Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Jan 22 2007

Turk and Armenian: Hrant Dink and Talat Pasha Murders

Monday , 22 January 2007

View by Sedat LACINER (U.S.A.K.)

Hrant Dink is the first and the only Armenian victim murdered by a
politically-motivated Turk in the history of the Turkish Republic. We
hope it’s the last. The investigation continues but we don’t think
this murder is related with the Armenian problem. It’s also
impossible to evaluate the situation as racism. Right after the
murder, both Turkish government and the Turkish people are getting
along with this incident in a good way. After the murder, all of the
Turkish newspapers cursed the incident. Lots of people marched in
Ankara and Istanbul shouting ‘we are all Armenians, we are all Hrant
Dink’. All of the newspapers in Turkey headlined the murder. Hurriyet
for instance declared the murderer as a ‘Traitor to the Motherland’
and Sabah daily headlined the murder as ‘The biggest treason’. Other
headlines were similar. Not even one single Turkish newspaper
including the ultra-nationalist ones protected the killer. Even the
most fanatic nationalists didn’t see the killer as a hero. On the
contrary, the killer was seen as a ‘traitor’ and an ‘ignorant boy
used by the underground and dark powers’.

Turkey has been accused for its possible responsibility in the murder
by foreign press without a cause. Some accused Turkey even of being
racist. All these claims and accusations have no base and just. Omer
Celik, one of the closest deputies to President Erdogan, has recently
offered to put Turkish flag on Mr. Dink’s coffin, a common tradition
for the martyrs’ and famous statesmen’ funerals. No one raised any
objection to this brave idea but lots of people thought that this was
a great idea. As the most important symbol for a nation is a ‘flag’,
it’s unfair to blame the Turkish people of being racist or
anti-Armenian who want to put their pure flag on the coffin of an
Armenian Turkish citizen, Hrant Dink.

President of Turkey, Turkish ministers, governor of Istanbul and top
level officials of security bureaucracy all condemned the murder.
Murderer was caught in 32 hours. President Erdogan said that ‘Dink
was the son of this land’. The main opposition party leader Baykal
expressed his despair by saying ‘We couldn’t let him live’. Almost
every politician’s common attitude was to curse the murderer and they
took the side of Dink. Even the ultra nationalist Turks saw the
murder as the ‘agent of the dark powers’. Not even one politician was
happy of the homicide. No one saw the murderer as a hero. The person
who notified the police was the murder’s own father. None of his
relatives said he did a good job. Their common attitude about the
murder was that it was unacceptable and their son was used by the
evil others. In other words even the killer’s most close relatives
didn’t saw him as a hero and didn’t back him up.

***

There is another story on the other side of the medallion.

When Talat Pasha, the Minister of Interior of the Ottoman Empire, was
killed by an Armenian named Sogomon Tehliryan on March 15 1921 on a
crowded Berlin street (Germany), the attitude of the Armenians were
not similar to the attitude of today’s Turkey people. Ironically
there are many similarities between the murders of Talat Pasha and of
Hrant Dink. As the Turkish historian Murat Bardakci wrote in Sabah
newspaper dated 21 January 2007, both victims were shot from the back
of their head. The bases of the shooes of the both victims were
tattered and holed. Both murders were committed in daylight and on a
crowded street. After the Talat Pasha Murder Tehliryan, the Armenian
murderer was declared as a hero and even today the Diaspora Armenians
and Armenians from Armenia see Tehliryan as a great hero. It was not
just the Armenians but also the German Court strangely judged the
victim instead of the killer. The Armenian murderer was set free
after a short trial. Tehliryan was not the only murderer and
terrorist who were declared as a hero by the Armenians. Lots of the
Armenian terrorists were declared as heroes afterwards. The Armenian
history is full of murderer heroes. Moreover Western courts committed
law crimes again and again and set the Armenian killers free. For
example the Armenian terrorist Max Kilnajian, who attempted to kill
the Turkish ambassador in Bern city, was sentenced to two years by
the French court and released shortly after the verdict. The mostly
known Armenian terrorist Monte Melkonyan made lots of armed attacks
against the Turkish diplomats. In these attacks lots of people were
killed. But the French court released Melkonyan after 3 years in
prison. Afterwards Mr. Melkonyan joined the Karabakh War against
Azerbaijan and he murdered lots of people in that war. But Melkonyan
has not been a terrorist or a murderer for Armenians, he has been
hero to be respected and followed. Armenia gave salaries to many
terrorists and protected them. Unfortunately, while these truths are
clear, Armenia and Armenian Diaspora is blaming Republic of Turkey
for the Hrant Dink murder.

***

The murder of Hrant Dink is one of the most dramatic murders of our
history. But it’s unfair to exert pressure about Armenian problem by
using this unfortunate murder. Also the Armenian Diaspora, who is
blaming Turkey, was criticized many times by Hrant Dink himself. They
were talking about Dink as a "traitor" and "servant of the Turkey"
before, but now they are mongering on his death. Actually this is
what they have done all the time. They are always using the
reciprocal massacres to get the benefit out of it.

I am really sorry about Mr. Dink’s death. Because from now on, it’s
hard to find an Armenian like him. Because he was a Turkish Armenian.
He was son of this land. He was not making politics on death. He was
working for the peoples who live. We have to do just like this from
now on. We must not use the dead as an interest. We must not use a
barbarous murder to attack each others.

22 January 2007

Trns. by Zerin Acar and Kemal Tuzcu (JTW)