Focus News Agency, Bulgaria
Jan 20 2007
Murder of Turkish-Armenian Journalist /REVIEW/
20 January 2007 | 19:02 | FOCUS News Agency
Istanbul. The murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink
shocked the world. He was killed on Friday night. Dink, 52, was a
Christian of Armenian descent. He was frequently criticized by
Turkish nationalists, including politicians and prosecutors, for
saying the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World
War One was genocide. He received threats by nationalists who
considered him a betrayer. According to the information, the
journalist was killed in central Istanbul on his way to the office of
the weekly Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos. The suspected murderer is
a young man aged about 18 or 19 who fired point-blank three or four
bullets.
The police arrested eight people. The analyses of the fired
cartridges from the site of the murder revealed that the patrons’
calibre was 7,65 mm and the weapon had not been used in other crimes.
At the order of Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, the Interior Minister
ant the Justice Minister went to Istanbul.
The murder stirred violent reactions.
Turkey’s President Ahmet Necdet Sezer described it as an `inhuman
act’ stressing that such activities would never reach their goal.
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the murder was `an
attack against the peace and stability’ of the country and promised
that the perpetrators would be arrested. Erdogan called on the people
and especially the Turkish citizens of Armenian descent for calm.
Turkey’s Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc stated that the crime
wouldn’t break Turkey’s unity and calm no matter who and with what
purpose committed it.
The spokesman of the US Department of State Tom Casey said the murder
of Hrant Dink was a `tragic incident’ and described it as
`concerning’. He reminded that Dink had received threats for his
writing.
"Certainly we never want to see a situation in which individuals are
intimidated or in fact suffer retribution of any kind simply for
freely expressing their views," Casey said.
The EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said he was `shocked’ by
the murder. "I am shocked and saddened by this brutal act of
violence.", a statement by Rehn on the assassination of the
journalist reads. `Hrant Dink was a respected intellectual who
defended his views with conviction and contributed to an open public
debate. He was a campaigner for freedom of expression in Turkey.’