OhmyNews International, South Korea
Jan 20 2007

Editor of Armenian-Turkish Paper Shot Dead
Hrant Dink’s murder a ‘shock and insult’ to nation, says Erdogan

Ludwig De Braeckeleer (ludwig)

Published 2007-01-20 07:47 (KST)

The editor of the Armenian-Turkish language weekly Agos newspaper was
shot dead as he was leaving his office building on Jan. 17.

Top Turkish officials have immediately denounced his killing and
promised that the perpetrators will be swiftly found and sentenced.

"The dark hands that killed him will be found and punished," Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in televised remarks.

His murder is "a shock and an insult to the Turkish nation… It is a
bullet fired against free speech and democracy," Erdogan said.

"I am deeply saddened by the assassination of Hrant Dink in front of
the Agos newspaper. I strongly condemn this ugly and shameful act,"
declared President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.

Hrant Dink, 53, was the leading voice of Turkey’s shrinking Armenian
community. He is best known for his writing on the genocide of the
Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century.
Once-populous, the Turkish Armenian community now numbers around
60,000.

Lying in front of the newspaper’s entrance, Dink’s body was covered
with a white sheet. Four empty shell casings were found on his side.

Dink was shot twice in the head by a man who appeared to be 18 or 19
years old. The teenager, wearing blue jeans, a denim jacket and a
white hat, was caught on tape by a surveillance camera of the Agos
building.

The owner of a nearby restaurant, who witnessed the assassination of
Mr. Dink, said that the killer left the scene shouting "I shot the
non-Muslim."

Erdogan said two suspects had been arrested and the police are
looking for the teenager caught on tape. He provided no details about
those held and the motivation of the killer. The French journal
Liberation claims that the two men arrested have been released.

Journalist and writer, Dink has faced a number of cases in connection
with "insulting" the Turkish identity.

"Some of the trial hearings have been marred by violent scenes inside
and outside the courtrooms, instigated by nationalist activists
calling for Dink to be punished," one can read in his profile on the
Web site of Pen American Centre, a group of writers promoting free
expression.

In 2005, Dink was charged for an article in which he alleged the
killings of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by the Ottoman army in
1915-17. In October 2005, he was given a six-month suspended
sentence.

Dink has always rejected the characterization of his work made by
Turkish nationalists. He claimed that his writing aimed at improving
the difficult relationship between Turks and Armenians. He failed to
convince the court. Last year, his appeal was rejected by a court.

Article 301 of the Turkish penal code makes negative remarks about
"Turkishness" or the Turkish state a crime. In recent years, the
Turkish Authorities have used Article 301 as a convenient tool to try
several prominent intellectuals.

The European Union considers this ambiguous provision as an
infringement on free speech.

"I am shocked and saddened by this brutal act of violence. 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," said EU Enlargement Commissioner
Olli Rehn.

The murder of Dink is likely to complicate the already difficult
relation of Turkey with the European Union.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has promptly issued an official
statement. "We strongly condemn this act. Actors will be caught in
the shortest time […] We offer condolences to the people of Turkey,
its press, and particularly to the Armenian community and Dink’s
family," the statement reads.

Last September, Dink was once more charged with violation of Article
301 and, if convicted, would have been sentenced to three years in
jail for affirming that the killing of the Armenians was a genocide.

"People have lived on these lands for four thousand years. And you
can see that they have been eliminated. Therefore I tell you it is a
genocide because it corresponds to the definition of this word," he
had written.

The Turkish government has never acknowledged the existence of an
Armenian genocide and claims that, Armenians, as well as Turks, were
killed in civil warfare during World War I. To this day, Turkey and
Armenia still have no official diplomatic relations.

A Turkish citizen of Armenian descent, Dink recently wrote that he
had received numerous threats from nationalists. "My computer hard
drive is full of death threats," he wrote in a column.

"I do not know how real these threats are, but what’s really
unbearable is the psychological torture that I’m living in. Like a
pigeon, turning my head up and down, left and right, my head quickly
rotating," he wrote.

"Like dozens of other Turkish journalists, Hrant Dink has faced
political persecution because of his work. Now it appears he’s paid
the ultimate price for it," said Joel Campagna, the Mideast program
coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Dink had been thinking of leaving in exile. "I don’t think I could
live with an identity of having insulted the Turks in this country…
if I am unable to come up with a positive result, it will be
honourable for me to leave this country," he told the Associated
Press news agency.

"Turkey must ensure that this crime does not go unpunished like other
cases in the past and that those responsible for his murder are
brought to justice," Campagna said.

"Those who wanted to harm Turkey couldn’t have chosen a better
target. As opposed to other killings in the past, Turkish public
reaction against this murder will show us where Turkey stands in the
world," said Haluk Sahin, a columnist for Radikal, a newspaper that
supported Dink’s legal struggle.

A crowd of supporters immediately gathered at the scene of the murder
to pay their respect and chant their outrage. Many were carrying
signs claiming: "We are all Armenians."

The Agos newspaper is a bilingual Turkish and Armenian weekly founded
in 1996.

Over the last 15 years, 18 Turkish journalists have been killed,
making Turkey the eighth deadliest countries in the world for
journalists. Iraq, Russia and Colombia are the most dangerous
countries for the media workers with about 150 journalists being
killed over the last five years.

Journalists associations have promptly reacted to the murder of Dink.

"This murder will distress and disturb all those who defend the
freedom of thought and expression in Turkey and elsewhere. The
Turkish government must weigh the extreme gravity of this crime and
ensure that a thorough investigation identifies those responsible as
quickly as possible," wrote Reporters Without Borders.

"Through his journalism Hrant Dink sought to shed light on Turkey’s
troubled past and create a better future for Turks and Armenians.
This earned him many enemies, but he vowed to continue writing
despite receiving many threats. An assassin has now silenced one of
Turkey’s most courageous voices. We are profoundly shocked and
saddened by this crime, and send our deepest condolences to Hrant
Dink’s family, colleagues, and friends," said Joel Simon, the
Executive Director for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Hrant Dink received many honors for his distinguished work among
which the 2005 Turkish Human rights organization "Ay-e Nur Zarakolu
freedom of thought and speech," the 2006 German Stern "Freedom of
thought and brave journalism," the 2007 Holland "Pen Award for idea
and thought" and the 2007 Norwegian "Bjornson Human rights award."

The Armenian Patriarch of Turkey, Mesrob Mutafyan, has declared a 15
days period of mourning for the Armenian community of Turkey.