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DINK TO BE COMMEMORATED AMIDST ALLEGATIONS OF MURDER COVER-UP
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Jan 17 2008
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was fatally shot on
Jan. 19, 2007, will be commemorated on the first anniversary of his
death with a series of ceremonies in Turkey and abroad on Saturday,
while suspicions persist over a police cover-up in his murder.
People will protest the lack of any judicial progress on the murder by
gathering in front of the Agos daily's building in Ýstanbul's Þiþli
district at 3 p.m. -- the exact time and place of Dink's murder --
chanting the slogan "In the same place, at the same time, for Hrant
and for justice."
Following Dink's murder, many reports have suggested that the police
were tipped off about the planned assassination more than once prior
to its execution yet failed to prevent it. In addition, links have
emerged among members of the security forces in Trabzon, where the
killing was planned, in Ýstanbul where it was executed and in Ankara,
where the intelligence was gathered, and the masterminds of the murder.
The Dink family accused those security officials of covering up
intelligence on the slaying and asked for their inclusion among
the accused for failing in their duty, concealing evidence and even
seeking to vindicate the murder and the murderer.
The history, political sciences and international relations departments
at Boðazici University will hold a conference at the university on
human rights and freedom of expression in memory of Dink. On the
evening of Jan. 19, an event titled "We Are Commemorating Hrant Dink
with Songs and Movies" will be held at the Lutfi Kýrdar Congress
Hall. On Jan. 20, a commemoration ceremony will be held at Dink's
grave at the Armenian Balýklý Cemetery at 1 p.m.
Several ceremonies will also be held abroad. Panel discussions,
meetings and exhibitions will be held in Cologne, Berlin, Frankfurt,
Washington, Ottawa and London.
In the meantime, NTV yesterday reported that a report prepared by
the Dink family lawyer and presented to the interior and justice
ministries said, "As long as the public officials who are investigated
[for their involvement in Dink slaying] continue to present evidence on
the murder while they retain their posts, the ambiguities surrounding
the murder cannot be cleared up."
The report was presented by pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party
(DTP) Diyarbakýr deputy Akýn Birdal, a member of the parliamentary
Human Rights Commission.
Delivering a speech in Parliament on the Dink murder on Tuesday,
Birdal criticized the investigation into the Dink slaying for being
far from thorough. He noted that it would be impossible to reach a
conclusion on the murder unless its planning and the aftermath are
investigated as a whole.
According to the report, prior to the slaying all details about
the Dink murder planning process were known in detail. When the
preliminary investigation was launched following the crime, no
connection was sought between the period of planning and the murder,
and the police's focus remained limited to Pelitli, a district in the
Black Sea port of Trabzon where Dink's murderer, O.S., was residing.
Hence, the police failed to unearth the organized structure that
planned the murder, the report said.
Responding to Birdal's remarks, Interior Minister Beþir Atalay said
both the interior and justice ministries were conducting all the
necessary judicial proceedings regarding the murder. "There has not
been anything about the incident that has not been communicated to
the court. If there is anything you suspect has not been transmitted
to the judiciary, please let us know. It is our main duty to do what
needs to be done. It is among the fundamental principles of the police
and gendarmerie to shed light on the incident and for us to provide
clarity and accountability," Atalay said.
Dink was killed by a 17-year-old ultranationalist teenager who
confessed to the murder, citing the reason that Dink insulted
Turkishness.
--Boundary_(ID_T/uhur8ZN8Hb sFrbQ9glrg)--
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Jan 17 2008
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was fatally shot on
Jan. 19, 2007, will be commemorated on the first anniversary of his
death with a series of ceremonies in Turkey and abroad on Saturday,
while suspicions persist over a police cover-up in his murder.
People will protest the lack of any judicial progress on the murder by
gathering in front of the Agos daily's building in Ýstanbul's Þiþli
district at 3 p.m. -- the exact time and place of Dink's murder --
chanting the slogan "In the same place, at the same time, for Hrant
and for justice."
Following Dink's murder, many reports have suggested that the police
were tipped off about the planned assassination more than once prior
to its execution yet failed to prevent it. In addition, links have
emerged among members of the security forces in Trabzon, where the
killing was planned, in Ýstanbul where it was executed and in Ankara,
where the intelligence was gathered, and the masterminds of the murder.
The Dink family accused those security officials of covering up
intelligence on the slaying and asked for their inclusion among
the accused for failing in their duty, concealing evidence and even
seeking to vindicate the murder and the murderer.
The history, political sciences and international relations departments
at Boðazici University will hold a conference at the university on
human rights and freedom of expression in memory of Dink. On the
evening of Jan. 19, an event titled "We Are Commemorating Hrant Dink
with Songs and Movies" will be held at the Lutfi Kýrdar Congress
Hall. On Jan. 20, a commemoration ceremony will be held at Dink's
grave at the Armenian Balýklý Cemetery at 1 p.m.
Several ceremonies will also be held abroad. Panel discussions,
meetings and exhibitions will be held in Cologne, Berlin, Frankfurt,
Washington, Ottawa and London.
In the meantime, NTV yesterday reported that a report prepared by
the Dink family lawyer and presented to the interior and justice
ministries said, "As long as the public officials who are investigated
[for their involvement in Dink slaying] continue to present evidence on
the murder while they retain their posts, the ambiguities surrounding
the murder cannot be cleared up."
The report was presented by pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party
(DTP) Diyarbakýr deputy Akýn Birdal, a member of the parliamentary
Human Rights Commission.
Delivering a speech in Parliament on the Dink murder on Tuesday,
Birdal criticized the investigation into the Dink slaying for being
far from thorough. He noted that it would be impossible to reach a
conclusion on the murder unless its planning and the aftermath are
investigated as a whole.
According to the report, prior to the slaying all details about
the Dink murder planning process were known in detail. When the
preliminary investigation was launched following the crime, no
connection was sought between the period of planning and the murder,
and the police's focus remained limited to Pelitli, a district in the
Black Sea port of Trabzon where Dink's murderer, O.S., was residing.
Hence, the police failed to unearth the organized structure that
planned the murder, the report said.
Responding to Birdal's remarks, Interior Minister Beþir Atalay said
both the interior and justice ministries were conducting all the
necessary judicial proceedings regarding the murder. "There has not
been anything about the incident that has not been communicated to
the court. If there is anything you suspect has not been transmitted
to the judiciary, please let us know. It is our main duty to do what
needs to be done. It is among the fundamental principles of the police
and gendarmerie to shed light on the incident and for us to provide
clarity and accountability," Atalay said.
Dink was killed by a 17-year-old ultranationalist teenager who
confessed to the murder, citing the reason that Dink insulted
Turkishness.
--Boundary_(ID_T/uhur8ZN8Hb sFrbQ9glrg)--