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THOUSANDS REMEMBERING DINK DEMAND JUSTICE
Today's Zaman
Jan 21 2008
Turkey
Thousands gathered on Saturday in front of the Agos weekly newspaper
in Ýstanbul to commemorate its former editor-in-chief, Hrant Dink,
on the first anniversary of his death and called for all those behind
the murder to be brought to justice.
Dink was shot dead in front of the same building on Jan. 19, 2007,
by an ultranationalist teenager named O.S. Those participating in the
ceremony started gathering in front of Agos, located on Halaskargazi
Street in the central Beyoðlu area, in the early morning hours carrying
banners reading "For Hrant, For Justice."
Flowers were laid and candles lit on the street, while a huge picture
of Dink covered part of the building where he had worked.
Turkish and Armenian versions of the song "My Brave, My Lion Is
Lying Here" as well as other Turkish and Armenian folk songs Dink
loved were played during the ceremony. The demonstrators sounded
an Armenian woodwind instrument known as the duduk at 2:58 p.m.,
the time of the shooting.
Nineteen people, including two leaders of an ultranationalist group,
are currently on trial for Dink's murder at a court in Istanbul. But
those higher up who may have abetted the murder or covered up for
fellow police continue to act with impunity, despite widespread
evidence of tampering with the investigation.
"We are on the street where they tried to clean his blood with soap,"
Dink's widow, Rakel, said in an emotional address from a window in
the newspaper's office.
"You are here for justice today. A scream for justice rises from your
silence," she stated.
The murder of Dink one year ago triggered widespread anger and shock
in Turkey and caused massive crowds to take to the streets, chanting
"We are all Armenians, we are all Hrant Dinks."
Turkish Penal Code (TCK) Article 301, under which Dink was convicted,
had been blamed for his death since it made him a target for
ultranationalists. Article 301, which criminalizes the ambiguous
concept of denigrating "Turkishness," has proven itself to be a major
obstacle to freedom of speech.
Dink was convicted for an article he penned in Agos expressing his
views on the mass killings of Armenians at the hands of the Ottomans
in 1915. The Armenians say the killings amounted to genocide, while
Turkey denies it.
On Saturday Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Þahin told journalists that
work on changes to the infamous Article 301 has been completed. Þahin
said the proposed amendment to the article will be submitted to
Parliament as a draft for debate in a general assembly session.
In response to criticism that the Dink investigation and trial were
moving very slowly, he stated that such trials could not be completed
overnight and that patience was needed. He said the prosecutors were
being very diligent in their investigation. "Such important trials
may not always be completed in a year; you have to understand that,"
he said.
Meanwhile, a religious ceremony was held in the Armenian Church of
Mother Mary on Sunday to commemorate Dink. His widow, Rakel, daughters,
Sera and Delal, son Ararat, his brother, Orhan Dink, Mayor of Þiþli
Mustafa Sarýgul and members of Ýstanbul's tiny Armenian community
attended the service led by Zakeus Orhanyan.
--Boundary_(ID_9TUg3xYIT2ZoCYdxHk/QjQ)- -
Today's Zaman
Jan 21 2008
Turkey
Thousands gathered on Saturday in front of the Agos weekly newspaper
in Ýstanbul to commemorate its former editor-in-chief, Hrant Dink,
on the first anniversary of his death and called for all those behind
the murder to be brought to justice.
Dink was shot dead in front of the same building on Jan. 19, 2007,
by an ultranationalist teenager named O.S. Those participating in the
ceremony started gathering in front of Agos, located on Halaskargazi
Street in the central Beyoðlu area, in the early morning hours carrying
banners reading "For Hrant, For Justice."
Flowers were laid and candles lit on the street, while a huge picture
of Dink covered part of the building where he had worked.
Turkish and Armenian versions of the song "My Brave, My Lion Is
Lying Here" as well as other Turkish and Armenian folk songs Dink
loved were played during the ceremony. The demonstrators sounded
an Armenian woodwind instrument known as the duduk at 2:58 p.m.,
the time of the shooting.
Nineteen people, including two leaders of an ultranationalist group,
are currently on trial for Dink's murder at a court in Istanbul. But
those higher up who may have abetted the murder or covered up for
fellow police continue to act with impunity, despite widespread
evidence of tampering with the investigation.
"We are on the street where they tried to clean his blood with soap,"
Dink's widow, Rakel, said in an emotional address from a window in
the newspaper's office.
"You are here for justice today. A scream for justice rises from your
silence," she stated.
The murder of Dink one year ago triggered widespread anger and shock
in Turkey and caused massive crowds to take to the streets, chanting
"We are all Armenians, we are all Hrant Dinks."
Turkish Penal Code (TCK) Article 301, under which Dink was convicted,
had been blamed for his death since it made him a target for
ultranationalists. Article 301, which criminalizes the ambiguous
concept of denigrating "Turkishness," has proven itself to be a major
obstacle to freedom of speech.
Dink was convicted for an article he penned in Agos expressing his
views on the mass killings of Armenians at the hands of the Ottomans
in 1915. The Armenians say the killings amounted to genocide, while
Turkey denies it.
On Saturday Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Þahin told journalists that
work on changes to the infamous Article 301 has been completed. Þahin
said the proposed amendment to the article will be submitted to
Parliament as a draft for debate in a general assembly session.
In response to criticism that the Dink investigation and trial were
moving very slowly, he stated that such trials could not be completed
overnight and that patience was needed. He said the prosecutors were
being very diligent in their investigation. "Such important trials
may not always be completed in a year; you have to understand that,"
he said.
Meanwhile, a religious ceremony was held in the Armenian Church of
Mother Mary on Sunday to commemorate Dink. His widow, Rakel, daughters,
Sera and Delal, son Ararat, his brother, Orhan Dink, Mayor of Þiþli
Mustafa Sarýgul and members of Ýstanbul's tiny Armenian community
attended the service led by Zakeus Orhanyan.
--Boundary_(ID_9TUg3xYIT2ZoCYdxHk/QjQ)- -