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'LET US PROMISE EACH OTHER...'
YAVUZ BAYDAR
Today's Zaman
Jan 19 2012
Turkey
To everyone, it seemed, the emotion was commonly shared. It was as
if Hrant Dink had been murdered again just two days ago.
So it was felt -- and expressed -- by thousands yesterday, marching
in memory of him on the street connecting Taksim Square to the tiny,
humble office of the AGOS newspaper, which he created. It was a day
where the commemoration of a beloved person and the open funeral of
justice became intertwined.
The crowd was overwhelmed by profound gloom. Was it a breaking
point where the hopes for better days, for reconciliation between
Turks, Armenians and Kurds started to fade? If the rage replaced the
expectations and silent disappointment after the trial's farce-like
verdict, it certainly felt so.
"The real trial starts now!" shouted the crowds, walking behind Dink's
family yesterday, who without a doubt felt as if they had all been
executed by the end of the judicial process; their pain even more
than before.
But they did not feel lonely. A solid crowd, infuriated but placid,
a blend of Ä°stanbul's intellectual elite, youth and ordinary citizens
of the city, moved to show they will always be there. For them every
new day that passed without justice was a new day of repeated murder.
Addressing the tens of thousands gathered on the street outside the
AGOS office was Karin KarakaÅ~_lı, an Armenian colleague of mine
from Ä°stanbul and a friend of Hrant, just like all of them who were
outside. I will leave the rest of this column to her words.
"Jan. 19 is not a day of commemoration. It never has been. In this
land, there never have been commemorations for whatever pain was
inflicted, however separate from each other. For each and everyone,
when that anniversary arrived, there was pain that destroyed us
internally."
"We were swarmed by lies. It has been like this for five years. In
the end we were left with two of them [the two sentenced]. This was
meant to suffice. Even more than you need."
'This is my land. But is it my state? My president, my prime minister,
my government, my opposition, my Parliament ... to be able to call you
'mine', you have to end this farce. Let the court of cassation be the
destination for delivering justice, although it was responsible for
his death [by its precedent based on Article 301]. This is what is
owed to us. This is a must. Because what was done to us is a shame,
a cruelty, a sin."
"One day in April, more than 250 Armenian intellectuals were sent
to AyaÅ~_ from HaydarpaÅ~_a terminal into exile; only a few of them
were able to return. This happened before swaths of people were sent
into the middle of the desert, hungry and thirsty, in 1915. ... Hrant
Dink is the final link of these intellectuals. That is why his death
in 2007 took us all the way back to 1915. Because it proved to be so
easy and 'legitimate' to kill a true Armenian and a true patriot."
"We have now been told that the case is closed. Well, is it? Hrant
Dink is not just a 'case,' it is an open wound. Now, we are at the
last exit before the bridge. There is no reconciliation, no dream to
be shared, justice to be believed, no land to live in, before passing
it gracefully. Otherwise, it will only be a lie, which can collapse
all over ourselves. On all of us."
"So, this is the day of promise, beyond words. Shall we promise each
other? This case is not over yet. Humanity is not dead yet. Shall we
promise each other? The state has not yet been held accountable. ...
This is our promise. May it be forbidden for all of us to live with
injustice. May the grace of God be upon all those who continue to
fight against it."
From: A. Papazian
YAVUZ BAYDAR
Today's Zaman
Jan 19 2012
Turkey
To everyone, it seemed, the emotion was commonly shared. It was as
if Hrant Dink had been murdered again just two days ago.
So it was felt -- and expressed -- by thousands yesterday, marching
in memory of him on the street connecting Taksim Square to the tiny,
humble office of the AGOS newspaper, which he created. It was a day
where the commemoration of a beloved person and the open funeral of
justice became intertwined.
The crowd was overwhelmed by profound gloom. Was it a breaking
point where the hopes for better days, for reconciliation between
Turks, Armenians and Kurds started to fade? If the rage replaced the
expectations and silent disappointment after the trial's farce-like
verdict, it certainly felt so.
"The real trial starts now!" shouted the crowds, walking behind Dink's
family yesterday, who without a doubt felt as if they had all been
executed by the end of the judicial process; their pain even more
than before.
But they did not feel lonely. A solid crowd, infuriated but placid,
a blend of Ä°stanbul's intellectual elite, youth and ordinary citizens
of the city, moved to show they will always be there. For them every
new day that passed without justice was a new day of repeated murder.
Addressing the tens of thousands gathered on the street outside the
AGOS office was Karin KarakaÅ~_lı, an Armenian colleague of mine
from Ä°stanbul and a friend of Hrant, just like all of them who were
outside. I will leave the rest of this column to her words.
"Jan. 19 is not a day of commemoration. It never has been. In this
land, there never have been commemorations for whatever pain was
inflicted, however separate from each other. For each and everyone,
when that anniversary arrived, there was pain that destroyed us
internally."
"We were swarmed by lies. It has been like this for five years. In
the end we were left with two of them [the two sentenced]. This was
meant to suffice. Even more than you need."
'This is my land. But is it my state? My president, my prime minister,
my government, my opposition, my Parliament ... to be able to call you
'mine', you have to end this farce. Let the court of cassation be the
destination for delivering justice, although it was responsible for
his death [by its precedent based on Article 301]. This is what is
owed to us. This is a must. Because what was done to us is a shame,
a cruelty, a sin."
"One day in April, more than 250 Armenian intellectuals were sent
to AyaÅ~_ from HaydarpaÅ~_a terminal into exile; only a few of them
were able to return. This happened before swaths of people were sent
into the middle of the desert, hungry and thirsty, in 1915. ... Hrant
Dink is the final link of these intellectuals. That is why his death
in 2007 took us all the way back to 1915. Because it proved to be so
easy and 'legitimate' to kill a true Armenian and a true patriot."
"We have now been told that the case is closed. Well, is it? Hrant
Dink is not just a 'case,' it is an open wound. Now, we are at the
last exit before the bridge. There is no reconciliation, no dream to
be shared, justice to be believed, no land to live in, before passing
it gracefully. Otherwise, it will only be a lie, which can collapse
all over ourselves. On all of us."
"So, this is the day of promise, beyond words. Shall we promise each
other? This case is not over yet. Humanity is not dead yet. Shall we
promise each other? The state has not yet been held accountable. ...
This is our promise. May it be forbidden for all of us to live with
injustice. May the grace of God be upon all those who continue to
fight against it."
From: A. Papazian