National Public Radio (NPR)
SHOW: All Things Considered 9:00 PM EST
January 19, 2007 Friday
TRANSCRIPT
Journalist Who Angered Turks Is Killed in Istanbul
ANCHORS: MELISSA BLOCK
In Istanbul today, a prominent writer from Turkey’s small Armenian
community was shot and killed outside the office of the newspaper he
edited. The Turkish prime minister has called the killing of Hrant
Dink an attack on the country’s unity, peace and stability.
Meanwhile, thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets to
denounce the murder.
NPR’s Ivan Watson is based in Istanbul where he interviewed Hrant
Dink last fall. And Ivan, tell us more about Mr. Dink and his
political views that were so controversial.
IVAN WATSON: Melissa, Hrant Dink was Turkey’s most outspoken ethnic
Armenian newspaper writer. He argued that, in fact, the massacres
committed by the Ottoman Empire during World War I of ethnic
Armenians, that that in fact amounted to genocide. That’s a version
of history that Turkey to this day denies. And he said he was not
afraid to go to jail for what he believed in. And he explained this
in an interview, which aired on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED in October of
2006.
Mr. HRANT DINK (Armenian newspaper writer): (Through translator) I
don’t know. I don’t want to, but if they put me in jail because I
said there was Armenian genocide, I would feel proud.
WATSON: And Dink was repeatedly taken to court and eventually he was
given a six month suspended jail sentence for breaking a
controversial law which prohibits insulting Turkish identity. He was
also an outspoken activist in favor of freedom of press, freedom of
speech, and he objected to a French proposal to make denying the
Armenian genocide a crime. He said that he would travel all the way
to France and deny the massacre of his ancestors just to object to
that proposal.
BLOCK: Hrant Dink had said that he had been receiving threats for
some time and that the police weren’t taking those threats seriously.
Did he talk to you about leaving Turkey, living somewhere else?
WATSON: He was a patriot. He wanted to help his fellow Turks
recognize their own past and he was actually a moderate on the issue
of the Armenian genocide. In a column he wrote on January 10 – just
last week – he wrote that, quote, "my computer’s memory is loaded
with sentences full of hatred and threats. Who knows what other
injustices I will face this year."
His lawyer said he had received death threats, but he did not appear
to have any security when this lone gunman shot him down outside his
offices in broad daylight on a very busy Istanbul street today,
Melissa.
BLOCK: Have you been able to learn anything else about how this
killing was carried out?
WATSON: There have been images of what appears to be the shooter
captured on security cameras on shops nearby the newspaper offices.
And some of those videos have already been aired on Turkish TV, and
we can only presume that Turkish police are sifting through other
video that may be available.
BLOCK: And we mentioned in the introduction that thousands of people
are protesting this murder in the streets.
WATSON: There is a march of at least a thousand people marching down
the main street. The Turkish prime minister has come out very
strongly condemning this. There are fears that this could completely
derail Turkey’s already troubled bid to join the European Union. And
this all comes at a time of increased political tension in Turkey
ahead of presidential elections.
There’s even been talk of the possibility of a coup d’état in the
Turkish press. People are really nervous right now and this kind of
shooting, killing of a prominent writer, reminds Turks of Turkey’s
not too recent history when prominent intellectuals, journalists,
professors were being gunned down by people – ultranationalists,
ultra leftists, Kurdish separatists – it reminds them of history just
a generation ago.
BLOCK: NPR’s Ivan Watson. Thanks very much.
WATSON: You’re welcome, Melissa.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress