Hrant Dink

[Arpa]

Հրանդ Մարտիրոս Դինկ

 

Hrand Martyros Dink

 

How many know that today, January 31, 2008 is Vardanants Day.

Last year, 2007 it was on Feb. 15.

Drat, and double drat!

No wonder nobody believes us when we can’t even agree on an historical date. Why is our calendar based on that stupid judaic sssover passover garbage?

http://hyeforum.com/index.php?showtopic=10...p;hl=vardanants

Many describe the Vardanank as Martyrs/Մարտիրոս.*

Maybe? We can debate that from here until the “second coming”.

Still others label April 24th as Martyrs’ Day/Նահատակաց Օր.

Very doubtful, that is, if one would describe a flock of sheep on their way to the slaughter house as “martyrs”. My definition would be “sheepish/ovine”.

In my book, Hrant would be the true embodiment of a “martyr”, who, just like Martin** L K knew exactly where their courage would lead them.

A True Martyr. The best known cliche about the subject is from te Vardanank- "Մահ իմացեալ անմահութիւն/Conscious death is immortality". As opposed to all those 1.5 million who did not even know why they were being murdered.

Not only did Hrant know he was sealing his own death sentence, he even prophesied his eventual demise, martyrdom.

*Martyr from the Greek Martyros literally “witness/akanates/ականատես/վկայ”. Does the Arabic “shaheed” ring a bell?

** Many an Armenian with the given Name of Martiros/Martyros will ironically abbreviate it to Martin, which can’t be any further from reality as the latter is from Latin Martinus, named after the god of war Mars. This begs the question as to why, of all the people Armenians are the only ones to name their children Martiros/Martyr/(esh)Nahatak.

question!

Why is Hrant listed under the general topic of "Genocide"? Should he not be moved to the "Famous Armenians" category?

Edited January 31, 2008 by Arpa

[Yervant1]

Arpa I can start a new topic with your post under Famous Armenian's forum and keep the others where they are since his death is very much related to the Genocide. But new articles that talk about Hrant the man can go ito the new topic.

 

You can read About Hrant Dink in this thread as well. http://hyeforum.com/index.php?showtopic=15259

Edited January 31, 2008 by Yervant1

[Arpa]

Arpa I can start a new topic with your post under Famous Armenian's forum and keep the others where they are since his death is very much related to the Genocide. But new articles that talk about Hrant the man can go ito the new topic.

Yes. Please dear Yervant. Let us take him out of the much polluted and diluted topic of the G.

Let us create a whole separate topic dedicated to that MAN, I mean MAN. Even if HE cannot be separated from the general topic of the BIG G, he with the biggest BALLs of all we have ever known, deserves his own thread, perhaps under Famous Armenians?

նույնացնում է Հրատ կամ Հրատն մոլորակի անվան հետ: Արևմտահայերի մեջ հանդիպում ենք Հրանդ ձևով, որ խուլ բաղաձայնի ձայնեղացման արդյունք է /Տ -Դ/:

35. HRANT From the name of the planet Hrat or Hratn.

Allow me to differ.

We know that “hr/hour/pyre/foor/փուռ/furun” means “fire”, and “ատ/at” means “to cut”. Would not HRAT/ՀՐԱՏ/ՀՐԱՆՏ mean “cut by fire”, FIERY?

 

 

[sayattek]

www.hrantdink.biz

[Arpa]

Hrant;

[Boghos]

In any normal country, of course Turkey doesn't fall into that category, Hrant Dink would be seen as a quite moderate voice. Unfortunately I think his death will lead to nothing as Turkish lack of self- esteem that began when the Ottoman Empire started to fall apart and hasn't stopped ever since always leads to atrocities in a vicious circle that seems to find no end. In the next decades, and where it not for abominations such as Osama bin Laden and his followers, even earlier, US foreign policy will move away from extremely expensive and unnecessary allies such as Israel and Turkey.Europe will be left with a hard choice and if the current idiotic policy of spending their way to death persists, they will take Turkey in.

 

We, Armenians, have no interest in this game, except for the fact that a whole and peaceful Turkey is probably better.Meanwhile we should be doing a major house cleaning operation in Armenia proper given that in the external front our policy is probably the best one can get under the current circumstances.We don't need weak anybodies, we need a strong Armenia.Of course, easier said than done.

[Yervant1]

ETHNIC CLEANSING OF ART BY TURKS, A SPEECH WRITTEN BY DIAMANDA GALAS

 

DiamandaGalas.com

Assyria Times

http://www.assyriatimes.com/engine/modules...hp?storyid=3307

March 4 2008

CA

 

On January 19, 2008, writer/genocide scholar Desmond Fernandes

presented a text written by Diamanda at a memorial event for Hrant

Dink, the Editor-in-Chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper,

Agos, who was assassinated in Istanbul one year ago by a Turkish

nationalist. The tribute was held outside the Houses of Parliament

in London. Diamanda's speech was subsequently read during a brief

presentation Desmond Fernandes made for a Hrant Dink Memorial lecture

at London's House of Commons on January 21, 2008.

 

Diamanda's Speech:

 

The longer it takes to address the mandate of applying Turkishness to

all things good--and good to all things Turkish, the longer it will

take to redress the financially-supported cultural disinformation

spread by those institutions and persons in Turkey who, using as a

criminal mandate the necessity to translate all aural arts (songs,

poetry, theatre, and other human ritual practices) into Turkish before

they are allowed to be performed by the general public, effectively

cleanse it of its owners' names and claim it as Turkish invention,

innovation.

 

Once the art is performed in Turkish it may then be claimed as Turkish,

and thusly as a Turkish art form. With the censored owners under

control or in prison for performing the work illegally (in their

own languages), it can then be safely deposited under "anonymous"

or a Turkish name into a vault that has been protected and in fact

proclaimed as an ethnically inviolate treasure, with the help of

Turkey's good friends, America and Israel.

 

It is no mystery that the Greeks, the Armenians, the Assyrians, and

the Kurds were for centuries expected to provide their own boys and

young men to the Turkish military (in order to ensure protection of

their families and land from the the Ottoman Republic, for example),

but this enlistment also included composers of music, performers,

singers, poets, and so on, who were NOT allowed to perform in any

tongue but Turkish. Later, when their arms were taken away and they

were slaughtered, the works they left behind were claimed as Turkish,

as are Hagia Sofia, Assyrian and Greek sculpture, and Armenian poetry.

 

In the obvious case of the great blind oudist Udi Hrant, he cannot

be heard on record singing in Armenian, although he was an Armenian,

and one of the most famous Armenians who lived in Turkey. He can only

be heard singing in Turkish.

 

The melodies of the amanes, amanethes, shared throughout Greece and

Anatolia are now still claimed to be shared by all the cultures

who have lived in Anatolia, since the agora of Smyrna/Izmir was

the meeting place for Greeks, Armenians, Kurds, Jews, Arabs, and

Assyrians. They all shared verses and sang this music to "a god

invited by despair." The word "amanes" refers to "mana," or mother,

in Greek. In other words, it is the last cry of the soldier on the

battlefield, and it is the universal cry of the lonely.

 

Fortunately the word "aman" is permissable in Turkey, but how soon

will it be written in Turkish books of musical education that this

great vocal tradition is initially a Turkish one? What then will the

Greeks who hear our finest amanes singer Dalgas think in 100 years?

 

In even 50?

 

As the daughter of a Maniate Spartan and an Anatolian hailing from

Smryna/Izmir, the Black Sea, and Alexandria, I find the ethnic

cleansing of art to be preposterous, but also to be dangerous. If

an Armenian is told to reject what may be his by birthright because

he is later educated by disinformation passed down through Turkish

ethnic music institutes that the music he loves is not Armenian

but in fact Turkish, what does he have left? How many dromoi/makams

(scales) does he have left to sing? This is true for all the cultures

I mention above.

 

Robbery is not just the robbery of money or human flesh; in involves

the soul murder of cultures which will soon die if it they have no

more songs to sing. Especially in the desert. And survival in the

desert has been proven to be perilous.

 

 

 

[ALMA]

On January 19, first anniversary of assassination of the Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, the Mayor of the Lyon, Mr. Gerard Collomb, inaugurated the street after Hrant Dink, in homage to the courage of this man of peace, independent correspondent Jean Eckian reports from France.

Joined together near Le Progres newspaper, several personalities followed one another at the microphone to evoke the course of the journalist and read a letter of thanks of AGOS.

Pasteur Rene Leonian, a friend of the Dink family who had specially come from Armenia, conveyed the thanks of Rakel Dink. Among the guests was the Consul General of Turkey, Ismail Hakka Musa, surrounded with body guards, precipitately left the meeting after having criticized certain speakers who referred to the "events" of 1915.

 

 

 

The Mayor of Yerevan is too busy to be thinking about something similar.

[Yervant1]

DOVE-SHAPED SCULPTURE IN MEMORY OF HRANT DINK

 

armradio.am

20.05.2008 15:48

 

A well-known Turkish sculptor has said he will design a dove-shaped

sculpture in memory of slain Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink,

the Turkish Daily News reported.

 

The sculpture will be 120 centimeters tall and 120 centimeters

wide. It will be placed inside a bulletproof glass case. There are

several options for where to place the sculpture, but Aksoy plans to

erect it on the sidewalk where Dink was shot.

 

"People passing by will see the place where he died and face their

conscience. Because the biggest conviction is people's conscience,"

said Aksoy.

 

Aksoy was inspired by Dink's last article "Guvercinin Tedirginligi"

(The uneasiness of a pigeon) and decided to make a dove-shaped

sculpture. He once visited the Dink family's atelier and saw a dove

sculpture, which affected him greatly.

 

After some procedural requirements are completed, the project,

which has also been approved by the Å~^iÅ~_li Municipality, will be

undertaken, said Aksoy.

 

The editor-in-chief of daily Agos, Etyen Mahcupyan, emphasized

that Aksoy's project is an important one. Mahcupyan said Å~^iÅ~_li

Municipality has confirmed the project and added that the idea of

placing the dove-shaped sculpture on the sidewalk came from the

municipality.

 

[Ashot]

yet another proof of the barbaric furks, even a furkish sculptor knows his work will be broken if he sets it out in public, and not later on, but the same day, that's why they place it in a bullet proof case!!! they should have people walking in bullet proof cases - especially the ones expressing themselves for the AG!!!

[Yervant1]

HRANT DINK'S FIRST AND ONLY BOOK IS PUBLISHED

 

BIA

June 27 2008

Turkey

 

Dink's book in which he discusses the Armenia-Turkey relations that

he saw as the key to solving the Armenian problem. "İki Yakın Halk

Ä°ki Uzak KomÅ~_u" (Two Close People Two Far Neighbors) is published

by International Hrant Dink Foundation.

International Hrant Dink Foundation has published Hrant Dink's book

titled "Ä°ki Yakın Halk Ä°ki Uzak KomÅ~_u" (Two Close People Two

Far Neighbors), which Dink had written, before he was murdered, for

Foreign Politics Program of the Turkish Economic and Social Studies

Foundation (TESEV).

 

"Dink's Memento" Etyen Mahcupyan, who prepared the book, said in

the preface he wrote that "This book is an invitation...invitation

to the heart, to love, to the conscience, to all of humanity...This

is a memento of a man of action who made his mark on our souls,

who soften up all of us with a single touch..."

 

According to Mahcupyan, what the director of the Foreign Politics

Program Mensur Akgun expected from Dink was "a balanced monographic

text towards solution, dealing with the dimensions of the relations

between Turkey and Armenia, but at the same looking at the relations

between Turks and Armenians in the background as well." However,

Dink realized that Akgun would not have found the text he had written

in 2005 suitable. In fact, Akgun asked for some changes in the book

that he thought was a "bit" far from the distant approach that was

asked. Later Hrant Dink was taken from us.

 

When Akgun said that publishing this book was a matter of a debt of

loyalty and that it was more fitting that the International Hrant

Dink Foundation published it, the book became published under the

editorship of Mahcupyan.

 

Mahcupyan writes in the preface, "It is difficult to believe, but this

book had completely gotten out of my mind. Perhaps losing Hrant had

forced my inner world reject everything that was connected to him,

fearing that he would be replaced. However, in time, this book became

one of the means of healing my soul."

 

Dink tells in his book how important the relations between Turkey

and Armenia are for the solution of the "Armenian Problem", the

disagreement in the Turkish-Armenian "lack of any connection".

 

The book includes the complete text of Dink's famous speech titled

"Su catlagını buldu", which was given at BilgiUniversity, the text

of Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan's 2005 call to Turkey

and Dink's speeches given at the commissions in the Turkish Parliament.

 

The responsibility of filling in the blank pages While dedicating

the book to the Armenian people, who, after living on this land as a

productive people for thousands of years, were, during those painful

years, taken away from the land where they used to live and their ties

with life and the civilization they created were ripped off, and to

all the innocent Anatolians, whether Armenian, Turkish or Kurdish,

who lost their lives during this period, Dink adds the following:

 

>>From the perspective of the Turkish-Armenian relations, our common

destiny that began the centuries ago and that will go for centuries

is once more right before us.

 

Our ancestors filled in their own pages more or less.

 

The real problem is how we will fill in the blank pages today.

 

Are we going to behave like those responsible for the great catastrophe

or like those who have taken their lesson and are trying to fill in

the pages like civilized people? This is the greatest responsibility

put in front of us.

 

Those who escape from this responsibility or those who still want to

fill in the pages with bad and painful incidents are actually not any

different from those who are responsible for those pains suffered in

the past.

 

We, those who feel responsible, must not allow them monopolize the

job of filling in these pages.

 

Dink's book is an important source for those who want to fill in the

blank pages in a different way, for those who care about this. At

the same time, as another example of his ability to enter dialog

even with those who were trying to shut him up through harsh means,

it is an invitation to everyone. (TK/EZO/TB)

 

 

[Yervant1]

DINK PORTRAIT ON DISPLAY IN PRESS HISTORY MUSEUM

 

Today's Zaman

July 10 2008

Turkey

 

Dink's widow, Rakel was moved upon seeing her husband's portrait at

the Ä°stanbul Press Museum yesterday.

 

An oil portrait of slain Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was

put on display yesterday in the Ä°stanbul Press Museum's section of

journalists who have left their mark on the history of the Turkish

press.

 

Dink's widow, Rakel, his niece Dilara and his Aunt Zabel attended

a ceremony yesterday to mark the induction of his portrait into

the museum.

 

Orhan Erinc, head of the Turkey Journalists' Association (TGC),

said Dink was the last of their friends to have been separated from

them with a gun. He said Dink's portrait showed the difficulty and

danger of journalism, adding that its place among portraits of other

murdered journalists was heartbreaking.

 

Erinc recalled that the Dink murder trial was still ongoing. "But we

have learned from what journalists have written that his assassination

plot was known to many. We learned that we lost Hrant Dink, not only

as a journalist, but also as a citizen, to major negligence. We are

sure that the perpetrators and powers behind this will be sentenced

at the end of the process. But this is not going to be a satisfactory

conclusion for us because a large number of journalist friends of ours

are trying to carry on their professions under threat. Some have to

travel around under police protection. This shows that journalism is

becoming an even more difficult profession in Turkey. I would like

to state on this occasion one more time how strange we find it that

authorities are not taking any precautions and are not making any

sincere efforts to enforce the law."

 

At the end of his speech Erinc thanked the Dink family for their

contributions in making the portrait a part of the museum's permanent

exhibition.

 

Rakel Dink also delivered a speech. "The children of this country

unfortunately became museum exhibition pieces at a very young age,"

she said.

 

 

[Yervant1]

Today's Zaman, Turkey

Sept 8 2008

 

 

 

If only Hrant were here, too

 

 

Hrant Dink would be very happy about the whole thing. If he was still

alive, he would hug me with a big smile in the middle of the square. I

can hear his deep voice: "Yavuz, we managed, didn't we? Look at these

people talking to each other, beginning to make peace with history. We

defeated the borders of hate."

 

How one wishes, at such a moment, in Yerevan, to joke and laugh with

him. Without the slightest doubt, in the sweltering, dry heat of

Yerevan, the "football encounters" between Turks and Armenians were

significant. The temporary lifting of visa restrictions also meant a

psychological release for two peoples, facing each other on the

street, being friendly. On that end, "the match" was a great

success. Native Armenians demonstrated peacefully and returned to

their homes after the defeat singing. Turks and Kurds defied the

border and traveled long hours to Yerevan via Georgia. Families from

Turkey's Armenian minority went by airplane (mostly supporting the

Armenian team) and even people from the diaspora in the US were

visible, all to celebrate the occasion.

 

After the match, at around midnight, I was greeted by seven or eight

Armenians, all speaking perfect, Ä°stanbul Turkish. They flew in

from New York City, they say. One of them notes, "You notice we are

all men." "So?" I ask. "Because we came via Ä°stanbul and left

our wives there -- for shopping." I ask about their background. Two of

them were from Moda, one of Ä°stanbul's more posh

districts. Three are from Kayseri, another is from the Kumkapı

neighborhood in Ä°stanbul and the last one was from Bitlis. What

did they think about the new dialogue? "It is a new dawn," one said.

 

Standing not far from me, my colleague Cengiz Ã?andar is in an

excited conversation with some fans. When I come closer I realize they

are Kurds from the Turkish province of Ardahan. He tells us that they

had to travel 12 hours to get to the match. "Look," he says, pointing

to himself and his friends, "We Kurds came all the way to support our

[Turkish] team, and those nationalists [referring to right-wing Turks]

who grunt about this or that at home didn't dare show up here!" As we

listen in amazement, he goes on: "Let them open this border. Enough! I

tell you, if they don't, we will have to go and join the PKK

[Kurdistan Workers' Party] in the mountains or emigrate to

Ä°stanbul and take your work!" He is referring, naturally, to

the unemployment and poverty in the eastern provinces of Turkey.

 

Another colleague tells about his conversation with a member of the

Armenian nationalist Dashnaksutiun party. At the beginning of the

match, the Dashnaks opened a huge banner, with "recognition,

reparation, restitution" written on it. When they chatted after the

match, my colleague asked him whether it was necessary to bring

history to the stadium. "If we Dashnaks do not do it," he responded,

"We would have to shut down the party." They laughed together and

agreed that dialogue will resolve many issues and help everyone to

talk -- even about history. Around noon, at a distance, you are

greeted by what a colleague of mine calls "the great natural monument

in Armenia" -- Mount Ararat. Inside Turkey's borders with its sister,

Little Ararat, it overwhelms you, symbolizing the long-held historical

sentiments of the Armenians about the territory and their very

existence, filled with tragedy.

 

After a brief journey, I come much closer to the giant. On a visit to

a historic monastery, it rises before you, separating and uniting the

common history of two Anatolian peoples. Below the small hill where

the monastery is located, extends the plain, with the river Arax in

the middle, you can see Armenian peasants and even Turks beyond it,

working in the fields.

 

Under normal circumstances, it would take you only half an hour to

pass a border and enter Turkey on that plain. The closed border

mystifies both countries before each other. It adds to the myths,

mostly in a bad sense.

 

Just above the "sunken" stadium, in the heart of Yerevan, lies the

"Monument of the Armenian Genocide," facing Ararat. It is a serene

site, with heart-wrenching music and quiet visitors. I go there, as I

always do, to pay my respects to those who perished due to inhuman

folly and sheer madness during late Ottoman rule. Once upon a time,

our ancestors were the citizens of the same land, though many of them

had their share of tragedy, when visiting the "Genocide Museum," it is

clear who paid the highest price. As Hrant Dink used to tell me,

"Understanding, only understanding, will help us overcome denial."

 

Toward evening, we notice how little we talk of football. For us, in

our group of colleagues, it is part of daily life, with jokes, stories

and teasing. It does not come as a surprise when we tell each other

how overwhelmed one can be to pass the border and plunge into history

and memory, to listen to the problems of today waiting to be solved.

 

In the evening, tired, we go to one of my favorite spots in Yerevan,

Artush Babayan's restaurant, The Real Armenian Kitchen. His origins

from "Smyrna" (Ä°zmir) help him speak some rough Anatolian

Turkish when he enthusiastically welcomes us. As he serves one

delicious meal after another, we raise our glass of apricot vodka in

memory of Hrant, many of us in tears. One of our colleagues reminds us

at the table, "After all, it is his memory that brought us here."

Soccer has been a pretext. But we know how happy we all would have

been to watch this match together with Hrant.

 

 

08 September 2008, Monday

YAVUZ BAYDAR TODAY'S ZAMAN

 

 

 

[Yervant1]

Balakian: Remembering Hrant Dink

 

http://www.hairenik.com/weekly/2009/08/08/...3_listing=posts

By Contributor - on August 8, 2009

 

The article below is based on a speech delivered by Prof. Peter

Balakian during a panel discussion on the legacy of Hrant Dink held at

MIT on Feb. 1, 2009.

 

George Santayana, the philosopher who taught at Harvard for decades,

wrote, `Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat

it.' It seems like an axiomatic enough assertion, yet what happens to

those who don't know history, who have been locked out of history, for

whom the past is a manipulated narrative constructed by the state? The

idea of repeating a past you don't know is fraught with another kind

of tragedy.

 

It's a kind of blind legacy that one might see in various cultures,

but one that we see in Turkish society that hasn't been allowed to

know its history, in particular its dark histories of which the

Armenian Genocide of 1915 is one. Blind history will beget a blind and

violent present.

 

Hrant Dink's assassination in broad daylight, carried out by Turkish

nationalists, is one manifestation of blind history. Dink was a man of

unusual courage, and dedication to the complex process of creating a

ground upon which Turks could come together with Armenians in order to

know the true history of 1915. Hrant forged complicated roads and

narrow alleyways to make this journey; he spoke openly in a country

where to speak openly is done at great risk and to speak openly as any

minority, an Armenian, a Kurd, is done at even greater risk.

 

Hrant was an Armenian citizen of Istanbul who was writing and speaking

about the Armenian Genocide openly in Turkey. He was inhabiting a

delicate civic space in Turkey's complex society. In one of his final

essays, he told us he felt like a pigeon - at once vulnerable, yet

free, he so hoped. But he was gunned down, apparently by the Deep

State, by forces of repression and violence against free expression

and thought, having been demonized and made a pariah by Article 301 of

Turkey's penal code.

***

Stephan Deadalus, in Joyce's `Ulysseus,' says: `History is a nightmare

from which I am trying to awake.' It's a phrase that hits any Armenian

in vulnerable places. It's a notion that is embedded in the traumatic

life of the legacy of genocide. For Armenians, whether of the diaspora

or the Republic, that legacy remains poisoned by ongoing Turkish state

denial. The assassination of Hrant Dink is in some way emblematic of

that nightmare.

 

Hrant's murder resonated with Armenians for many reasons, but not

least because it evoked the murder of thousands of intellectuals and

cultural leaders in 1915. There was a genocidal taint to his

assassination in broad daylight in downtown Istanbul. It reenacted our

history.

 

The killing of Armenian intellectuals and cultural leaders goes back

well into the 19th century and before, but it was this killing of

intellectuals on April 24 that marked the beginning of the genocidal

process in 1915.

 

In the end, thousands of Armenian cultural leaders and intellectuals

were killed by Turkey's Ittihad government. In the end, more than

5,000 churches, monasteries, and schools were destroyed. In the end, a

civilization, not only its people but its many layers of history and

culture, which had evolved for 3,000 years, was gone. In the wake of

this, it is not surprising that Raphael Lemkin, the Polish-Jewish

legal scholar who invented the concept of genocide as a crime in

international law, relied quite heavily on the Armenian case in

developing the concept of genocide. It was Lemkin who first used the

term `genocide' in relation to the Armenians on U.S. national TV, on

Feb. 13, 1949.

 

So affected by the Armenian Genocide was Lemkin, that he noted as the

UN Genocide Convention was being ratified: `...A bold plan was

formulated in my mind. This consisted [of] obtaining the ratification

by Turkey [of the proposed UN Convention on Genocide] among the first

twenty founding nations. This would be an atonement for genocide of

the Armenians.'

***

Hrant Dink's death opened up positive forces in the democracy movement

in Turkey; in this sense he was a martyr for democracy. His death

forced an inquiry into intellectual freedom in Turkey and into the

Armenian past.

 

For me, Hrant's legacy is emblematic of a new climate of

Armenian-Turkish intellectual dialogue and colleagueship and

friendship. Where once there was a black hole of abstraction about

Turkey for many of us, now there is a more visible and complex

world. In the past decade, Turkish intellectuals and others have made

great inroads that are now visible to us and have given us a deeper

understanding of Turkey as a place of many layers and nuances, a place

not simply defined by ultra-nationalism and Deep State forces.

Armenians need to embrace the new sense of complexity they have given

us - of our shared history, of our shared humanity, of the

understanding that there is no future in denying the past. Our Turkish

friends are vital to our sense of a future.

 

I feel it is also important for Turks and Armenians to de-ethnicize

the Armenian past. The idea that this is a debate between two cultures

is wrong and ahistorical. It is not `Armenians say' and then `Turks

say.' The genocide is a fact of modern history, and here, there is an

important place for the international scholarly community. Rather than

defending or rejecting a particular national narrative, scholars are

able to see the anatomy of such events in a comparative context across

a global expanse. They are able to show us that the Armenian Genocide

is part of a human history that involves many perpetrators and many

victims. Turkey is not alone in its crimes against humanity; most

countries have built themselves from violence done to other ethnic

groups and peoples.

 

It seems as if there has never been a more open moment for bonds to be

forged between Turks and Armenians on the issue that haunts both their

cultures. Hrant Dink was concerned that pressure on Turkey from the

outside world would backfire or endanger the lives of people inside

Turkey, and his perspective I respect deeply; he paid the highest

price for it. And yet, I think he was wrong here. While his fears were

a genuine response to the mechanisms of terror and repression inside

Turkey, the fact remains that the process of education about the

history of the Armenian Genocide is an inexorable force, and a litmus

test of intellectual freedom and democracy for Turkey. The process of

education can't be stopped, or controlled, by any entity. It is part

of world knowledge. We cannot allow the accepted history of the

Armenian Genocide to be falsified by the blackmail and threats of the

Turkish state. And the Turkish state will have to come to accept that

the moral reality of the Armenian Genocide is not controversia

l anywhere else in the world but in Turkey. And, even there, the taboo

is crumbling.

 

In this new era, Armenians I hope will find ways of joining hands with

their new Turkish colleagues and friends to work for change - in

whatever ways - in creative ways and pragmatic ways. Not rigid,

ideological, or romantic. There are new openings in this landscape and

there are new pitfalls and fears. There is anger, frustration, and

paranoia among Armenians after decades of Turkish state violence,

denial, and continued racism. There are threats of violence against

progressive Turks from the new wave of Turkish ultra-nationalists; and

there are many people inside Turkey asking for broad, democratic

change, so that religious and ethnic minorities can achieve equality,

and intellectual freedom and free speech can be realized. Two years

ago, more than a hundred students at Bogazici University in Istanbul

staged a protest with the slogan `against the darkness,' and they

chanted Hrant Dink's name and their solidarity with Armenians. These

are the forces that Armenians want to join with and work with in

pursuit of an open and free society in Turkey.

 

Peter Balakian is Donald M. and Constance H. Rebar Professor of the

Humanities at Colgate University and the author of many books

including The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's

Response, winner of the 2005 Raphael Lemkin Prize.

 

 

 

[Arpa]

Just who are Raqel and Hrant Dink, saved from certain kurdi-islamic oblivion?

As told by their sponsor, teacher and “foster father” Hrant Guzelian.

Please note that neither Hrant nor Raqel spoke one word of Armenian, neither did speak furkish, only Kurdish.

===

 

Guzelian and Camp Armen

Տիկին Ռաքէլ Տինք

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Տիկին Ռաքէլ Տինք այրին է անարգօրէն ահաբեկուած Հրանդ Տինքի: Ան ծնած է Սիլոփիի Հայկական Վարդօ գերդաստանի բազմազաւակ մէկ ընտանիքին մէջ: Հայրը՝ Սիյամենտ Եաղպասան, Վարդօ գերդաստանի աւագը, մէկ շառաւիղն է հայկական արեւէլեան նահանգներէն տարագրուած իր ընտանիքին, որ եկած եւ բնակութիւն հաստատած է Սիլոփի, Ճուտի լերան ստորոտը: Մայրը՝ Տելալ, կը մահանայ շատ կանուխ, երբ Ռաքէլ ութ տարեկան էր:

 

Թէեւ կորսնցուցած էին իրենց լեզուն, Վարդոյի Հայերը կը պահէին իրենց Հայ Քրիստոնէայ ըլլալու գիտակցութիւնը: Սիլոփիի այլ մանուկներու եւ իր երկու եղբայրներուն հետ՝ փոքրիկ Ռաքէլ կը ղրկուի Հրանդ Կիւզէլեանի վարած Պատանեկան Տունը. իր առաջին կայանը կ՛ըլլայ Թուզլայի ՔԱՄԲ ԱՐՄԷՆ-ը-, որ եկող մանուկները կը դիմաւորէր «Արմէնակներ եւ Արմէնուհիներ, Բարի Եկաք Քամբ Արմէն» գրութիւնը ճակատնոցի վերածած: Հոն եւ Պոլսոյ Պատանեկան կրթարանէն ետք՝ կանոնաւոր դպրոցը կ՛արգիլուի իրեն. իսկ ինք կը շարունակէ ուսանիլ մասնաւոր դասերու հետեւելով:

 

1976-ին ան կ՛ամուսնանայ Հրանդ Տինքի հետ, որուն ծանօթացած էր Թուզլայի Քամբ Արմէնին մէջ. հոն ալ կը կատարուի իրենց պսակադրութիւնը, յաղթահարելէ ետք կարգ մը ընտանեկան արգելքներ: Անոնք կ՛օրհնուին երեք զաւակներով՝ Պայծառ-Տելալ, Արարատ եւ Սերա. նաեւ Աստուած կ՛օրհնէ զիրենք երկու թոռնուհիներով՝ Նորա եւ Նարէ Տինք:

 

Տիկին Ռաքէլ ոչ միայն կողակից, այլ նաեւ բաժնեկից եղաւ իր ամուսնոյն, իր «Ջութակ»ին՝ Հրանդին, անոր տարած պայքարին եւ ջանքին մէջ: Քամբ Արմէնի հոգը եւ գրաւման դատերը, Եկեղեցիին եւ դպրոցին բնականոն կեանքին դիմաց խոչընդոտները, եւ վերջապէս՝ «Ակոս» թերթով աւելի ծանօթ՝ մարդկային իրաւունքներու, ան Ցեղասպանութեան ճանաչման անոր ոդիսականը, ան վերցուց իր «Ջութակ»ին հետ, մինչեւ անոր նահատակութիւնը: Տիկին Ռաքէլին նպատակը եղած է ըլլալ բարի անձ մը, առաքինի կողակից, մայր եւ մամիկ, ըստ իր վկայութեան՝ «այնպէս ինչպէս Յիսուս կ՛ուզէ որ ըլլամ:»

Read More......

Posted by Raffi at 1:58 PM 0 comments Links to this post 

Labels: hrant dink, Hrant Guzelian and Camp Armen

Saturday, December 13, 2008

 

Ո՞վ է Հրանդ Տինք, Ըստ Իր Ուսուցիչին՝ Հրանդ Կիւզէլեանի

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15 Սեպտեմբեր, 1954-ին Մալաթիա քաղաքին մէջ ծմած հայ մը, որ 1961-ի ատենները Պոլիս գաղդած է ընտանիքով: Երբ եօթ տարեկան էր մայրը բերաւ Կ. Պոլսի Կէտիկփաշայի մեր՝

Հայ Աւետարանական եկեղեցի, որ մեր խնամքին տակ գտնուող գաւառացի տղոց բնակարանը ընդունիմ: Պատասխանեցի, թէ մեր նպատակը Անատոլուի մէջ մնացած հայ մանուկը փրկել է, որոնք օր ըստ օրէ կ՛իսլամացուին ու կը թրքացուին: Ըսաւ, թէ այս տղուն հայրը Բողոքական է պէտք է ընդունիս, մերժեցի պատասխանելով, թէ մեր նպատակը Աւետարանականները հաւաքելը չէ. այս տղոցը բոլորն ալ հայ են, ունինք նոյնիսկ Կաթողիկէ տղաք եւ Ասորիներ: Առաքելականն ալ, Կաթողիկէն ալ ու Աւետարանականն ալ Հայ են: Մենք ոչ մէկ խտիր կը դնենք, ոչ ալ կողմնակցութիւն կ՛ընենք:

Օրեր անցան, երբ լսեցի թէ հայրը անգործ ըլլալուն, մայրը փողոց ձգած է Հրանդը եւ իրմէ պզտիկ երկու եղբայրները Խոսրովը մօտ 6, իսկ Երուանդը 4 տարեկան: Դրացիներու խնդրանքին վրայ երեքն ալ ընդունեցի Կէտիկփաշայի Հայաստանեայց Աւետարանական Եկեղեցիին հովանաւորութեան տակ գտնուող Պատանեկան Տան մէջ (Պատանեկան Տունը հիմնուած էր 1957-ին վերոյիշեալ եկեղեցիին հոգաբարձութեան ձեռնարկով, որուն նպատակն էր գաւառներէն հայորդիներ բերել եւ հայեցի ու քրիստոնէական կրթութեամբ դաստիարակել, նկատի ունենալով, որ գավառներուն մէջ ոչ եկեղեցի մնացած էր ոչ ալ դպրոց):

Հրանդը եւ Երուանդը ութը տարի մեր խնամքին տակ գտնուեցան, Խոսրովը նախակրթարան աւարտելէ ետք Այնճար ղրկեցի ուսումը շարունակելու համար, որով երեքն ալ դաստիարակուեցան հայեցի ու քրիստոնէական կրթութեամբ: Հրանդը նախակրթարանէն շրջանաւարտ ըլլալէ ետք իր ուսումը շարունակեց Պէզճեան վարժարանին մէջ (Հայոց Պատրիարքարանի հովանու ներքո գտնուող կրթական հաստատութիւն), միշտ մնալով Պատանեկան Տան խնամքին տակ: Լիսէի բաժինը Սբ. Խաչ Դպրեվանքի մէջ շարունակեց միայն երկու տարի, յետոյ թրքական Լիսէ եւ Համալսարան: Վկայական ստացաւ Կենդանաբանական ճիւղէն եւ շարունակեց ուսումը Գրական ու Փիլիսոփայական ճիւղերուն մէջ:

 

Ուսանողութեան շրջանին ամուսնացաւ Ռաքէլ անուն աղջկան մը հետ, որ 1968-ին Սիլոբի կոչուած վայրը գացեր ու քսան մանուկներ արձանագրեր էի, որոնց երեքը Ռաքէլ ու իր երկու եղբայրներն էին, որոնց մայրը կանուխ մահացած էր: Հրանդը ծանօթացած էր Ռաքէլի, երբ երկուքն ալ մեր խնամքին տակ կգտնուին: Հրանդ Տինքը ակտիվ մասնակցութիւն ունենալով Հայ Աւետարանական եկեղեցու կողմե ստեղծված մանուկներու ամառնային հանգիստի ՔամփԱրմենի (ճամբար) մէջ, որ կգտնվեր ծօվեզերքին մոտ՝ Թուզլա բնակավայրում: Նա սկզբում որպես, մանուկ, պատանի կհանգստանար ճամբարում, եղավ ջոկատավար, իսկ ավելի ուշ դարձավ ճամբարի ընդհանուր պատասխանատուներէն մեկը:

 

Հրանդ Տինքը որոշ ժամանակ եղաւ Կէտիկփաշայի Հայաստանեայց Աւետարանական Եկեղեցիին հոգաբարձութեան մեկ անդամը:

Հրանդը գրենական պիտոյքներու վաճառատուն մը բացաւ եւ տարիներ վերջ, 5 Ապրիլ 1996-ին սկսաւ հրատարակել ԱԿՕՍ շաբաթաթերթը, 12 էջնոց թերթ մը՝ միայն 2 էջ հայերէն եւ մնացեալը թրքերէն ըլլալով: Եւ առաջին մէկ օրէն սկսաւ Հայոց պատմութիւնը թրքերէնով հրատարակել, որպէսզի Թուրք լրագրողներ եւ Թուրքեր կարդան եւ գիտակցին, թէ հազարաւոր տարիներէ ի վեր Հայեր կ՛ապրէին՝ ներկայիս Թուրքեայ կոչուած տարածքին վրայ, բայց այժմ Հայ ժողովուրը այդ հողերուն վրայ չգտնուիր:

 

Հրանդ Կիւզէլեան



Edited October 9, 2009 by Arpa

[Yervant1]

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY NOW BEARS HRANT DINK'S NAME

 

Tert

Nov 3 2009

Armenia

 

A monument at California State University Sonoma honoring the survivors

and victims of genocides and hate crimes now bears the name of Hrant

Dink, alongside the names of peace activists and visionaries such

as Mahatma Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, Albert Einstein, Vaclav Havel and

Pete Seeger, reports the Hrant Dink Foundation.

 

Hrant Dink's name was added in March thanks to the sponsorship of

Armenian organizations in California, which financed a memorial

"brick" in Dink's honour.

 

Dink's widow, Rakel Dink, visited the monument during a September 28 -

October 6 trip to the U.S., where she was hosted by Mgrditch Melkonyan,

pastor of the First Armenian Presbyterian Church of Fresno, California.

[Yervant1]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HRANT DINK

 

yerkir.am

13:47 - 15.09.2011

 

Chief Editor of bilingual newspaper "Agos" Hrant Dink would become

57 years old today.

 

Months before his death he said that "they don't kill doves in

Turkey"... But Dink was wrong as in Turkey they kill doves and pave

ways for wolves.

 

Before the assassination Dink was accused according to the 301 article

of the Criminal Code, which condemns "insulting Turkish nation",

 

"When the prosecutors of Sishli accused me of insulting the Turkish

nation, I didn't have any worries. It was not the first time. I had

that kind of a problem in Urfa, when in a conference I said that

"I'm not Turkish, I'm Armenian that lives in Turkey".

 

That time I wasn't aware of the juridical process. My friends of

Urfa preceded that case without me. I was completely calm when giving

explanations in Shishli prosecution. At the end, all I wrote and all

I intended were obvious.

 

I was sure that the prosecutor would read my entire article instead

of the certain sentence, hence, would realize that I didn't have

any intention of "humiliating Turks" and will put an end to this

comedy. I was sure that the investigation will not allow them launch

a suit against me", said Dink.

 

Dink was wrong that time too as the court was not in a compassionate

attitude towards him.

 

"I could endure everything, but it was impossible to cope with it. I

believed that if someone humiliates a nation of the country he lives

in because of ethnic and religious differences, he becomes chauvinist,

which is unacceptable", said Dink angrily.

 

Hrant Dink was murdered in 2007 on February 19 in front of "Agos"

editorial.

 

Those days Turkey became a stage where every authority showed his

acting talent.

 

Funerals of Dink turned into "mass gathering" where many people

changed the meaning with style and were there only for quantity.

 

Turkish media was talking about many issues, such as philanthropy,

solidarity, no to racism...but they forgot about the most important,

the fact of Dikn's death.

 

People pushed the fact of Dink's death into secondary position,

concentrating more on the reason of his assassination.

 

The assassin was a Turkish racist Ogul Samast who received his

punishment only recently.

 

Although the court gave Samast life sentence, however considering

that fact that at the time of his assassination he was a teenager,

the court decided to give him 23 years of imprisonment.

 

Before the verdict Samast family asked the TPE to make Samast family

name as a brand.

 

All we can do is hope that after 23 years Dink's soul that has turned

into a dove will fly over Samast's head to give him conscience.

[MosJan]

https://www.shantnews.am/news/view/407656.html?fbclid=IwAR3HamZBk_pLJMTGAGFlspKQYalISLR-GydsDCmHwyc9V3vUevmi9cqOTTI

 

Թուրքիայում դատում են Հրանտ Դինքի որդուն. նրան սպառնում է մինչև 5 տարվա ազատազրկում

[MosJan]

In Clash with Police Paylan Blocks Dink’s Son Arrest

 

ISTANBUL—Garo Paylan, an Armenian member of the Turkish Parliament representing the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) on Saturday found himself on the front-lines of a clash between peaceful protesters and police and himself was attacked and dragged by law enforcement when he tried to prevent the police from arresting Hrant Dink’s son, Arat who had also joined the protest.

The event was a gathering of families and friends of those who disappeared in police custody known as the “Saturday Mothers.” The group comprised of mainly Kurds and Alevis, has been gathering at a park near Taksim Square in Istanbul for 700 consecutive Saturdays.