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Changing Society, Unchanging Politics
http://www.repairfuture.net/index.php/en/changing-society-unchanging-politics
Thursday, 13 June 2013
Karin Karakasli
Writer and journalist
All the words fail in explaining the intolerableness of passing from
writing with Hrant Dink to writing for the memorial of Hrant Dink.
There is nothing change in my feeling within six years passed from his
murder. On the other hand, while life is flowing, to continue his
fight for peace is on my shoulders now as the biggest heritage. This
article, like most of others, is the expression of that
responsibility.
The name of Hrant Dink, reverberated in Turkey and in the entire
world, as an Armenian journalist who was murdered in front of the
building of Agos newspaper in 19th January, 2007. In order to explain
the impact of that breaking point requires looking at the ten years
period passed from the establishment of this newspaper on his own and
what is happening after 2007.
Agos, which is the first weekly newspaper of Turkey published in both
Turkish-Armenians, was established in April 1996 under the chief
editorship of Hrant Dink.
That period, to share the ravage, especially the problem of minority
foundations in possession of properties and the word of Armenian
becoming a swear; which is created by provocative publishing in order
to establish a mutual relation between Turkish Armenian Patriarchate
and PKK, with the public opinion from the first person, became the
main principle of the newspaper. The need to embrace Armenians who
could not learn their mother-tongue and who have to immigrate to
Istanbul or abroad since there is no Armenian living in Anatolia and
no schools to go after 1915, is another purpose in order to establish
social solidarity of Turkey's Armenian Society which have to conduct
their own schools, Churches and associations economically without
taking any financial aid from the government. To share the knowledge
and experience of Armenians in these lands in several fields from art
to handicrafts was another goal.
Like every new institution, first years of establishment of Agos had
been passed with seeking and generating an identity. In time, a wide
range of agenda items such as; contribution to Turkey-Armenia
dialogue, making Armenian Question effable and talkable with a new
style which pays regard to the honour, mutual information transfer,
freedom of thought and expression and democratization of Turkey
within the scope of EU process were included in the goals of the
beginning. Such that, in some days, a headline which Hrant Dink stated
becomes not only notifying something exists but also determining the
agenda of the country.
`Being an Armenian in Turkey became visible and apparent firstly with him'
Times when the political challenge was the most tiring and
back-breaking, were times when the Governmental actions or discourses
of the ultranationalist and chauvinist segment of the community that
make Armenians living in Turkey feel alienated reached peak. Armenian
proposals in the agendas of the World parliaments and discussions
about possessions of Minority Foundations brought the implication of
regarding minorities as foreigners with them and the challenge of
Hrant Dink was getting hotter. At this point his existence and
attitude declared a new Armenian identity.
When looking from the perspective of Turkey, the attitude towards
Armenian was limited with certain frames. For some people, Armenian is
a human type of whom absence is remembered with shortsighted
nostalgias like "They cook so nice dolma and topik. They were
handicraftsmen" but the reason of their absence has not been examined.
For some other segments of society, they were "potential traitors and
internal focal points". Hrant Dink, firstly, presented the Armenian
concept as an undeniable truth with his own body and voice. Turkey
Armenians /Being an Armenian in Turkey became visible and apparent
firstly with him.
Hrant Dink made an equivalent effort to being a citizen in Turkey as
the same effort made to being an Armenian. He never gave up from
generating ideas and making a great effort to the future of the
country in where he was born as a citizen of The Republic of Turkey.
For him, democracy was something to be created by making great effort.
He contributed to countless problems and questions such as Kurdish
question, head-scarf / turban problem, Turkey-EU relations by starting
from his experiences because he deemed this contribution as the
requirement of his democracy ethic.
Business and Life Ethics of Hrant Dink sided with talking everything
in its own environment. Therefore, he never takes problems of Turkey
Armenians to Europe as a complain factor although he did not have so
many other opportunities. At that point, the words always belonged to
his identity of being a citizen of Turkish Republic. Therewithal, in
the idea struggle he made with Diaspora, he invited Armenians abroad
to a honest face-off by saying that `Do you side with the recognition
of the genocide or the democratization of Turkey?"
According to him, Armenian Question could only be duly discussed in a
society in which the information could be freely distributed and which
could be actually democratized in real terms. Therefore, with those
draft processes patronizing from outside based on history, it was
impossible to have any result other than triggering ultranationalist
cheuvanist segments. Fort he very reason, Hrant Dink passionately
expressed that all European Countries have to inlude Turkey to the EU
process. He was always a follower of demands that increase from the
bottom to the top and concern internal dynamics and he had no concern
other than democratization of his country.
Talking over not only deaths but also the surviving.
Hrant Dink wrote the news containing the assertions about the fact
that the goddaughter of Atatürk Sabiha Gökçen could be Armenian
origin, as an opportunity to discuss the Armenian taboo over deaths
but the surviving. This publication was an occasion for him to make
the fact, which there are also Armenians who could survive by changing
religion, being adopted or married besides those who were died in that
sorrowful period, talkable. But he was announced and declared as a
`Turkophobe' with a sentence which was picked from the article of
General Staff suggesting Diaspora Armenians to give up anti-Turkish
attitude and its harsh reprobation letter that was published just
after the news hit the headlines of newspaper called Hürriyet; and an
anti-campaign which started in company with the important columnists
of radical right-winger press and national newspapers put his name to
a course which was a real suppression for himself.
Hrant Dink, who devoted his life to overcome this prejudice, to break
the walls of virulence and for Turkish and Armenian societies
understood and know each other, was not actually murdered in 19th
January, 2007. He was murdered when he was threatened by members of
National Intelligence Service in the Governorship of Istanbul just
after the letter of General Staff. He was murdered when he wasted his
breathe in every text, every conversation and felt himself obliged to
explain himself again and again. He was murdered when Grey Wolves were
shouting `Hrant Dink is the target of all our anger and hatred then'
in front of the building of Agos and when courts condemned him despite
of the experts' report and when the Supreme Court of Appeal did not
consider harmful to approve this sentence.
Two days after the murder, Istanbul Security Director suddenly
explained that the murder did not tie in with any organization and did
not have any political dimension. There were some video images in
which the murder suspect stroke a pose with gendarmeries and polices
in front of a poster with a Turkish flag after he was caught in
Samsun, revealed. It was understood that, Erhan Tuncel, who is known
as one of the planners of Hrant Dink assassination, report the murder
to the police in February 2006 that Hrant Dink would be murdered by
Yasin Hayal and Trabzon Security Directorate reported this situation
to General Directorate of Security Affairs in Ankara. The governor of
that period was elected as a Parliamentarian from the ruling party,
then promoted as the Minister of Internal Affairs, The Security
Director of Istanbul was promoted as the Governor and Mehmet Nihat
Ã-meroÄ?lu, one of the 18 Supreme Court Judges who have his signature
under the penalty fined from the Article 301 of Turkish Criminal Law
that regulated the penalty of `insult to Turkishness' of Dink , was
promoted as Ombudsman in General Assembly of TGNA.
The scale of this organization, is the scope of the country from now on.
Deleted telephone conversations, spoiled evidences, hidden documents
and destructed reports alternated each other. Currently no
investigation conducted on the whole officers to whom the State
Supervisory Council recommended to be investigated from the police to
gendarmerie, from the security intelligence to judgment and politics.
Hence, the case was tried to be closed by condemning those two victims
in 17th January, 2012 without finding out the real and actual
perpetrators, actors of the murder whoever responsible.
Against this legal scandal and the sorrow of the loss, the only hope
is the fact that hundred of thousands people bid farewell to Hrant
Dink by yelling as "All of us are Armenians" in the funeral after 4
days from the murder, in 23rd of January. In the intervening years,
the indignation against what experienced on behalf of his name and
personality, increased incrementally. Now the public conscious is
following the objection made to the court decision as "there is an
organization" made by Supreme Court of Appeals Prosecutor's Office.
Now, public stares at the Supreme Court of Appeal as what shall be
arrested in the name of `organization'. The scale of this organization
is the scope of this country from now on. Our living space is also in
size of this scale.
In passing 6 years, Turkey community perceived the `message' regarding
the 1915 taboo that is intended to be given in the personality of
Hrant Dink and stroke an attitude at the point of breaking that taboo
and building the peace. My conscience does not agree, I scruple about
the fact that a group consists of faculty members and journalists deny
and deaf to `the Disaster to which Ottoman Armenians were exposed in
1915'. The petition campaign, which was started in 14th December 2008
with the words of `I deny this injustice and personally, I share all
feelings and sorrows of my Armenian brothers and sisters and apologize
from them on my on behalf", created tremendous expression with the
list of 30.837 people. If words of Prime Minister Recep Tayip ErdoÄ?an
about the campaign `Probably they carried out such a genocide, so they
apologize. Republic of Turkey has not such a problem' is remembered,
it shall be better understood how behind the state politics are from
the community.
April 24 Commemoration of the Genocide events which were started to
happen in Turkey in recent is another expression of that broken
paradigm. Ones who looked at black-and-white photos, understood that
220 Armenian intelligent were taken to their last journeys, to their
deaths towards AyaÅ? and Çankırı, just before a huge Anatolian
community were relegated to their paths of death with their children,
women and elders; in order to prevent them from sharing what all
those lived. Commemorations overflowed to squares.
While 2015 is coming; facing with Armenian genocide imposes itself as
the concept which must be the actual base of the Kurdish Question.
Those protocols which were signed in 2009 and estimated that the
Turkey-Armenia border to be opened and the diplomatic relations to be
started, are still on the shelf! Both today and yesterday are locked.
Whereas, the community is ready to pass over that threshold. Because
the peace and the welfare of the society are linked to this dearie,
only hope of peace.
There is no other option than holding on that hope. The heritage of
Hrant Dink insists hope and challenge to us at most.
http://www.repairfuture.net/index.php/en/changing-society-unchanging-politics
Thursday, 13 June 2013
Karin Karakasli
Writer and journalist
All the words fail in explaining the intolerableness of passing from
writing with Hrant Dink to writing for the memorial of Hrant Dink.
There is nothing change in my feeling within six years passed from his
murder. On the other hand, while life is flowing, to continue his
fight for peace is on my shoulders now as the biggest heritage. This
article, like most of others, is the expression of that
responsibility.
The name of Hrant Dink, reverberated in Turkey and in the entire
world, as an Armenian journalist who was murdered in front of the
building of Agos newspaper in 19th January, 2007. In order to explain
the impact of that breaking point requires looking at the ten years
period passed from the establishment of this newspaper on his own and
what is happening after 2007.
Agos, which is the first weekly newspaper of Turkey published in both
Turkish-Armenians, was established in April 1996 under the chief
editorship of Hrant Dink.
That period, to share the ravage, especially the problem of minority
foundations in possession of properties and the word of Armenian
becoming a swear; which is created by provocative publishing in order
to establish a mutual relation between Turkish Armenian Patriarchate
and PKK, with the public opinion from the first person, became the
main principle of the newspaper. The need to embrace Armenians who
could not learn their mother-tongue and who have to immigrate to
Istanbul or abroad since there is no Armenian living in Anatolia and
no schools to go after 1915, is another purpose in order to establish
social solidarity of Turkey's Armenian Society which have to conduct
their own schools, Churches and associations economically without
taking any financial aid from the government. To share the knowledge
and experience of Armenians in these lands in several fields from art
to handicrafts was another goal.
Like every new institution, first years of establishment of Agos had
been passed with seeking and generating an identity. In time, a wide
range of agenda items such as; contribution to Turkey-Armenia
dialogue, making Armenian Question effable and talkable with a new
style which pays regard to the honour, mutual information transfer,
freedom of thought and expression and democratization of Turkey
within the scope of EU process were included in the goals of the
beginning. Such that, in some days, a headline which Hrant Dink stated
becomes not only notifying something exists but also determining the
agenda of the country.
`Being an Armenian in Turkey became visible and apparent firstly with him'
Times when the political challenge was the most tiring and
back-breaking, were times when the Governmental actions or discourses
of the ultranationalist and chauvinist segment of the community that
make Armenians living in Turkey feel alienated reached peak. Armenian
proposals in the agendas of the World parliaments and discussions
about possessions of Minority Foundations brought the implication of
regarding minorities as foreigners with them and the challenge of
Hrant Dink was getting hotter. At this point his existence and
attitude declared a new Armenian identity.
When looking from the perspective of Turkey, the attitude towards
Armenian was limited with certain frames. For some people, Armenian is
a human type of whom absence is remembered with shortsighted
nostalgias like "They cook so nice dolma and topik. They were
handicraftsmen" but the reason of their absence has not been examined.
For some other segments of society, they were "potential traitors and
internal focal points". Hrant Dink, firstly, presented the Armenian
concept as an undeniable truth with his own body and voice. Turkey
Armenians /Being an Armenian in Turkey became visible and apparent
firstly with him.
Hrant Dink made an equivalent effort to being a citizen in Turkey as
the same effort made to being an Armenian. He never gave up from
generating ideas and making a great effort to the future of the
country in where he was born as a citizen of The Republic of Turkey.
For him, democracy was something to be created by making great effort.
He contributed to countless problems and questions such as Kurdish
question, head-scarf / turban problem, Turkey-EU relations by starting
from his experiences because he deemed this contribution as the
requirement of his democracy ethic.
Business and Life Ethics of Hrant Dink sided with talking everything
in its own environment. Therefore, he never takes problems of Turkey
Armenians to Europe as a complain factor although he did not have so
many other opportunities. At that point, the words always belonged to
his identity of being a citizen of Turkish Republic. Therewithal, in
the idea struggle he made with Diaspora, he invited Armenians abroad
to a honest face-off by saying that `Do you side with the recognition
of the genocide or the democratization of Turkey?"
According to him, Armenian Question could only be duly discussed in a
society in which the information could be freely distributed and which
could be actually democratized in real terms. Therefore, with those
draft processes patronizing from outside based on history, it was
impossible to have any result other than triggering ultranationalist
cheuvanist segments. Fort he very reason, Hrant Dink passionately
expressed that all European Countries have to inlude Turkey to the EU
process. He was always a follower of demands that increase from the
bottom to the top and concern internal dynamics and he had no concern
other than democratization of his country.
Talking over not only deaths but also the surviving.
Hrant Dink wrote the news containing the assertions about the fact
that the goddaughter of Atatürk Sabiha Gökçen could be Armenian
origin, as an opportunity to discuss the Armenian taboo over deaths
but the surviving. This publication was an occasion for him to make
the fact, which there are also Armenians who could survive by changing
religion, being adopted or married besides those who were died in that
sorrowful period, talkable. But he was announced and declared as a
`Turkophobe' with a sentence which was picked from the article of
General Staff suggesting Diaspora Armenians to give up anti-Turkish
attitude and its harsh reprobation letter that was published just
after the news hit the headlines of newspaper called Hürriyet; and an
anti-campaign which started in company with the important columnists
of radical right-winger press and national newspapers put his name to
a course which was a real suppression for himself.
Hrant Dink, who devoted his life to overcome this prejudice, to break
the walls of virulence and for Turkish and Armenian societies
understood and know each other, was not actually murdered in 19th
January, 2007. He was murdered when he was threatened by members of
National Intelligence Service in the Governorship of Istanbul just
after the letter of General Staff. He was murdered when he wasted his
breathe in every text, every conversation and felt himself obliged to
explain himself again and again. He was murdered when Grey Wolves were
shouting `Hrant Dink is the target of all our anger and hatred then'
in front of the building of Agos and when courts condemned him despite
of the experts' report and when the Supreme Court of Appeal did not
consider harmful to approve this sentence.
Two days after the murder, Istanbul Security Director suddenly
explained that the murder did not tie in with any organization and did
not have any political dimension. There were some video images in
which the murder suspect stroke a pose with gendarmeries and polices
in front of a poster with a Turkish flag after he was caught in
Samsun, revealed. It was understood that, Erhan Tuncel, who is known
as one of the planners of Hrant Dink assassination, report the murder
to the police in February 2006 that Hrant Dink would be murdered by
Yasin Hayal and Trabzon Security Directorate reported this situation
to General Directorate of Security Affairs in Ankara. The governor of
that period was elected as a Parliamentarian from the ruling party,
then promoted as the Minister of Internal Affairs, The Security
Director of Istanbul was promoted as the Governor and Mehmet Nihat
Ã-meroÄ?lu, one of the 18 Supreme Court Judges who have his signature
under the penalty fined from the Article 301 of Turkish Criminal Law
that regulated the penalty of `insult to Turkishness' of Dink , was
promoted as Ombudsman in General Assembly of TGNA.
The scale of this organization, is the scope of the country from now on.
Deleted telephone conversations, spoiled evidences, hidden documents
and destructed reports alternated each other. Currently no
investigation conducted on the whole officers to whom the State
Supervisory Council recommended to be investigated from the police to
gendarmerie, from the security intelligence to judgment and politics.
Hence, the case was tried to be closed by condemning those two victims
in 17th January, 2012 without finding out the real and actual
perpetrators, actors of the murder whoever responsible.
Against this legal scandal and the sorrow of the loss, the only hope
is the fact that hundred of thousands people bid farewell to Hrant
Dink by yelling as "All of us are Armenians" in the funeral after 4
days from the murder, in 23rd of January. In the intervening years,
the indignation against what experienced on behalf of his name and
personality, increased incrementally. Now the public conscious is
following the objection made to the court decision as "there is an
organization" made by Supreme Court of Appeals Prosecutor's Office.
Now, public stares at the Supreme Court of Appeal as what shall be
arrested in the name of `organization'. The scale of this organization
is the scope of this country from now on. Our living space is also in
size of this scale.
In passing 6 years, Turkey community perceived the `message' regarding
the 1915 taboo that is intended to be given in the personality of
Hrant Dink and stroke an attitude at the point of breaking that taboo
and building the peace. My conscience does not agree, I scruple about
the fact that a group consists of faculty members and journalists deny
and deaf to `the Disaster to which Ottoman Armenians were exposed in
1915'. The petition campaign, which was started in 14th December 2008
with the words of `I deny this injustice and personally, I share all
feelings and sorrows of my Armenian brothers and sisters and apologize
from them on my on behalf", created tremendous expression with the
list of 30.837 people. If words of Prime Minister Recep Tayip ErdoÄ?an
about the campaign `Probably they carried out such a genocide, so they
apologize. Republic of Turkey has not such a problem' is remembered,
it shall be better understood how behind the state politics are from
the community.
April 24 Commemoration of the Genocide events which were started to
happen in Turkey in recent is another expression of that broken
paradigm. Ones who looked at black-and-white photos, understood that
220 Armenian intelligent were taken to their last journeys, to their
deaths towards AyaÅ? and Çankırı, just before a huge Anatolian
community were relegated to their paths of death with their children,
women and elders; in order to prevent them from sharing what all
those lived. Commemorations overflowed to squares.
While 2015 is coming; facing with Armenian genocide imposes itself as
the concept which must be the actual base of the Kurdish Question.
Those protocols which were signed in 2009 and estimated that the
Turkey-Armenia border to be opened and the diplomatic relations to be
started, are still on the shelf! Both today and yesterday are locked.
Whereas, the community is ready to pass over that threshold. Because
the peace and the welfare of the society are linked to this dearie,
only hope of peace.
There is no other option than holding on that hope. The heritage of
Hrant Dink insists hope and challenge to us at most.