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HRANT DINK COMMEMORATED IN MASSACHUSETTS
January 23, 2013 - 15:12 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - The numbers six and 17 played a symbolic role in the
January 20 talk delivered by Umit Kurt during a post-service program
hosted by the Friends of Hrant Dink at St. James Armenian Church in
Watertown, Massachusetts, The Armenian Mirror-Spectator reports.
These numbers served as a reminder of the loss of the Turkish-Armenian
journalist - six for the number of years since Dink's assassination
and 17 for the number of assailants who have yet to be punished for
taking his life.
Close to 200 people gathered after church services for the coffee
hour. Parishioners, members of the community, Dink family members
and those seeking justice for Dink communed for a memorial tribute
and discussion of Dink's legacy, six years after his death.
Dink, an influential Turkish-Armenian journalist and advocate for
freedom of speech and recognition of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey,
was assassinated on January 19, 2007, in front of his office at the
Agos newspaper in Istanbul.
Rev. Arakel Aljalian, pastor of St. James, opened with a blessing,
saying "May his [Hrant's] memory be eternal in anyone who believes
in justice."
Friends of Hrant Dink Vice President Zadik Ozcan introduced the
featured speaker, Kurt is a graduate student in the Genocide Studies
program of Clark University under Prof. Taner Akcam.
During his talk, Kurt spoke of Dink's legacy and his unfinished work.
He asked, "How much more would have happened had he lived?"
Kurt shared his own journey of discovering that his hometown of Aintab,
Turkey, was once home to Armenians. When he was 22-years-old, Kurt
met a friend at a coffee house with unique architecture and unknown
script around the door. "Who made this? Who had been here before?" were
questions he was suddenly confronted with.
Kurt would come to find out that the entire neighborhood had once
been Armenian. "I had no idea that this place in my own hometown was
[once] Armenian," Kurt said of this discovery. Though Turkish, Kurt
mentioned that he has also begun an investigation of his own family
history to see if there is any unknown Armenian heritage.
As the talk progressed, he discussed the oppressive nationalism in
Turkey, saying, "We are being killed by this nationalism everyday." He
spoke about the current problems facing Turkey and why there is hope
despite the immense challenges ahead. "It has been six years since his
death when he was taken from us in front of Agos... It has been six
years and lawlessness has never been more commonplace in this country
[Turkey] ... Because in Turkey to express something is forbidden."
Kurt also provided the audience with a clearer picture of the events
surrounding Dink's death, the elaborate assassination plot and the
latest developments in seeking justice for Dink.
Although the original court decision had ruled that Dink's murder
was not part of an organized criminal plot, an appeals court recently
disagreed and ruled that the murder was part of a full-fledged "deep
state" organization. Kurt said that a new trial would begin in Turkey
soon involving those responsible for Dink's murder.
Kurt noted progress regarding Article 301 of the Turkish penal code,
the controversial law punishing "insulting Turkishness," and the same
law for the violation of which Dink was prosecuted. The prosecution of
Article 301 offenders has moved under the jurisdiction of the Ministry
of Justice in Turkey, thus making Turkish officials far more hesitant
to pursue convictions and effectively eliminating such cases, he said.
Kurt ended by addressing those 17 conspirators who still walk free
six years after Dink's death. "You took his life [but] You couldn't
touch his spirit. You couldn't even reach him," he said. In his closing
remarks, Ozcan said of Kurt's work, "This is the fruit of his [Dink's]
legacy... Hrant wanted to lift the black curtain in Turkey... Hopefully
Hrant's legacy will shed some light on these issues."
Fellow Friend of Hrant Dink, Varujan Gulderian, spoke of plans by the
organization to host a future event in an outdoor and highly-visible
public forum, in order to broaden their outreach and spread Dink's
message. "The larger global community - not just Armenians - need to
know what happened. We need to go public if want to get justice for
Hrant," Gulderian said.
Izabel Keremian, an audience member from Lexington, shared her
reason for attending the event and the importance of Dink's legacy to
Armenian-Turkish relations. "I'm from Turkey. To have him represent
Armenians in Turkey is huge for me and his memory," she said.
Kurt is currently researching the confiscation of Armenian properties
and the role of local elites in Aintab during the Armenian Genocide.
His dissertation topic is, "The Emergence of the New Wealthy Social
Strata between 1915-1922: The Local Elites' Seizure of Armenian
Property in Aintab" and he is the Agnes Manoogian Hausrath Fellow in
Armenian Genocide Studies, 2010-2013.
From: Baghdasarian
January 23, 2013 - 15:12 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - The numbers six and 17 played a symbolic role in the
January 20 talk delivered by Umit Kurt during a post-service program
hosted by the Friends of Hrant Dink at St. James Armenian Church in
Watertown, Massachusetts, The Armenian Mirror-Spectator reports.
These numbers served as a reminder of the loss of the Turkish-Armenian
journalist - six for the number of years since Dink's assassination
and 17 for the number of assailants who have yet to be punished for
taking his life.
Close to 200 people gathered after church services for the coffee
hour. Parishioners, members of the community, Dink family members
and those seeking justice for Dink communed for a memorial tribute
and discussion of Dink's legacy, six years after his death.
Dink, an influential Turkish-Armenian journalist and advocate for
freedom of speech and recognition of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey,
was assassinated on January 19, 2007, in front of his office at the
Agos newspaper in Istanbul.
Rev. Arakel Aljalian, pastor of St. James, opened with a blessing,
saying "May his [Hrant's] memory be eternal in anyone who believes
in justice."
Friends of Hrant Dink Vice President Zadik Ozcan introduced the
featured speaker, Kurt is a graduate student in the Genocide Studies
program of Clark University under Prof. Taner Akcam.
During his talk, Kurt spoke of Dink's legacy and his unfinished work.
He asked, "How much more would have happened had he lived?"
Kurt shared his own journey of discovering that his hometown of Aintab,
Turkey, was once home to Armenians. When he was 22-years-old, Kurt
met a friend at a coffee house with unique architecture and unknown
script around the door. "Who made this? Who had been here before?" were
questions he was suddenly confronted with.
Kurt would come to find out that the entire neighborhood had once
been Armenian. "I had no idea that this place in my own hometown was
[once] Armenian," Kurt said of this discovery. Though Turkish, Kurt
mentioned that he has also begun an investigation of his own family
history to see if there is any unknown Armenian heritage.
As the talk progressed, he discussed the oppressive nationalism in
Turkey, saying, "We are being killed by this nationalism everyday." He
spoke about the current problems facing Turkey and why there is hope
despite the immense challenges ahead. "It has been six years since his
death when he was taken from us in front of Agos... It has been six
years and lawlessness has never been more commonplace in this country
[Turkey] ... Because in Turkey to express something is forbidden."
Kurt also provided the audience with a clearer picture of the events
surrounding Dink's death, the elaborate assassination plot and the
latest developments in seeking justice for Dink.
Although the original court decision had ruled that Dink's murder
was not part of an organized criminal plot, an appeals court recently
disagreed and ruled that the murder was part of a full-fledged "deep
state" organization. Kurt said that a new trial would begin in Turkey
soon involving those responsible for Dink's murder.
Kurt noted progress regarding Article 301 of the Turkish penal code,
the controversial law punishing "insulting Turkishness," and the same
law for the violation of which Dink was prosecuted. The prosecution of
Article 301 offenders has moved under the jurisdiction of the Ministry
of Justice in Turkey, thus making Turkish officials far more hesitant
to pursue convictions and effectively eliminating such cases, he said.
Kurt ended by addressing those 17 conspirators who still walk free
six years after Dink's death. "You took his life [but] You couldn't
touch his spirit. You couldn't even reach him," he said. In his closing
remarks, Ozcan said of Kurt's work, "This is the fruit of his [Dink's]
legacy... Hrant wanted to lift the black curtain in Turkey... Hopefully
Hrant's legacy will shed some light on these issues."
Fellow Friend of Hrant Dink, Varujan Gulderian, spoke of plans by the
organization to host a future event in an outdoor and highly-visible
public forum, in order to broaden their outreach and spread Dink's
message. "The larger global community - not just Armenians - need to
know what happened. We need to go public if want to get justice for
Hrant," Gulderian said.
Izabel Keremian, an audience member from Lexington, shared her
reason for attending the event and the importance of Dink's legacy to
Armenian-Turkish relations. "I'm from Turkey. To have him represent
Armenians in Turkey is huge for me and his memory," she said.
Kurt is currently researching the confiscation of Armenian properties
and the role of local elites in Aintab during the Armenian Genocide.
His dissertation topic is, "The Emergence of the New Wealthy Social
Strata between 1915-1922: The Local Elites' Seizure of Armenian
Property in Aintab" and he is the Agnes Manoogian Hausrath Fellow in
Armenian Genocide Studies, 2010-2013.
From: Baghdasarian