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SERBIAN ACTIVIST RECOGNISED BY TURKEY'S HRANT DINK FOUNDATION
Eurasia Review
Oct 4 2013
By SETimes
October 4, 2013
By Menekse Tokyay and Biljana Pekusic
Serbian human rights activist Natasa Kandic, known for her
documentation of war crimes, was honoured for her work as she was
named a recipient of the fifth annual International Hrant Dink Award.
The award is named in memory of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who
called for peace between the Turkish and Armenian communities and
was prosecuted for violat-ing Turkey's law that prohibits denigrating
Turkishness. He was assassinated in 2007 in Istanbul.
In 1992, Kandic founded the Humanitarian Law Centre in Belgrade,
a non-governmental organisation that investigates the murder and
torture of people during the war in the former Yugoslavia. She also
was named an honorary citizen of Sarajevo for her efforts to bring
the perpetrators of the genocide in Srebrenica to justice.
The nominees for the award are determined each year by an international
jury. The award is presented to public activists, journalists,
organisations or groups advocating human rights and freedom of speech,
and working for a world free of discrimination, violence and racism.
Two recipients are named each year, one from Turkey and another from
abroad. This year's honouree from Turkey is the Saturday Mothers,
who have been gathering each Saturday on Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul
for nearly 15 years to draw public and politi-cal attention to family
members who have been missing since the 1990s.
"This year's awards were focused on two important themes. First of all,
remembering and coming to terms with the past. Secondly, the courage
for peace. Yes, courage is contagious. Sometimes the contrary is also
true: Fear might also be contagious," Ayse Kadioglu, a member of the
award committee, told SETimes.
"However, this prize is aimed for embracing courage and giving it a
standing ovation," she added, emphasising the importance of standing
together against similar difficulties in different parts of the world.
During the ceremony, Kandic said she was pleased to receive such a
meaningful prize in memory of Dink, and added that empathy can lead
to peace with the past and with others.
"The only condition of peace is empathy," she added during her
acceptance speech in Istanbul.
In an exclusive interview with SETimes, Kandic said she is impressed
that the award brings together many intellectuals and has a strong
impact on public opinion in Turkey.
"Serbia and Turkey both have serious problems regarding human rights
in their past. As for the former Yugoslavia, a terrible war resulting
in 130,000 deaths incited the governments, civil society and the
international community to react and bring the criminal trials to
the domestic and the international war crimes courts. There is a
highly developed civil initiative, and now we're on track to have a
regional commission that will deal with establishing the facts about
war crimes and victims," Kandic said.
Kandic said Turkey's criminal trials in human rights and murder cases
are complicated and influenced by intolerance, and that they should
be more transparent. But she added that there are signs of progress
in the country, as civil society groups in Turkey have demonstrated
strong efforts to document forced disappearances and have been helping
the victims of human rights violations.
"My impression for Turkey is civil society is involved very strongly
and begins com-municating with the neighbouring countries with which
it shared a common past," Kandic said.
Ali Bayramoglu, a well-known Turkish journalist and the head of
the selection com-mittee, told SETimes that the awarding of such
an international prize in Turkey, where there are still significant
problems in human rights and democracy, is unique.
"This prize is basically a support and a contribution for those, like
Kandic, who are taking risks with their lives and who want to break
the routine to follow the footsteps of a struggle as done by Hrant Dink
during his whole life," said Bayramoglu, who was a friend of Dink's.
Bayramoglu said the prize adds meaning to the struggle to defend human
rights in the Balkans and Turkey even under difficult conditions,
and shows that people continue to have courage to fight against
discrimination or torture, regardless of religion or ethnicity.
Kandic agreed.
"I was awarded with such a unique prize because the civil society
in Turkey wants to share experiences with those who worked on such
topics," she said. "The aim is to obtain justice for the victims
of human rights violations and for their families to know the truth
and to punish the perpetrators, as well as to reduce discrimination
against minority groups."
http://www.eurasiareview.com/04102013-serbian-activist-recognised-turkeys-hrant-dink-foundation/
Eurasia Review
Oct 4 2013
By SETimes
October 4, 2013
By Menekse Tokyay and Biljana Pekusic
Serbian human rights activist Natasa Kandic, known for her
documentation of war crimes, was honoured for her work as she was
named a recipient of the fifth annual International Hrant Dink Award.
The award is named in memory of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who
called for peace between the Turkish and Armenian communities and
was prosecuted for violat-ing Turkey's law that prohibits denigrating
Turkishness. He was assassinated in 2007 in Istanbul.
In 1992, Kandic founded the Humanitarian Law Centre in Belgrade,
a non-governmental organisation that investigates the murder and
torture of people during the war in the former Yugoslavia. She also
was named an honorary citizen of Sarajevo for her efforts to bring
the perpetrators of the genocide in Srebrenica to justice.
The nominees for the award are determined each year by an international
jury. The award is presented to public activists, journalists,
organisations or groups advocating human rights and freedom of speech,
and working for a world free of discrimination, violence and racism.
Two recipients are named each year, one from Turkey and another from
abroad. This year's honouree from Turkey is the Saturday Mothers,
who have been gathering each Saturday on Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul
for nearly 15 years to draw public and politi-cal attention to family
members who have been missing since the 1990s.
"This year's awards were focused on two important themes. First of all,
remembering and coming to terms with the past. Secondly, the courage
for peace. Yes, courage is contagious. Sometimes the contrary is also
true: Fear might also be contagious," Ayse Kadioglu, a member of the
award committee, told SETimes.
"However, this prize is aimed for embracing courage and giving it a
standing ovation," she added, emphasising the importance of standing
together against similar difficulties in different parts of the world.
During the ceremony, Kandic said she was pleased to receive such a
meaningful prize in memory of Dink, and added that empathy can lead
to peace with the past and with others.
"The only condition of peace is empathy," she added during her
acceptance speech in Istanbul.
In an exclusive interview with SETimes, Kandic said she is impressed
that the award brings together many intellectuals and has a strong
impact on public opinion in Turkey.
"Serbia and Turkey both have serious problems regarding human rights
in their past. As for the former Yugoslavia, a terrible war resulting
in 130,000 deaths incited the governments, civil society and the
international community to react and bring the criminal trials to
the domestic and the international war crimes courts. There is a
highly developed civil initiative, and now we're on track to have a
regional commission that will deal with establishing the facts about
war crimes and victims," Kandic said.
Kandic said Turkey's criminal trials in human rights and murder cases
are complicated and influenced by intolerance, and that they should
be more transparent. But she added that there are signs of progress
in the country, as civil society groups in Turkey have demonstrated
strong efforts to document forced disappearances and have been helping
the victims of human rights violations.
"My impression for Turkey is civil society is involved very strongly
and begins com-municating with the neighbouring countries with which
it shared a common past," Kandic said.
Ali Bayramoglu, a well-known Turkish journalist and the head of
the selection com-mittee, told SETimes that the awarding of such
an international prize in Turkey, where there are still significant
problems in human rights and democracy, is unique.
"This prize is basically a support and a contribution for those, like
Kandic, who are taking risks with their lives and who want to break
the routine to follow the footsteps of a struggle as done by Hrant Dink
during his whole life," said Bayramoglu, who was a friend of Dink's.
Bayramoglu said the prize adds meaning to the struggle to defend human
rights in the Balkans and Turkey even under difficult conditions,
and shows that people continue to have courage to fight against
discrimination or torture, regardless of religion or ethnicity.
Kandic agreed.
"I was awarded with such a unique prize because the civil society
in Turkey wants to share experiences with those who worked on such
topics," she said. "The aim is to obtain justice for the victims
of human rights violations and for their families to know the truth
and to punish the perpetrators, as well as to reduce discrimination
against minority groups."
http://www.eurasiareview.com/04102013-serbian-activist-recognised-turkeys-hrant-dink-foundation/