Asia News, Italy
Jan 19 2007
Journalist who spoke out on Armenian genocide killed
by Mavi Zambak
Hrant Dink, editor of Agos, had received death threats and in 2005
had been condemned for "insulting Turkish national identity."
Istanbul (AsiaNews) – Hrant Dink, Turkish journalist of Armenian
origin, was killed this afternoon around 3 p.m. local time, as he
left the offices of the newspaper he directed. He was shot four
times by, it is thought, a young man of 18 or 19 years who then fled
through the crowd of one of the busiest streets of the European
quarter of Istanbul, Sisli.
Dink, age 53, had been given a six-month suspended sentence by judges
in Istanbul in October 2005 for having "insulted Turkish national
identity." Editor of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper, Agos,
Dink had been tried for an article he wrote in 2004 on the genocide
of the Armenians. His murder is a shock for all Turks: an improntu
protest took place among those who gathered at the doorway where he
was shot; protesters shouted "Hrant is not dead, his freedom shall
not die."
In a television interview broadcast shortly after the shooting, his
friend and fellow journalist, Aydin Engin, who had been sentenced
together with Dink on the basis of the same article 301 of the
Turkish penal code, recalled how just yesterday the two had spoken on
the telephone about their six-month sentence, which had simply been
postponed indefinitely, but had not been definitively suspended. And
how Hrant said that he was not afraid and was ready for anything.
Aydin had urged him many times to accept the bodyguard that police
had promised him after the latest threats made against him, but Hrant
once again refused saying that he did not want to be defended in his
freedom and that he did not fear the dangers he faced.
Engin recalls his colleague as a man who always spoke openly about
the search for truth, freedom and democracy. "All of Turkey has been
wounded by this assassination, it is a source of mourning for the
entire nation," Engin said without hesitation; he sees in this murder
a further attempt by those who are against Turkey’s entry into Europe
to arouse indignation against Turks among Europeans. Various
government figures have explicitly condemned this horrible
occurrence. President Sezer himself said without hesitation that it
was a "brutal" act.
In an emergency press conference organized in Ankara, Turkish Premier
Erdogan said: "The spilling of this blood has left us dumbfounded and
this act was certainly committed to destroy our peace, freedom and
democracy. In the name of the Turkish people and nation, I condemn
this act and everything will be done to find those responsible. I
deplore those who have bloodied their hands. We do not accept this
provocation which aims at destroying the unity of this country and
creating contrasts between the different cultures and religions of
Turkey. Nothing is known about who committed this murder, nor what
motivated it, but I can already say that I will do everything
possible to take part in the funeral of our journalist, wherever and
with whatever rite it is held."
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