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REAL FACE BEHIND DINK MURDER STILL UNKNOWN, PM SAYS
Today's Zaman
Jan 27 2011
Turkey
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that although the hitmen
who staged the assassination of Hrant Dink, the editor-in-chief of
the Turkish-Armenian Agos weekly, have been captured, the masterminds
behind the operation remain elusive.
Speaking to journalists on the way to Ukraine for an official visit
yesterday, Erdogan commented on the state of the Dink investigation
after Bugun Ankara representative Adem Yavuz Arslan gave him a copy
of his new book on the Dink assassination. Erdogan said: "The hitmen
we know. But it is not yet clear who is in the control center."
Erdogan had asked Arslan questions about his book, inquiring whether
he concentrated on the İstanbul or Trabzon leg of the murder. Arslan
said he tried to cover all the aspects of the murder, focusing on the
conditions in Turkey before the murder. Dink was killed outside the
Agos office in İstanbul on Jan. 19, 2007, but his killers are from
Trabzon, where, according to the investigation's findings, the plot
to kill him was hatched over a long period of time.
In response to a question from another journalist regarding criticism
that the government has not given the investigation enough support,
Erdogan said: "We captured the hitman and those around him within
36 hours and handed them over to justice. The rest is up to the
judiciary. But they haven't been able to complete the trial in
four years. Most recently, the hitman was referred to a juvenile
court. We provided everything asked of us. The judiciary should make
more demands."
In response to Erdogan's question on who could be behind the
triggermen, Arslan had said that "the evidence points to a certain
place. The murders [including that of an Italian priest in Trabzon
and three missionaries in Malatya] seem to have been committed in a
certain psychological atmosphere." He said the hitmen in all three
cases said their motive was the fear that Islam was under threat and
that more young people were converting to Christianity.
From: A. Papazian
Today's Zaman
Jan 27 2011
Turkey
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that although the hitmen
who staged the assassination of Hrant Dink, the editor-in-chief of
the Turkish-Armenian Agos weekly, have been captured, the masterminds
behind the operation remain elusive.
Speaking to journalists on the way to Ukraine for an official visit
yesterday, Erdogan commented on the state of the Dink investigation
after Bugun Ankara representative Adem Yavuz Arslan gave him a copy
of his new book on the Dink assassination. Erdogan said: "The hitmen
we know. But it is not yet clear who is in the control center."
Erdogan had asked Arslan questions about his book, inquiring whether
he concentrated on the İstanbul or Trabzon leg of the murder. Arslan
said he tried to cover all the aspects of the murder, focusing on the
conditions in Turkey before the murder. Dink was killed outside the
Agos office in İstanbul on Jan. 19, 2007, but his killers are from
Trabzon, where, according to the investigation's findings, the plot
to kill him was hatched over a long period of time.
In response to a question from another journalist regarding criticism
that the government has not given the investigation enough support,
Erdogan said: "We captured the hitman and those around him within
36 hours and handed them over to justice. The rest is up to the
judiciary. But they haven't been able to complete the trial in
four years. Most recently, the hitman was referred to a juvenile
court. We provided everything asked of us. The judiciary should make
more demands."
In response to Erdogan's question on who could be behind the
triggermen, Arslan had said that "the evidence points to a certain
place. The murders [including that of an Italian priest in Trabzon
and three missionaries in Malatya] seem to have been committed in a
certain psychological atmosphere." He said the hitmen in all three
cases said their motive was the fear that Islam was under threat and
that more young people were converting to Christianity.
From: A. Papazian