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MINISTER SAYS NO NEED TO BE ARMENIAN TO CONDEMN DINK KILLING
Today's Zaman
Jan 23 2012
Turkey
In an apparent reference to a slogan frequently used by those who call
for justice in the case concerning the killing of Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink -- "We are all Armenians" --Labor Minister
Faruk Celik has said that "we do not all have to be Armenians" to
condemn the murder.
Celik released a written statement on Monday on the 2007 killing of
Dink, which last week once again topped Turkey's agenda with a court
verdict that ruled out the involvement of a criminal network in the
assassination. The ruling came two days before the fifth anniversary
of Dink's death on Jan. 19, spurring a widely attended demonstration
in İstanbul to both remember Dink and to protest the ruling.
Carrying banners that denounced the vicious attack against Dink in a
number of languages, including Turkish, English, Armenian and Kurdish,
tens of thousands once again shouted "For Hrant, for justice" and
"We are all Hrant, we are all Armenians" on the fifth anniversary of
Dink's killing. Celik commented that "there is no need to change one's
identity to condemn the brutal killing of a person" in his statement.
"We should not use race and belief as a basis for criticism. We should
not use them as a basis for our criticism. There is no need to look
for an identity to condemn the murder. It is sufficient to be human
and have a conscience. We do not all have to be Armenians," he said.
"We should stay away from discourses that will hurt others while trying
to share our pain and empathize with some. It is a day for unity and
solidarity," he said referring to a bill that is set to be taken up by
the French Senate later on Monday and that aims to make it a crime to
deny the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks was genocide. The bill
sets a punishment of up to one year in prison and a fine of 45,000
euros ($59,000) for those who deny or "outrageously minimize" the
killings -- putting such action on par with denial of the Holocaust.
France formally recognized the 1915 killings as genocide in 2001,
but provided no penalty for anyone rejecting that. Turkey maintains
there was no systematic campaign to kill Armenians and that many Turks
also died during the chaotic disintegration of the Ottoman Empire.
From: Baghdasarian
Today's Zaman
Jan 23 2012
Turkey
In an apparent reference to a slogan frequently used by those who call
for justice in the case concerning the killing of Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink -- "We are all Armenians" --Labor Minister
Faruk Celik has said that "we do not all have to be Armenians" to
condemn the murder.
Celik released a written statement on Monday on the 2007 killing of
Dink, which last week once again topped Turkey's agenda with a court
verdict that ruled out the involvement of a criminal network in the
assassination. The ruling came two days before the fifth anniversary
of Dink's death on Jan. 19, spurring a widely attended demonstration
in İstanbul to both remember Dink and to protest the ruling.
Carrying banners that denounced the vicious attack against Dink in a
number of languages, including Turkish, English, Armenian and Kurdish,
tens of thousands once again shouted "For Hrant, for justice" and
"We are all Hrant, we are all Armenians" on the fifth anniversary of
Dink's killing. Celik commented that "there is no need to change one's
identity to condemn the brutal killing of a person" in his statement.
"We should not use race and belief as a basis for criticism. We should
not use them as a basis for our criticism. There is no need to look
for an identity to condemn the murder. It is sufficient to be human
and have a conscience. We do not all have to be Armenians," he said.
"We should stay away from discourses that will hurt others while trying
to share our pain and empathize with some. It is a day for unity and
solidarity," he said referring to a bill that is set to be taken up by
the French Senate later on Monday and that aims to make it a crime to
deny the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks was genocide. The bill
sets a punishment of up to one year in prison and a fine of 45,000
euros ($59,000) for those who deny or "outrageously minimize" the
killings -- putting such action on par with denial of the Holocaust.
France formally recognized the 1915 killings as genocide in 2001,
but provided no penalty for anyone rejecting that. Turkey maintains
there was no systematic campaign to kill Armenians and that many Turks
also died during the chaotic disintegration of the Ottoman Empire.
From: Baghdasarian