they were both born on the same day and are therefore

like `twin sisters,' and of the two, Anne seems to embody the German

identity. Then the actress plays Sabiha preparing to go to the demo

with her mother. The same woman appears as the fiery speaker at the

rally and then jumps into the role of Sabiha who tells the rest of the

story. In the exchanges between mother and doughter, again actress

Ehlers-Kerbekian assumes both parts, shifting deftly from the reticent

older woman to the vivacious, multifaceted personality of Sabiha. By

presenting first her friend, then Sabiha, then her mother, then the

other characters and having them all portrayed by one actress, the

dramatist succeeds in showing us the multiple aspects of his heroine's

identity and the clash between them. To compose such a piece is a

literary challenge, which the dramatist has met by selecting single

short episodes and juxtaposing them thematically; for example, he also

weaves into his narrative references to identity traumas in the German

historical experience. Then to perform such a monologue, maintaining

the individuality of each character while at the same time respecting

the thematic and artistic continuity, requires extraordinary

concentration and acting skills. It comes as no surprise to the

audience to learn that Ehlers-Kerbekian has won several prizes for

acting in monologues.

 

Author Akhanli had explored the theme of the Armenian Genocide in an

earlier novel and has been active in Germany in projects aimed at

helping Germans, Turks and Armenians to work through their common

history in an effort to acknowledge the reality and reach

reconciliation. His new effort, whose brevity and poetical structure

enhance its impact, constitutes a further contribution to this social

process of dealing with the tormented past; for, after each

performance of the short play (just over an hour in duration), viewers

have the opportunity to hear presentations by historians, social

scientists, persons involved in conflict resolution and so forth, and

to discuss the broader issues with them as well as with the author,

director and actress. Such cultural events play a vital role in the

discussion process unfolding not only in Germany around the Armenian

Genocide, but also in Turkey itself, where the citizens' search for

their true identity has given birth to a vast array of literary works

and generated a broad social debate around the events of 1915.

 

This new dramatic work will be featured in January during events in

Germany honoring the memory of Hrant Dink, and there are plans for

performances in Istanbul and Yerevan. It is to be hoped that an

English version will soon be available for an American public.

[Yervant1]

CALIFORNIA VILLAGE TO COMMEMORATE DINK MARTYRDOM

 

tert.am

07.01.13

 

California's Winnetka village will host on Sunday a commemoration event

dedicated to Hrant Dink, the editor-in-chief of the Armenian-Turkish

bilingual weekly Agos.

 

The ceremony, expected to mark the sixth anniversary of Dink's death,

will take place in the village's "Krikor & Aved Kurkcuoglu Hall,

the Organization of the Istanbul Armenians has said in a statement.

 

Hovhannes Avedikyan, the chairman of the organization's Cultural

Committee, is due to speak at the event.

 

Dink was gunned down outside his office in Istanbul on January 19,

2007.

[Yervant1]

http://www.armenian.ca/SR/ACCT_SR/IMAGES/UPLOAD/EVENT/A6A5278B-5324-47F4-8F29-D9E91CC6FA24.JPG

[Yervant1]

TURKEY NOT COMPLYING WITH EUROPEAN COURT RULING ON DINK CASE

 

http://news.am/eng/news/131629.html

December 07, 2012 | 17:27

 

Turkey is not complying with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)

ruling that was made in connection with the murder case of Hrant Dink,

the founder and chief editor of Istanbul's Agos Armenian bilingual

weekly, who was gunned down in 2007 in front of his office building.

 

Dink's family petitioned to the Committee of Ministers of the Council

of Europe, which deals with the implementation of ECtHR rulings. In

this respect, the family's attorney, Fethiye Cetin, noted that the

Turkish authorities are not taking any clear measures to comply with

the ECtHR ruling, Agos reports.

 

To note, the European Court of Human Rights ruled against Turkey,

on September 14, 2010, with respect to the aforesaid case. In the

respective decision it was noted that the Turkish authorities had not

ensured Dink's safety and had not conducted a necessary investigation

to solve the murder.

[Yervant1]

CHOMSKY TO LECTURE FOR HRANT DINK

 

http://hetq.am/eng/news/22031/chomsky-to-lecture-for-hrant-dink.html

13:45, January 7, 2013

 

On January 18, linguist and political activist Noam Chomsky will

give a lecture dedicated to the memorial of Hrant Dink in Bogazici

University, Istanbul.

 

The title of Chomsky's lecture was announced as "Turkey and The

Emerging World Order".

 

The session is scheduled at 3 pm in Albert Long Hall, co-hosted by

sociology and political science departments in Bogazici University.

 

The lecture will be in English but also simultaneously translated

into Turkish, according to Bianet News.

[Yervant1]

THE MURDER OF HRANT DINK: A TURKISH COURT DENIES A WIDER CONSPIRACY

 

http://lurer.com/?p=67480&l=en

2013-01-09 15:27:54

 

The journalist Hrant Dink was no stranger to sinister e-mails

and anonymous death threats. Turkish of Armenian descent, he was a

well-known and outspoken advocate for peace between the two bitterly

estranged nations. That won him few friends among rabid Turkish

nationalists who hated Dink because he openly said the killings of

hundreds of thousands of Armenians in the early 20th century was

genocide - a term Turkey rejects.

 

But things rapidly got worse for Dink in January 2007. Sentenced by

a court for "insulting Turkishness," he was vilified by mainstream

newspapers and called into a meeting at the Istanbul governor's office

to be warned that he had gone too far. "I am now a target," he wrote.

 

"My soul," he wrote shortly after the meeting, "has the skittishness

of a dove ... a bit frightened, but free."

 

The day those words were published, Dink was gunned down outside

his newspaper's office, shot in the head three times by Ogun Samast,

then 17, who was later apprehended in Trabzon, a city on the Black Sea

coast, where patriotism and machismo run high. Leaked pictures showed

police and army officers apparently giving the young man a hero's

welcome: they posed, smiling, against the backdrop of a Turkish flag.

 

According to rights activists, the case file is riddled with

contradictions, misplaced evidence, ATM-camera footage that

mysteriously disappeared and dozens of other suspect details. Even more

striking is that since the trial began in 2007, several individuals

believed to be involved in Dink's assassination have been arrested

in connection with Ergenekon, an alleged ultra-nationalist network

that sought to topple the government. Yet lawyers have been unable to

question them about their connection to the Dink case. "This shows

us that the boundaries between who is immune from prosecution or

not are predrawn, and you can only go after someone when the state

deems it appropriate, which is not the case for Hrant Dink's murder,"

said the Istanbul-based Human Rights Platform in a special report.

 

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul promised last year to personally

pursue the case - "a clean Turkey," he said, "was a personal

responsibility." He ordered state auditors to look into the

allegations, although little has come of that initiative, and his

reaction to Tuesday's verdict remains to be seen. Dink's family -

his wife, son and daughter - will likely appeal the ruling.

[Yervant1]

TURKISH ORGANIZATION TO HOLD COMMEMORATION CEREMONIES IN MEMORY OF HRANT DINK

 

17:53, 9 January, 2013

 

YEREVAN, JANUARY 9, ARMENPRESS: Turkish "Say no to racism and

nationalism" organization has announced about its initiative to have

a number of special commemoration ceremonies on the occasion of 6th

anniversary after Hrant Dink's assassination. As reports Armenpress

"Marmara" daily published in Istanbul writes about it.

 

Cengiz Alkan, representative of the organization, has informed such

events are aimed to explain what Hrant Dink wanted to tell Turkey. He

also condemned that the murder hadn't been yet investigated. Alkan

has also highlighted despite all the conducive circumstances it has

been already 6 years nobody managed to find the murderers. He noted

that a special commemoration ceremony would take place in "Hil"

pub at Taksim square.

 

"Hrant just disappeared in front of our eyes. Not only the main

perpetrators have not been found but also political figures connected

with this case have had some career growth".

[Yervant1]

http://www.armenianweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/logo11.png

 

Dink Commemoration in LA to Feature Talk on ‘Hidden Armenians’

 

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—On Sunday, Jan. 13, the Organization of Istanbul Armenians (OIA) will commemorate the 6th anniversary of Hrant Dink’s martyrdom with a lecture on the “hidden Armenians” of Turkey by Armenian Weekly editor Khatchig Mouradian.

http://www.armenianweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/dink.jpg

http://www.armenianweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/dink.jpg

 

 

Dink

The lecture, titled “Historic Armenia Today: Between the Hidden and the Revealed (A Photographic Journey),” will be held at 6 p.m. at the OIA “Krikor and Aved Kurkcuoglu Hall,” on 19726 Sherman Way Winnetka, Calif.

Dr. Ohannes Kulak Avedikyan, trustee and chairman of the Organization of Istanbul Armenians Cultural Committee, will deliver opening remarks.

Edvin Minassian, Esq., the chairman of the Organization of Istanbul Armenians Board of Trustees and a member Armenian Bar Association, will discuss the Hrant Dink Foundation and current developments.

The master of ceremonies will be Apo Boghigian, editor in chief of Asbarez Daily newspaper.

The event is free and open to the public. For information, call Dr. Ohannes Kulak Avedikyan at (818) 800-1976.

[Yervant1]

DINK HIT ORGANIZED, SAYS TOP PROSECUTOR

 

http://www.armradio.am/en/2013/01/11/dink-hit-organized-says-top-prosecutor/

12:39 11.01.2013

 

The prosecutor's office of the Supreme Court of Appeals of Turkey has

asked the top court to overturn the rulings in the Hrant Dink murder

case, arguing that the assassination was organized.

 

"It is obvious that the murder was not an ordinary killing, the

actions filed in the report had the goals of causing chaos in society,

weakening authority, disrupting the unity and territorial integrity

of the state and putting our country in a disturbing position," the

office's appeal, made public today, read, Hurriyet Daily News reports.

 

Dink, an Armenian-Turkish journalist, was assassinated in Istanbul

in January 2007 by Ogun Samast, a 17-year old Turkish nationalist,

in front of the offices of Agos, the weekly for which he was the

editor-in-chief.

 

After two years of proceedings Samast was convicted on July 25,

2011, of premeditated murder and illegal possession of a firearm

by Istanbul's Juvenile Court for Serious Crimes and sentenced to 22

years and 10 months. Another suspect, Yasin Hayal, was convicted of

ordering the murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

 

However, the court ruled that Dink's murder was not an organized crime

despite serious claims that some civil servants were "indirectly"

involved.

 

The appeal by the prosecutor's office also noted that there was no

active investigation in the beginning to determine the network among

the conspirators.

 

The Turkish Presidency's State Supervisory Council (DDK) recommended

in an official report in February 2012 that top police and gendarmerie

officials be prosecuted in the Dink murder case due to their alleged

negligence before and after the journalist's killing.

 

The DDK also touched on the need to reform the secret services in

order to have the ability to prevent the murders of key personalities

or social unrest like the bloody incidents that took place in Sivas

in 1993 or in KahramanmaraÅ~_ in 1978. "Hrant Dink's murder must be

evaluated as a whole, starting from when Dink was singled out as a

target and threatened," the 650-page report said.

 

Claims were directed at Istanbul's former Gov. Muammer Guler, as

well as the Istanbul Police Department's intelligence director, Ahmet

Ä°lhan Guler. Accordingly, the Trabzonchief of police sent a report

to the Istanbul Police to warn of an assassination plot against Dink,

but Guler allegedly did not take it seriously. Attempts to investigate

Guler after the murder have been blocked.

 

The report's findings regarding the negligence of the Trabzon Police

Department have been omitted from the file put on the web. This

section includes the assessment of six important criticisms leveled

against the verdict.

 

Noting that senior civil servants had a direct role in not protecting

Dink before the murder even though they had received crucial

intelligence regarding the impending danger, the report suggested

that these civil servants should also be prosecuted.

[Yervant1]

The Organization of Istanbul Armenians (OIA) will commemorate the 6th

anniversary of Hrant Dink's martyrdom

 

http://armenpress.am/eng/news/704860/the-organization-of-istanbul-armenians-oia-will-commemorate-the-6th-anniversary-of-hrant-dink%E2%80%99s-martyrdom.html

13:26, 13 January, 2013

 

The Organization of Istanbul Armenians (OIA) will commemorate the 6th

anniversary of Hrant Dink's martyrdom with a lecture on the `hidden

Armenians' of Turkey by Armenian Weekly editor Khatchig Mouradian.

 

The lecture, titled `Historic Armenia Today: Between the Hidden and

the Revealed (A Photographic Journey),' will be held at 6 p.m. at the

OIA `Krikor and Aved Kurkcuoglu Hall,' on 19726 Sherman Way Winnetka,

Calif.

 

Dr. Ohannes Kulak Avedikyan, trustee and chairman of the Organization

of Istanbul Armenians Cultural Committee, will deliver opening

remarks.

 

Edvin Minassian, Esq., the chairman of the Organization of Istanbul

Armenians Board of Trustees and a member Armenian Bar Association,

will discuss the Hrant Dink Foundation and current developments.

 

The master of ceremonies will be Apo Boghigian, editor in chief of

Asbarez Daily newspaper.

 

The event is free and open to the public. For information, call Dr.

Ohannes Kulak Avedikyan.

[Yervant1]

Federation of Armenian Organisations in The Netherlands (FAON)

Address: Weesperstraat 91

2574 VS The Hague, The Netherlands

Telephone: +31704490209

Contact: M. Hakhverdian

E-mail: info@faon.nl

 

 

Press Release

 

FAON honours Hrant Dink

Concerns about recent killings of Armenians in Istanbul

 

The Hague, 15 January 2013 - This week - also in the Netherlands - the world

community commemorates the fact that the Armenian journalist Hrant Dink on

19 January 2006 in broad daylight was murdered before his office in

Istanbul. The FAON is concerned both because the perpetrators of the

assassination have still not been convicted, but also because of recent

attacks on two Armenian women and a teacher of an Armenian school in

Istanbul. At this attacks an old Armenian woman and the teacher of Armenian

school were killed and earlier in 2012 an Armenian woman lost her eye.

 

The following events will take place in Holland to honour the memory of

Hrant Dink:

 

On Saturday, 19 January 2013 at 4 p.m. a special Armenian Apostolic Church

Service will be held in Assen at the St. Athanasius Coptic Church, address:

Talmastraat 111, 9406 KM Assen. Afterwards flowers will be laid down at the

Hrant Dink¹s memorial (khatchkar) at the cemetery Boskamp, address: Boskamp

5, 9405 NN Assen. The Hrant Dink¹s memorial stone is not far from the

Armenian Genocide Memorial of Assen.

 

On Saturday 19 January 2013 at 7:30 p.m. a commemoration meeting will be

held in Almelo, address: Wierdensestraat 127, 7604 BD Almelo. This event is

organised by the Foundation Yerevan and includes a lecture on the biography

and significance of Hrant Dink. Special attention will be paid to the

extremely dubious lawsuit against the perpetrators, which after six years

still continues.

 

The following day, on 20 January 2013, the annual football tournament named

after and dedicated to Hrant Dink will take place in Almelo, where the

Armenian youth teams from different places will compete with each other.

 

FAON will request the Dutch parliament and government to pay attention to

the recent murders of Armenians in Turkey.

 

Reprinted on ANN/Groong with permission from RFE/RL

Copyright © 2013 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.

1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

www.rferl.org

[Yervant1]

Armenia is Dink’s home. 6th anniversary of his death

http://armenpress.am/static/news/b/2013/01/705520.jpg12:04, 19 January, 2013

 

YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, ARMENPRESS: 6 years have passed after the assassination of prominent Armenian journalist from Istanbul, chief editor of “Agos” weekly Hrant Dink.

Hrant Dink was shot dead in Shishli district of Istanbul on January 19, 2007. After leaving the murder shouted “giaour” giving basis for suspicion that the murder was committed based on nationalist hatred.

Dink was one of those intellectuals, famous for their fearless speeches being numerously persecuted for that. After a scandalous article in 2004, titled "The Secret of Sabiha Hatun" in which a former Gaziantep resident, Hripsime Sebilciyan, claimed to be niece of Sabiha Gökçen, first woman fighter pilot, implying Armenian ancestry, Hrant Dink came under fire, most notably by newspaper columnists and Turkish ultra-nationalist groups, which labeled him a traitor. Despite the charges against Dink he didn’t stop to be silent and raised the issues of the violation of rights of ethnic minorities of Turkey. He raised the Armenia issue, recognition of Armenian Genocide, which might be conducive for the Armenian-Turkish dialogue; therefor he sharply refused to leave Turkey.

“The feelings of my family, as well as mine are not easy at all. There were moments when I seriously thought of leaving the country. Especially when the threats where addressed to the family. At such moments I felt to be forced. Apparently this is the "life-and-death" saying,” Dink said, repeating that he was Armenian, but born in Turkey.

“I feel like a dove in this society, which has to be very vigilant, so I handily swirl my head up and down, right and left, to avoid the danger, but I am not afraid, cause doves are not being shot in this society,” wrote Dink in his last article.

Hrant Dink was posthumously rewarded in 2007 by Armenian President. Dink was among 18 writers, artists, and scientists awarded that year from a special presidential endowment set up with the help of French-Armenian philanthropist Robert Bogossian in 2001.

Despite the Turkish hatred, thousands of Turkish people rallied in the square with “We all are Armenians, we all are Dink” posters.

“Armenia is the greatest motherland, and the diaspora is its islands”, Dink once said.

[Yervant1]

Turkish upper circles were well aware of the initiative of Dink's murder

 

13:35, 19 January, 2013

 

YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, ARMENPRESS: Turkish press presents the

assassination of prominent Armenian journalist from Istanbul, chief

editor of `Agos' weekly Hrant Dink in a light of nationalist action

which has nothing to do with the state. Armenpress reports, candidate

for historical sciences Gevorg Melkonyan has noted during January 19

interview with journalist that Turkish upper circles were well aware

of the initiative of Dink's murder.

 

`Dink's murder was the logical continuation of Armenian Genocide,

therefor I have to disappoint, because this murder is year after year

more spoken about all over the world. I am sure that everybody

understand that it was Turkish government which tried to keep Dink

silent,' Melkonyan said, noting that the murderer was only 17 years

old and wasn't able to make such a serious decision all by himself.

 

He has assured that the majority of Turkish society knows about the

fact of Armenian Genocide; it is not accidental that the majority of

Turkish society rallied after Hrant Dink's murder demanding its

government to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

 

Candidate for historical sciences noted that Turkey was an

unpredictable state which had a serious need for reforms.

 

6 years have passed after the assassination of prominent Armenian

journalist from Istanbul, chief editor of `Agos' weekly Hrant Dink.

Hrant Dink was shot dead in Shishli district of Istanbul on January

19, 2007. After leaving the murder shouted `giaour' giving basis for

suspicion that the murder was committed based on nationalist hatred.

Dink was one of those intellectuals, famous for their fearless

speeches being numerously persecuted for that.

[Yervant1]

If you met Hrant Dink , what would you tell him?'. `Agos' made a special video 15:17, 19 January, 2013 YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, ARMENPRESS: Armenian weekly published in `Istanbul' has made a video and published in the official web site of `Agos'. `If you met Hrant Dink, what would you tell him?' this is the question of the video. As reports Armenpress, the video contains the positions of Turkish citizens and their words addressed to Hrant Dink. Armenpress reports a few of them. `Already 6 years passed. The one who murdered you has been sentenced but those who are the real responsible for your death have been awarded'... `You are me, I am you. What happened to you may happen with any of us. All we the same.' `Hrant, you are a great pain in our hearts. Losing you we felt us orphans. I wouldn't have changed with anything else just seeing you for one more time.' `Hrant, now I am thinking if then you used to live in your body, now you are in the hearts of millions of people.' `Dear Hrant, I know, you had your ideal. You dreamed of a Turkey full of fraternity, equality and freedom. You are the symbol of coexistence.' `Will it be possible to live like brother Hrant?' `We were silent before you. With you we started to speak about the Genocide and we will even after you.'

[Yervant1]

Hetq

 

London: Turkish Embassy Staff Attack Dink Protestors

 

 

 

 

http://hetq.am/static/news/b/2013/01/22488.jpg16:06, January 19, 2013

 

On January 18, the eve of the anniversary of the 2007 murder of journalist Hrant Dink in Istanbul, Mr. Eilian Williams, leader of the Cardiff organization “Solidarity with the Victims of All Genocides”, and one of his colleagues were physically attacked by the members of the Turkish Embassy in London when they wanted to deliver a letter of protest to the Ambassador Ahmet Ünal Çeviköz.

The embassy staff refused to accept the letter and one of its members attacked Ellian Williams. Mr. Williams’ clothes were torn and a police officer had to intervene to prevent things from escalating. Mr. Williams was then expelled from the embassy.

In his letter, Williams Eilian called on Turkey's ambassador to answer the question: Who kills the Armenians in Istanbul?; referring to an article by Jenny White published on January 11 at Boston

[Yervant1]

Mouradian Delivers Talk on Genocide Justice in Ankara (Full Text)

 

Posted by Khatchig Mouradian on January 20, 2013 in Opinion · 21 Comments· http://www.armenianweekly.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-email/images/email.gif Email · http://www.armenianweekly.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-print/images/print.gif Print

 

 

 

 

ANKARA, Turkey (A.W.)–On January 19, Armenian Weekly editor Khatchig Mouradian delivered a talk in Ankara on justice for the Armenian genocide, in Turkish, during a panel discussion held in memory of Hrant Dink.

http://www.armenianweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/dink-assasination-300x233.jpg

http://www.armenianweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/dink-assasination-300x233.jpg

 

 

I only saw one man lying bullet-ridden, face down, on the sidewalk.

Below is the English version of the talk. Details of the event to follow.

The Turkish version of the talk is available here.

***

How did Turkish come to me?

I did not learn it to add one more foreign language to my CV.

Turkish came to me the day I was born–I had not asked for it, yet I could not reject it either.

It came to me in the voice of my grandmother.

For you, Turkish is the mother tongue. For me it’s my grandmother’s language.

My grandparents survived the genocide and ended up in Lebanon with practically nothing. They rebuilt their lives from scratch, and gave my parents the gift of life.

And when I was born, they gave me one of the few things they were, in fact, able to bring with them from Kilikia: the Turkish language.

For you, Turkish is the language of parental love.

For me, it is the burden of death and dispossession.

My Turkish has memories of death and dispossession from Adana, Kilis, Konya Eregli, and Hasanbeyli. The villages and towns of my grandparents.

And today, for the first time, I speak that language from a podium.

Today, for the first time, I return that gift of death and dispossession to the lands it came from.

And instead, I demand a language of justice.

***

Six years ago on this day, I woke up in Boston with an early morning call from my mother in Lebanon.

She gave me the devastating news.

At that moment, the only thing I could do was sit down and write this letter:

Dear Hrant,

I believe by now, the water found its crack; you found in the great beyond those whom we lost 92 years ago.

Hrant, I have some favors to ask.

Embrace Krikor Zohrab for me. Tell him I have been reading and rereading his short stories ever since I discovered them.

Give Daniel Varoujan my best. Tell him he enlightened my youth with his poems, and he continues to inspire my soul.

Hrant, do not forget to chant songs of survival with Siamanto.

Tell them they are on our bookshelves, they are on our classroom tables, their words are on our lips and in our hearts.

And tell them I believe-I’m sure you do too-that one day, they will be on the bookshelves, classroom tables, lips and hearts of Turks as well.

One day their statues-and yours-will also adorn Istanbul.

Do not forget to pray with Komitas, and tell him that one day, Armenian women will sing again in those villages.

Please find my grandparents. Tell them we carry their names and their love to the land they never left, the land we never saw.

Hrant, kiss the blessed foreheads of each and every victim of the Medz Yeghern of 1915.

Tell them we shall continue to walk on the road of their dreams. Because their dreams are our dreams.

Tell them we shall make the deserts flourish with the scent of their memory.

Tell them that from Talaat to Samast, we are survivors.

Tell them we are all Zohrab, Varoujan, Siamanto, Komitas and Hrant.

Love,

Khatchig Mouradian

***

I had written, “Tell them we are all Zohrab, Varoujan, Siamanto, Komitas and Hrant.”

Years passed. Yet I still have not reconciled myself with the “We are all Hrant Dink, We are all Armenian” mantra that thousands in Turkey chanted at Dink’s funeral, and hundreds of writers repeated in the months and years that followed.

Speaking at a Dink memorial event a few days after his assassination, I was not simply pointing out the obvious when I said that no one is Hrant Dink. I only saw one man—lying bullet-ridden, face down, on the sidewalk. He was alone. Where were all the other Hrant Dinks then?

After that fateful day—out of guilt, anger, or resignation, I do not know—many in Turkey who knew Hrant became more vocal. And many who hadn’t known him now did, and their lives were affected profoundly.

Yet, despite the outpouring of emotion and ink, despite the outrage in Turkey and beyond, and despite the incessant repetition of “We are all Hrant Dink, We are all Armenian,” Hrant is no less lonely today than he was six years ago on that sidewalk.

Because justice is the only true cure for that loneliness.

And the individuals responsible for the crime have not been apprehended.

No one is Hrant Dink. Even Hrant Dink was sometimes not himself, because one cannot fully be oneself—as a public intellectual and, more importantly, as an Armenian—and get away with it in Turkey, where the pressure to tone discourse down, to criticize and lament within limits, to applaud the most insignificant act of dissidence as the paragon of heroism is overwhelming, insurmountable.

No one, then, is Hrant Dink, and no one, by the way, is Armenian.

Speaking in Istanbul on April 24, 2010, to a group of intellectuals and activists, the one message I tried to convey was the impossibility to share, feel, and understand—and, in the greater scheme of things, its unimportance.

The Turkish national economy (milli ekonomi) was built to a considerable extent on the violent dispossession of Armenians. The power asymmetry between Turkey and Armenia today is a product of that dispossession. And the burden of dispossession makes words of sharing, feelings, and understanding ring hollow, no matter how genuine they are.

But there is a way forward. A true engagement with Armenians begins from the point of utter dispossession and humiliation—on the sands of Der Zor.

And a true engagement begins from the point of turning the language of dispossession into a language of justice.

Let us not talk about a shared past and how we all eat the same food.

The road to peace is not more dolma, it is justice.

Let us not ask everyone to become friends with Armenians or with Hrant.

Here in this hall, in this country, and around the world, Hrant and Armenians have many friends.

But asking others to open their eyes and acknowledge the suffering of Armenians can never be enough.

What is necessary is justice.

So today, I bring return my language of death and dispossession to you.

And instead, in the name of my grandparents, Khachadour and Meline Mouradian, Ardashes and Aghavni Gharibian, I demand a language of justice.

[Zartonk]

Person having relation to Dink’s murder becomes a minister

 

Ex governor of Istanbul Muammer Guler, who according to Hrant Dink’s lawyers, had relation to the murder of the chief editor of Agos paper has been appointed Turkey’s Interior Affairs Minister, Turkish Radikal reports.

 

One of the lawyers of Hrant Dink Ergin Cinmen commented on the information, saying “Those who touched Hrant Dink are advancing.”

 

One of Hrant’s friends Hayko Baghdat stated, “We are living in a country where we are forced to make choices between Interior Affairs Minister Idris Sahin standing behind those with anti-Armenian posters and head of the structure that threatened Dink - Muammer Guler.”

 

Chief editor of Istanbul-based Armenian-Turkish Agos newspaper Hrant Dink was murdered on January 19, 2007.

 

During the trial his lawyers reminded that before the murder Dink had been called to the Istanbul prosecutor’s office where two people threatened him.

 

Dink’s lawyers demanded to open a trial against Istanbul governor Muammer Guler, chief of Istanbul police Celalet Ceran and other 24 officials.

 

But the Istanbul court stated that there is ‘no organized band’ behind the murder and the case was closed.

 

http://tert.am/en/ne...mer-guler-dink/

Edited January 25, 2013 by Zartonk

[Yervant1]

http://asbarez.com/App/Asbarez/images/asbarez_01_460x101.jpg

 

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013 | Posted by Garen Yegparian

 

 

Share

http://asbarez.com/wp-content/themes/vMultiAppUI/wb/images/vPrint_02_16x16.gif Print

 

Shades of Western Armenia

 

 

 

http://asbarez.com/App/Asbarez/eng/2013/01/Garen-Y.1-200x300.jpg

Garen Yegparian

BY GAREN YEGPARIAN

The degradation, the humiliation, the callousness, the disregard for human life, the debasing of all that is decent about humans, and treating others as mere chattel, as I watched this, I kept drifting from the movie, Django Unchained, to the description, given in Roupen Der Minasian’s Memories of an Armenian Revolutionary, of life in Turkish occupied Western Armenia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Of course our ancestors were not slaves. A more apt term would be serfs. Nevertheless, they were at the mercy of local (usually Kurdish) chieftains and (usually Turkish) tax collectors who were free to do as they wished with us since we were second class citizens whose word was not accepted in the (Muslim) Ottoman Empire’s courts because we were Christians.

The movie even came complete with the concept and role of a “black slaver” and “uncle tom”, both of which reminded of the despicable tax-collector, Tomas Effendee, in Raffi’s novel, Khentuh (The Fool), which also does a fantastic job of describing the abominable conditions of Armenian life in that same era.

Unfortunately for us, the count continues 1,500,001 (Hrant Dink- 2007), 1,500,002 (Sevag Balıkçı /Balukjee- 2011), 1,500,003 (Marissa Küçük/Kuchuk- 2011), 1,500,004 (İlker Şahin/Shaheen- 2012). While the descendants of American slaves still face many obstacles, lynchings, or similar activities, are a thing of the past. Unfortunately, Turkish society has clearly not yet matured that much.

This all came together for me at the Hrant Dink memorial held at the Organization of Istanbul Armenians’ center during Khachig Mouradian’s (editor of The Armenian Weekly) presentation about the crypto-Armenians of Turkey. These largely hidden, full, half, or quarter Armenians are still potentially subject to mistreatment if exposed. Khachig also referred to the depravity of survivors, OUR parents/grandparents/great-grandparents’ brothers and sisters having to live in denial of their trauma, their whole lives under the yoke of the denialist state. How patently awful is that? And, what scars did that leave on our cousins— first, second, third?

The tantalizing, harrowing, question Khachig posed is, in effect, how do we integrate those survivors, and by extension their progeny, into our narrative of survival and rebirth?

Please, think deeply on this matter. It seems extremely profound to me.

 

http://asbarez.com/App/Asbarez/images/us.pngEnglish

http://asbarez.com/App/Asbarez/images/am.pngArmenian

[Yervant1]

BEDROSYAN: HRANT'S MESSAGE AND THE WAY FORWARD

by Raffi Bedrosyan

 

http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/01/24/bedrosyan-hrants-message-and-the-way-forward/

January 24, 2013

 

On the sixth anniversary of his assassination and more significantly,

on the sixth anniversary of the Turkish state's inability or

unwillingness to find his real killers, Hrant Dink was remembered by

tens of thousands of people in many countries as well as in Turkey,

including Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Diyarbakir, Malatya, and Bodrum.

 

Throughout the world, Turkish and Armenian speakers repeated his

vision and message of direct dialogue between Turks and Armenians.

 

Year by year, instead of gradually diminishing in numbers toward

oblivion, as is the case for other assassinated journalists in Turkey,

there is a snowballing increase in the number and intensity of people

attending the Hrant Dink commemorations, protesting and demanding

justice, as well as adopting Hrant's message with more determination.

 

It is not the tiny Armenian community in Turkey, but Turks (and Kurds)

from all walks of life who have embraced Hrant as a tragic hero. The

momentum is building to declare Hrant a martyr-the first shared martyr

by the historically opposing nations of Armenians and Turks.

 

After being systematically brainwashed by the state with ever-changing

official versions of history, people in Turkey have now finally started

to learn the true historic facts, reasons, and consequences of 1915,

not just the Turkish version versus Armenian version.

 

But what exactly was Hrant's message? He would define Armenians

and Turks as two sick people, clinical cases-Armenians suffering

from trauma (obsessed with 1915) and Turks suffering from paranoia

(fear of consequences of acknowledging 1915). He would advocate

Armenians and Turks to be each other's doctors, with dialogue as

the only prescription. And he would clap his large hands vigorously,

exclaiming, "There is no other medicine, no other doctor, no, no, no."

 

He knew dialogue would be useless if one couldn't discuss the painful

year of 1915, but only pleasant subjects such as Turks' and Armenians'

shared values, shared culture, shared foods like dolma and kebab. He

knew that dialogue would also be useless if one was unable to really

"listen and hear," in addition to talk. And most importantly, he knew

that dialogue would be useless if one didn't know the real historical

facts of 1915. After being systematically brainwashed by the state

with ever-changing official versions of history, people in Turkey

have now finally started to learn the true historic facts, reasons,

and consequences of 1915, not just the Turkish version versus Armenian

version. So, if and when there is willingness to talk and listen,

both sides can and should engage in direct dialogue, without the need

to convince third parties to pressure the other side.

 

Hrant had studied zoology, and he would explain that if you remove

any living organism from its natural environment, you would cause

its extinction. He would then say, "If you remove an entire people

from its land where it has lived continuously for 3,000 years, even

if you transport them with great care in 'golden airplanes,' this

would still be similar to taking an axe to the roots of an ancient

tree." He didn't need to explain 1915 with long words; in a corner

of the Agos newspaper, every week, he would place some facts about

a village or town in Anatolia-could be in west, east, north, south,

or central Anatolia-giving the Armenian and total population numbers,

the names and numbers of churches and schools there, before 1915. He

would have photos of these active Armenian churches and schools in

that village or town before 1915, and photos of these non-existent

churches or schools today, totaling more than 4,000 buildings. That

would be enough for anyone to understand the reality of 1915.

 

But he wouldn't only talk about the Armenians gone or dead in 1915. He

was much more interested in talking about the Armenians who remained,

who stayed in Anatolia, who stayed and survived, but no longer as

Armenians. These were the Armenians who survived by converting to

Islam, by assuming Turkish, Kurdish, or Alawi identities. These were

the Armenian girls and boys captured or sold, kept hidden, protected

or married to Turks and Kurds. And entire Armenian villages that

converted to Islam, or stayed protected by friendly Kurdish and Alawi

leaders. Hrant was obsessed with this subject. What happened to these

people? Did they secretly keep their Armenian identity? Did they pass

it on to the next generations? Where are they now? How many are there?

 

If there are "hidden Armenians," what would be the trigger for them to

"come out of hiding"?

 

Genocide is not a single event but a continuous process. It is not

only denial of a genocide that continues it, but also assimilation

and conversion that continue it. Scholars have recently started

defining genocide not only as the destruction of an oppressed nation,

but also the construction of the oppressor nation-using assimilation

and conversion processes. For Armenians, these processes continued

on all fronts.

 

Hrant didn't or couldn't write much about this sensitive subject,

but he was preoccupied by it, gathering stories, anecdotal evidence,

always encouraging others to find out more. Clearly, this was not

a subject that could be researched openly and scientifically, but

whenever a new revelation came out about hidden Armenians in Anatolia,

he would be greatly excited. His lawyer Fethiye Cetin's book My

Grandmother was only an example of the fate of the hidden Armenians.

 

In an interview with London filmmaker Nouritsa Matossian for the

documentary "Hrant Dink: A Heart Of Two Nations," Matossian asked him,

"Do you see Armenian faces in Anatolia?" Hrant: "Yes, often."

 

Nouritsa: "Apparitions [meaning, ghosts]?" Hrant: "Apparitions and

real ones." One could tell that Hrant, the emotional Hrant with the

biggest heart, was like a child who had a secret he could hardly keep.

 

The answer to the question that kept him wondering-What would be

the trigger for the hidden Armenians to come out?-came four years

too late for Hrant to witness, unfortunately. The trigger was the

reconstruction of the Diyarbakir Surp Giragos Church in 2011.

 

Thousands of Anatolians, young and old, Turkish and Kurdish, in

appearance and identity, returned to their Armenian roots with the

reopening of this church. Some got baptized in the church, some

changed their Turkish names to the Armenian original, some changed

their identity to Armenian but remained Muslim (a new phenomenon of

Muslim-Armenians), some started learning the Armenian language. Hrant

would have danced with joy to see an 11-year-old Kurdish girl not

only learning Armenian but also singing Armenian songs at the first

Armenian concert in the Diyarbakir Surp Giragos Church in 2012. Hrant

would have danced on the table after seeing a thousand people from

Adiyaman, Amasya, Arapkir, Dersim, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Harput, Hemshin,

Istanbul, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Malatya, Musadagh, Sason, Sinop, Sivas,

Tokat, Van, and Yozgat organize activities together and celebrate the

Surp Hagop Day in December 2012, singing Armenian songs, even though

no one knew how to speak Armenian.

 

Hrant was an Anatolian Armenian and wished to have the same democratic

rights as all other citizens of the state, without being excluded,

without being discriminated against, without being pressured to lose

his identity. Armenians wished to have exactly the same things 100

years ago-no more, no less. The state felt threatened, and when fear

got combined with opportunity it wiped out the Armenian identity

in Anatolia to build a Turkish identity that excluded all others,

including Greeks, Assyrians, and Kurds. The enormous transfer of

wealth and assets from Armenians to Turks has added to the fear and

paranoia of the state in facing its past. A new Turkish identity,

which does not fear diversity or minority identities, needs to be

created in Turkey in order to face both the past and the future. The

state has finally started this process with the Kurds, but not the

Armenians. The Kurds have started this process with the Armenians,

openly acknowledging their role in 1915, and starting to make amends.

 

It is hoped that Turks will see the light and follow them.

[Yervant1]

STREET TO BE NAMED AFTER HRANT DINK IN TURKEY

 

15:23, 5 February, 2013

 

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. The Malatia Municipality has made

a decision to rename after Hrant Dink the street, where the former

editor-in-chief of the Istanbul-based "Agos" newspaper was born. As

reports "Armenpress" citing "Agos" periodical, the Mayor of Malatia

Ahmet Cakır stated this.

 

Among other things the Mayor of Malatia Ahmed Cakır noted that

there are a number of streets in Malatia bearing the same names and

while making decision on renaming the streets the municipality paid

a special attention on the fact what contribution to the public life

had made the people, who were born in those streets and died because

of certain reasons.

 

6 years have passed after the assassination of prominent Armenian

journalist from Istanbul, chief editor of "Agos" weekly Hrant Dink.

 

Hrant Dink was shot dead in Shishli district of Istanbul on January

19, 2007.

[Yervant1]

SECRET WITNESS SPEAKS ABOUT GENDARMERIE'S INVOLVEMENT IN HRANT DINK'S MURDER

 

TERT.AM

21.03.13

 

The secret witness in the Agos editor-in-chief Hrant Dink's murder

case with codename Baris has given testimonies.

 

The Turkish-Armenian Agos paper based in Istanbul says the witness has

claimed that the murderer Ogun Samast had links with the leadership

of Istanbul gendarmerie which assisted him in the murder.

 

He also claimed that Giresun Gendarmerie Regional Commander Gen.

 

Dursun Ali Karaduman played a role in the assassination. He claimed

that the initial plan was to take Samast to Azerbaijan through Artvin's

Hopa district after the murder. The secret witness claimed that

gendarmerie intelligence units had been monitoring Dink since 2003.

 

The secret witness claimed that Samast was accompanied by an officer

from the Trabzon Gendarmerie Command on his way to Istanbul, where

his accommodation needs were met by another officer. The officer from

Trabzon also surveyed the Agos office. He said a Gendarmerie officer

bought a bus ticket to Artvin.

 

Samast also had two GSM cards on him that day, but these were

later destroyed. He claimed that the two cards were seized by the

gendarmerie shortly after Samast was captured and put in prison. "The

murder weapon was also changed. The gun they found on Samast and the

one that was used in the murder aren't the same guns," Baris said.

 

According to the secret witness, retired Gen. Veli Kucuk, a prime

suspect in the trial regarding the clandestine coup-plotting gang

Ergenekon and retired Col. Ali Oz, formerly head of the Trabzon

Gendarmerie Command, as well as Giresun Regional Gendarmerie Commander

Karaduman also played a role in the murder. Oz is already a suspect

in the Dink investigation. Other secret witnesses have indicated that

he warned gendarmerie officers who had to testify in the trial to

"not talk." Secret witness BarıÅ~_ said Kucuk and Karaduman often

had meetings.