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Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Jan 19 2014
Hrant Dink's friends call for `justice' on 7th year of murder
ISTANBUL
The crowd marched to the front of Armenian weekly Agos, where Hrant
Dink was murdered in broad daylight by a 17-year-old ultranationalist
in 2007. DHA Photo
Tens of thousands gathered in Istanbul to mark the seventh anniversary
of the killing of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink on Jan. 19.
The Friends of Hrant Dink organization, established in memory of the
late journalist, called for a march starting at 1:30 p.m. from Taksim
Square, which ended with a homage to Dink in front of the Agos
newspaper's office building in the Pangaltı neighborhood of Å?iÅ?li.
Police took tight security measures around Istanbul's Taksim Square
and closed Gezi Park, which was the site of massive resistance against
the government last summer, ahead of the commemoration.
The crowd marched to the front of Armenian weekly Agos, where Hrant
Dink was murdered in broad daylight by a 17-year-old nationalist in
2007.
At 2:56 p.m., mourners observed a minute of silence for Dink, after
which Gülten Kaya, the widow of late singer Ahmet Kaya, took the
microphone. Kaya commemorated not only Dink, but also those who were
killed during the Gezi Park Resistance last year. `We are here not
only to remember Hrant, but also Ethem [Sarısülük], Abdullah [Cömert],
Medeni [Yıldırım], Ahmet [Atakan] and those who died in the Gezi
protests,' Kaya said. `You have left mothers and fathers devoid of
their children. Sons of this country were shot with treacherous
bullets. How can we forget how many homes were broken?' she said.
Hrant Dink commemorated seven years after his murder
`What is your truth? This is 2014: You are carrying guns in your
trucks instead of peace, democracy and human rights,' Kaya added,
addressing Turkey's security forces.
Dink, the highly esteemed former editor-in-chief of weekly Agos, was
murdered in broad daylight in front of his newspaper's building on
Jan. 19, 2007ü by a 17-year-old Turkish nationalist. The triggerman,
Ogün Samast, was convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to 22
years and 10 months of prison after a two year-trial.
The marchers chanted the slogan `Buradayız Ahparig!' (a half-Turkish,
half-Armenian slogan meaning `We are here, brother"), `For Hrant, for
justice,' and `We are all Armenians,' in front of the Agos office. A
popular chant from the Gezi Park protests, `Everywhere is Taksim,
everywhere is resistance,' was also heard.
After the rallyended, the crowd marched to Taksim.
In a controversial apparent gesture, a number of traffic police
officers assigned to the area were photographed wearing white caps. On
the day of the murder, Samast was wearing a white cap, which later
became an infamous symbol of the incident and a badge of pride among
ultranationalist fascists.
ErtuÄ?rul Günay, a former member of the ruling Justice and Development
Party (AKP), asked Istanbul Gov. Hüseyin Avni Mutlu, who became the
subject of mass revilement last year due to perceived lies surrounding
the police's often brutal conduct during the Gezi Resistance, over
Twitter who had ordered the police to don white caps.
A small group of Trabzonspor supporters also attracted attention,
carrying a banner that read "We have not forgotten" in honor of the
slain journalist; Samast and those involved in instigating the murder
were based in Trabzon, and the Black Sea side's supporters are
infamous for their ultranationalism. During the march, the Trabzonspor
supporters chanted "Trabzonspor is here, where are the gangs?"
The Dink murder case remains unsolved, with the court ruling that it
was not a result of an organized crime to the dismay of Dink's family
and supporters. The ruling was mde despite serious claims that a
number of civil servants linked to the `deep state' were `indirectly'
involved.
The acquittal of top suspects was ultimately overturned by the Supreme
Court of Appeals and many key suspects charged as instigators of the
murder, such as Yasin Hayal and Erhan Tuncel, are currently being
retried.
The organizers of the commemorative march also denounced the trial
process, accusing the state of protecting those responsible for the
murder.
January/19/2014
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hrant-dinks-friends-call-for-justice-on-7th-year-of-murder-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=61270&NewsCatID=339
From: Baghdasarian
Jan 19 2014
Hrant Dink's friends call for `justice' on 7th year of murder
ISTANBUL
The crowd marched to the front of Armenian weekly Agos, where Hrant
Dink was murdered in broad daylight by a 17-year-old ultranationalist
in 2007. DHA Photo
Tens of thousands gathered in Istanbul to mark the seventh anniversary
of the killing of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink on Jan. 19.
The Friends of Hrant Dink organization, established in memory of the
late journalist, called for a march starting at 1:30 p.m. from Taksim
Square, which ended with a homage to Dink in front of the Agos
newspaper's office building in the Pangaltı neighborhood of Å?iÅ?li.
Police took tight security measures around Istanbul's Taksim Square
and closed Gezi Park, which was the site of massive resistance against
the government last summer, ahead of the commemoration.
The crowd marched to the front of Armenian weekly Agos, where Hrant
Dink was murdered in broad daylight by a 17-year-old nationalist in
2007.
At 2:56 p.m., mourners observed a minute of silence for Dink, after
which Gülten Kaya, the widow of late singer Ahmet Kaya, took the
microphone. Kaya commemorated not only Dink, but also those who were
killed during the Gezi Park Resistance last year. `We are here not
only to remember Hrant, but also Ethem [Sarısülük], Abdullah [Cömert],
Medeni [Yıldırım], Ahmet [Atakan] and those who died in the Gezi
protests,' Kaya said. `You have left mothers and fathers devoid of
their children. Sons of this country were shot with treacherous
bullets. How can we forget how many homes were broken?' she said.
Hrant Dink commemorated seven years after his murder
`What is your truth? This is 2014: You are carrying guns in your
trucks instead of peace, democracy and human rights,' Kaya added,
addressing Turkey's security forces.
Dink, the highly esteemed former editor-in-chief of weekly Agos, was
murdered in broad daylight in front of his newspaper's building on
Jan. 19, 2007ü by a 17-year-old Turkish nationalist. The triggerman,
Ogün Samast, was convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to 22
years and 10 months of prison after a two year-trial.
The marchers chanted the slogan `Buradayız Ahparig!' (a half-Turkish,
half-Armenian slogan meaning `We are here, brother"), `For Hrant, for
justice,' and `We are all Armenians,' in front of the Agos office. A
popular chant from the Gezi Park protests, `Everywhere is Taksim,
everywhere is resistance,' was also heard.
After the rallyended, the crowd marched to Taksim.
In a controversial apparent gesture, a number of traffic police
officers assigned to the area were photographed wearing white caps. On
the day of the murder, Samast was wearing a white cap, which later
became an infamous symbol of the incident and a badge of pride among
ultranationalist fascists.
ErtuÄ?rul Günay, a former member of the ruling Justice and Development
Party (AKP), asked Istanbul Gov. Hüseyin Avni Mutlu, who became the
subject of mass revilement last year due to perceived lies surrounding
the police's often brutal conduct during the Gezi Resistance, over
Twitter who had ordered the police to don white caps.
A small group of Trabzonspor supporters also attracted attention,
carrying a banner that read "We have not forgotten" in honor of the
slain journalist; Samast and those involved in instigating the murder
were based in Trabzon, and the Black Sea side's supporters are
infamous for their ultranationalism. During the march, the Trabzonspor
supporters chanted "Trabzonspor is here, where are the gangs?"
The Dink murder case remains unsolved, with the court ruling that it
was not a result of an organized crime to the dismay of Dink's family
and supporters. The ruling was mde despite serious claims that a
number of civil servants linked to the `deep state' were `indirectly'
involved.
The acquittal of top suspects was ultimately overturned by the Supreme
Court of Appeals and many key suspects charged as instigators of the
murder, such as Yasin Hayal and Erhan Tuncel, are currently being
retried.
The organizers of the commemorative march also denounced the trial
process, accusing the state of protecting those responsible for the
murder.
January/19/2014
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hrant-dinks-friends-call-for-justice-on-7th-year-of-murder-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=61270&NewsCatID=339
From: Baghdasarian