Tweet
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Feb 1 2015
New Agos Editor-in-Chief Danzikyan discusses Dink legacy
Yetvart Danzikyan (2nd row, center-right) has taken over as the new
editor-in-chief of the Agos weekly, after Rober KoptaÅ? (2nd row,
center-left) (Photo: Cihan)
February 01, 2015, Sunday/ 18:11:31/ ZEYNEP KARATAÅ? / ISTANBUL
Yetvart Danzikyan, the new editor-in-chief of Agos, an Armenian weekly
based in Ä°stanbul, spoke on Saturday during a panel discussion held at
the Getronagan Armenian High School Alumni Association in Ä°stanbul on
the legacy of slain journalist Hrant Dink, who was the newspaper's
founding editor-in-chief, in addition to other unresolved murders in
the country.
`We all began to speak and discover ourselves [as Armenians in Turkey]
with Hrant. And for this, Hrant was a revolutionary. When he was
killed, it was a huge trauma for the Armenian community because for
the first time you [we] begin to speak, but the leader is killed,'
explained Danzikyan.
The journalist also shared his respect for Dink, saying, `Hrant was
able to recognize that there were things that needed to be discussed
and he was able to give them a tone and balance [that was
accessible].' Danzikyan further explained that because Dink was an
accessible leader who was creating real change, he posed a huge threat
to Turkish nationalists.
During the panel discussion, those assembled, who included journalists
Ahmet Å?ık and Ä°smail Saymaz, also shared their opinions on Hrant's
legacy. Å?ık, Saymaz and Danzikyan all shared the fact that since
Dink's murder many people have come to them to say if Hrant was alive,
he would do this, or that. But the three believe these are the wrong
types of remarks to make because no one can know what would have
transpired if he hadn't been killed.
With Danzikyan in his new position as head of Agos, the discussion
also touched on Etyen Mahçupyan, a Turkish-Armenian journalist and
senior adviser to Prime Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu since October 2014.
Much controversy has existed over the past year concerning Mahçupyan's
professional decisions. Mahçupyan took over the position of
editor-in-chief of Agos in the wake of Dink's assassination; he also
previously contributed to columns in the Zaman and Taraf dailies. The
Turkish-Armenian intellectual now writes columns for the
pro-government Daily Sabah and AkÅ?am daily.
Mahçupyan has been faced with much criticism from many members of the
Armenian and liberal communities for betrayal and selling himself out
to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). Danzikyan,
however, argued: `We must recognize one thing, Hrant was a leftist and
Etyen is a right-winger. I remember the night Hrant was killed and no
one knew what to do. We weren't sure if the paper was going to
continue or if it was going to close. [¦] I remember thinking to
myself that it was a good thing, thinking here is this intellectual,
and an experienced journalist was able to continue its publication. At
that moment, we were in that state of mind.'
Finding justice for murders
While the legacy of Hrant Dink was a large part of the discussion held
on Saturday, the objectives of the panels were to examine the murders
of various minorities within Turkey whose trials have stalled.
The Balıkçı family spoke about the ongoing trials of their deceased
son's murder. Sevag Balıkçı was 25 years old when he was shot, in what
official reports from military commanders claim to be an accident,
when he was performing his mandatory military service in 2011. The
young man's family, who are of Armenian descent, believes their son's
killing was deliberate. Balıkçı's murder occurred on April 24, 2011,
the remembrance day of the mass killings of Armenians of 1915, and it
was later learned that the man responsible for his death was an
ultranationalist. Now, four years on, a trial for the killing
continues and the family shared that they will continue to seek
justice but are facing much difficulty concerning evidence and
witnesses in the process. They shared that evidence has been tampered
with and the crime scene was also altered, in addition to the fact
that eyewitnesses have changed their statements.
When asked whether they had ever felt oppression in Turkey before the
incident, Sevag's mother, Ari Balıkçı, said: `No. We never felt any
pressure, but they forced us to feel it.'
Also present to share their stories at Saturday's meeting were Baydzar
Midilli, the daughter of Maritzsa Küçük, an elderly Armenian woman who
was murdered in Ä°stanbul's Samatya neighborhood, and Maside Ocak, the
sister of Hasan Ocak, who was tortured to death when he was arrested
in 1995. Other than the Dink case, no one has been convicted for the
murders shared by the relatives during the discussion panel.
http://www.todayszaman.com/national_new-agos-editor-in-chief-danzikyan-discusses-dink-legacy_371460.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Feb 1 2015
New Agos Editor-in-Chief Danzikyan discusses Dink legacy
Yetvart Danzikyan (2nd row, center-right) has taken over as the new
editor-in-chief of the Agos weekly, after Rober KoptaÅ? (2nd row,
center-left) (Photo: Cihan)
February 01, 2015, Sunday/ 18:11:31/ ZEYNEP KARATAÅ? / ISTANBUL
Yetvart Danzikyan, the new editor-in-chief of Agos, an Armenian weekly
based in Ä°stanbul, spoke on Saturday during a panel discussion held at
the Getronagan Armenian High School Alumni Association in Ä°stanbul on
the legacy of slain journalist Hrant Dink, who was the newspaper's
founding editor-in-chief, in addition to other unresolved murders in
the country.
`We all began to speak and discover ourselves [as Armenians in Turkey]
with Hrant. And for this, Hrant was a revolutionary. When he was
killed, it was a huge trauma for the Armenian community because for
the first time you [we] begin to speak, but the leader is killed,'
explained Danzikyan.
The journalist also shared his respect for Dink, saying, `Hrant was
able to recognize that there were things that needed to be discussed
and he was able to give them a tone and balance [that was
accessible].' Danzikyan further explained that because Dink was an
accessible leader who was creating real change, he posed a huge threat
to Turkish nationalists.
During the panel discussion, those assembled, who included journalists
Ahmet Å?ık and Ä°smail Saymaz, also shared their opinions on Hrant's
legacy. Å?ık, Saymaz and Danzikyan all shared the fact that since
Dink's murder many people have come to them to say if Hrant was alive,
he would do this, or that. But the three believe these are the wrong
types of remarks to make because no one can know what would have
transpired if he hadn't been killed.
With Danzikyan in his new position as head of Agos, the discussion
also touched on Etyen Mahçupyan, a Turkish-Armenian journalist and
senior adviser to Prime Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu since October 2014.
Much controversy has existed over the past year concerning Mahçupyan's
professional decisions. Mahçupyan took over the position of
editor-in-chief of Agos in the wake of Dink's assassination; he also
previously contributed to columns in the Zaman and Taraf dailies. The
Turkish-Armenian intellectual now writes columns for the
pro-government Daily Sabah and AkÅ?am daily.
Mahçupyan has been faced with much criticism from many members of the
Armenian and liberal communities for betrayal and selling himself out
to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). Danzikyan,
however, argued: `We must recognize one thing, Hrant was a leftist and
Etyen is a right-winger. I remember the night Hrant was killed and no
one knew what to do. We weren't sure if the paper was going to
continue or if it was going to close. [¦] I remember thinking to
myself that it was a good thing, thinking here is this intellectual,
and an experienced journalist was able to continue its publication. At
that moment, we were in that state of mind.'
Finding justice for murders
While the legacy of Hrant Dink was a large part of the discussion held
on Saturday, the objectives of the panels were to examine the murders
of various minorities within Turkey whose trials have stalled.
The Balıkçı family spoke about the ongoing trials of their deceased
son's murder. Sevag Balıkçı was 25 years old when he was shot, in what
official reports from military commanders claim to be an accident,
when he was performing his mandatory military service in 2011. The
young man's family, who are of Armenian descent, believes their son's
killing was deliberate. Balıkçı's murder occurred on April 24, 2011,
the remembrance day of the mass killings of Armenians of 1915, and it
was later learned that the man responsible for his death was an
ultranationalist. Now, four years on, a trial for the killing
continues and the family shared that they will continue to seek
justice but are facing much difficulty concerning evidence and
witnesses in the process. They shared that evidence has been tampered
with and the crime scene was also altered, in addition to the fact
that eyewitnesses have changed their statements.
When asked whether they had ever felt oppression in Turkey before the
incident, Sevag's mother, Ari Balıkçı, said: `No. We never felt any
pressure, but they forced us to feel it.'
Also present to share their stories at Saturday's meeting were Baydzar
Midilli, the daughter of Maritzsa Küçük, an elderly Armenian woman who
was murdered in Ä°stanbul's Samatya neighborhood, and Maside Ocak, the
sister of Hasan Ocak, who was tortured to death when he was arrested
in 1995. Other than the Dink case, no one has been convicted for the
murders shared by the relatives during the discussion panel.
http://www.todayszaman.com/national_new-agos-editor-in-chief-danzikyan-discusses-dink-legacy_371460.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress