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THOUSANDS MARCH FOR JUSTICE ON DINK MURDER ANNIVERSARY
Tuesday, January 21st, 2014
Crowds march through Istanbul streets, commemorating Hrant Dink and
calling for justice on the 7th anniversary of his murder
ISTANBUL--Thousands gathered in Istanbul to mark the seventh
anniversary of the killing of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink
on Jan. 19, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.
The Friends of Hrant Dink organization, established in memory of
the late journalist, called for a march starting at 1:30 pm from
Taksim Square, which ended with a homage to Dink in front of the Agos
newspaper's office building in the Pangaltı neighborhood.
Police took tight security measures around Istanbul's Taksim Square and
closed Gezi Park, which staged anti-government protests 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., a one minute silence in memory of Dink was observed,
after which Gulten 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 protests.
"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, 2007 by a 17-year-old Turkish nationalist. The triggerman,
Ogun 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 "We are here, brother" in Armenian,
"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.
The marchers held signs and chanted slogans such as, 'For Hrant,
for justice' and 'We are all Armenians'
After the meeting ended, the crowd marched to Taksim.
In a controversial apparent gesture, a number of the 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.
Ertugrul Gunay, a former member of the ruling Justice and Development
Party (AKP), asked Istanbul Governor Vali Mutlu on Twitter who had
ordered the police to wear white caps.
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. This 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.
OSCE calls for justice The masterminds behind the murder of Hrant
Dink must be brought to justice, said the OSCE Representative on
Freedom of the Media in a statement on Jan. 19.
"Seven years after the murder of Hrant Dink the masterminds behind this
terrible act of violence have still not been called to account," Dunja
Mijatovic said. "The Turkish authorities must double their efforts
and no longer delay bringing justice to the family of Hrant Dink."
The Representative noted that a retrial is ongoing, following the
ruling by Turkey's Supreme Court of Appeals in May 2013, which
acknowledged that there was a criminal conspiracy to silence the
journalist.
"It is not enough to imprison the person who pulled the trigger.
Masterminds of such crimes are no less dangerous than murderers. The
Turkish justice system must show to Turkish citizens that such crimes
do not go unpunished," Mijatovic said.
"Hrant Dink was a courageous journalist who advocated for peace and
minority rights through his writings," the Representative said. "Every
society should be proud of such outstanding individuals and do their
best to protect them and their right to free expression."
http://asbarez.com/118662/thousands-march-for-justice-on-dink-murder-anniversary/
From: A. Papazian
Tuesday, January 21st, 2014
Crowds march through Istanbul streets, commemorating Hrant Dink and
calling for justice on the 7th anniversary of his murder
ISTANBUL--Thousands gathered in Istanbul to mark the seventh
anniversary of the killing of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink
on Jan. 19, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.
The Friends of Hrant Dink organization, established in memory of
the late journalist, called for a march starting at 1:30 pm from
Taksim Square, which ended with a homage to Dink in front of the Agos
newspaper's office building in the Pangaltı neighborhood.
Police took tight security measures around Istanbul's Taksim Square and
closed Gezi Park, which staged anti-government protests 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., a one minute silence in memory of Dink was observed,
after which Gulten 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 protests.
"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, 2007 by a 17-year-old Turkish nationalist. The triggerman,
Ogun 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 "We are here, brother" in Armenian,
"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.
The marchers held signs and chanted slogans such as, 'For Hrant,
for justice' and 'We are all Armenians'
After the meeting ended, the crowd marched to Taksim.
In a controversial apparent gesture, a number of the 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.
Ertugrul Gunay, a former member of the ruling Justice and Development
Party (AKP), asked Istanbul Governor Vali Mutlu on Twitter who had
ordered the police to wear white caps.
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. This 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.
OSCE calls for justice The masterminds behind the murder of Hrant
Dink must be brought to justice, said the OSCE Representative on
Freedom of the Media in a statement on Jan. 19.
"Seven years after the murder of Hrant Dink the masterminds behind this
terrible act of violence have still not been called to account," Dunja
Mijatovic said. "The Turkish authorities must double their efforts
and no longer delay bringing justice to the family of Hrant Dink."
The Representative noted that a retrial is ongoing, following the
ruling by Turkey's Supreme Court of Appeals in May 2013, which
acknowledged that there was a criminal conspiracy to silence the
journalist.
"It is not enough to imprison the person who pulled the trigger.
Masterminds of such crimes are no less dangerous than murderers. The
Turkish justice system must show to Turkish citizens that such crimes
do not go unpunished," Mijatovic said.
"Hrant Dink was a courageous journalist who advocated for peace and
minority rights through his writings," the Representative said. "Every
society should be proud of such outstanding individuals and do their
best to protect them and their right to free expression."
http://asbarez.com/118662/thousands-march-for-justice-on-dink-murder-anniversary/
From: A. Papazian