PRESS RELEASE

Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia & New Zealand
10 Macquarie Street
Chatswood NSW 2067
AUSTRALIA
Contact: Abp Aghan Baliozian
Tel: (02) 9419-8056
Fax: (02) 9904-8446
Email: armenian@idx.com.au

21 January 2007

DIOCESE OF AUSTRALIA MOURNS THE DEATH OF HRANT DINK

Sydney, Australia – By the Pontifical order of His Holiness Karekin
II Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, the Diocese
of the Armenian Church of Australia united as one with the Mother
See of Holy Etchmiadzin and its sister Dioceses worldwide, held a
special Repose of Soul service yesterday for the blessed memory of
a stoic Armenian son, Hrant Dink who was tragically murdered by a
young Turkish extremist on Friday. The service was presided by the
Primate of the Diocese, His Eminence Archbishop Aghan Baliozian and
attended by representatives from Armenian organisations.

The letter of His Holiness condemning the assassination was read
during the service which also commanded Turkish authorities use the
full extent of the law in convicting those responsible for the murder.

A letter of condolence by Archbishop Aghan Baliozian to the Armenian
Patriarch of Constantinople, His Beatitude Archbishop Mesrob Mutafian
was also read to the congregation, reverberating the sentiments of
the Catholicos in denouncing this heinous crime.

In his sermon, Archbishop Baliozian reflected on a verse from the
day’s Bible reading in the Gospel of John. "Light has come into the
world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds
were evil." (John 3:19) The darkness of evil, shrouded in the form of
the young assassin, would converge on the light of a loyalist Armenian
who showed a deep conviction to his heritage and to his people who had
suffered the perils of the unrecognised Genocide of 1915. Hrant Dink
was a champion for truth and a beacon of light for humanity using the
pen as his sword. He will be remembered as an inspirational force in
the fight for recognition and justice of the Armenian Genocide.

The Primate and the Diocese of Australia convey their sincere
condolences to the family and friends of Hrant Dink and share in the
grief of the international Armenian community. Hrant Dink became an
endeared friend of Armenian Communities in Australia, most recently
rekindling relationships during his visit to the continent in 2005.

We condemn this crime of hatred and its attempt to silence truth. We
join the call for justice to prevail, asserting our voice to the
Turkish authorities to ensure the perpetrators are held accountable
and receive the full reprisal for their criminal actions.

A protest rally to honour the memory of the late Hrant Dink and
to condemn the brutal murder will be held in front of the Turkish
consulate in Edgecliff, Sydney at 11am on Wednesday, 24 January, 2007.