International Herald Tribune, France
Jan 22 2007
A Turkish funeral invitation to Armenians
Spiritual and political figures to attend rites for slain editor
By Susanne Fowler and Sebnem Arsu
ISTANBUL: Armenian spiritual and political figures from around the
world on Monday accepted an extraordinary invitation from Turkey to
attend the funeral of the founder of an Armenian- Turkish newspaper,
Hrant Dink, who was killed outside his office Friday, officials
said Monday.
The slaying has prompted an outburst of public demonstrations and has
begun to suggest a warming of ties after a near century of animosity
between Turks and Armenians.
Armenia is to send a deputy foreign minister to the funeral, Arman
Kirakossian. The archbishop of the Armenian Church of America, Khajag
Barsamyan, also accepted the government’s invitation.
Earlier, the Armenian defense minister, Serzh Sarkisyan, called for
improved relations so that Armenia could
"establish ties with Turkey with no preconditions," according to the
Turkish news channel NTV.
Important Turkish government officials are to attend the funeral,
and Kirakossian, a former ambassador to the United States, is to
attend with Karen Mirzoyan, who represents the Organization of Black
Sea Economic Cooperation, according to Kaan Soyak, of the Turkish
and Armenian Business Development Council.
The gesture to Armenia was a surprising departure for Turkey, which has
no diplomatic relations with Armenia and has kept the border closed
since 1993. To many Turks and Armenians, a thaw in the relationship
after a personal tragedy suggests a display of humanity toward the
very Armenians who have long referred to Turks as butchers. That
could prove to be a setback for Turkish nationalists who oppose the
country’s membership in the European Union and oppose closer ties to
Armenia if it means admitting to genocide before World War I.
Celalettin Cerrah, the head of the Istanbul security forces, said that
Samast had no ties to any groups and that "the suspect was driven to
commit the crime by his nationalistic feelings."
Diplomatic ties were severed in a dispute over territory, but the
heart of the conflict is the mass killings of Armenians around 1915,
which many countries consider to have been genocide.
Turkey instead calls the loss of life a consequence of a war in
which both sides suffered casualties, and has suggested that envoys
from both sides meet to analyze the history. Armenia has expressed
willingness to participate but insists that the border must first be
reopened to trade.
Many Armenians living abroad hold a much harder line, however, and
are lobbying their U.S. and European governments to deny Turkish
entrance into the European Union until Ankara recognizes the killings
as genocide.
Norman Stone, professor of history at Koc University in Istanbul,
said Dink was killed at a time when Turkey was clearly reacting to
pressure to respond to the Armenian issue.
"There are a lot of balanced people here who say, look, the genocide
issue is unclear, but if you just leave it as a matter of massacres,
then we can start making progress," Stone said during an interview
Monday.
The Turkish invitation signals hope for a new era at a time when
many people in both countries say they are tired of an issue that
threatens their peace and economic welfare.
"Public opinions in both countries, weary of the years-long conflict,
had reached a point of explosion," said Soyak, director of the trade
council in Istanbul. "That’s what lies behind the massive outpouring
for Mr. Dink."
The funeral is shaping up to be far more than a farewell to a
popular, though controversial, figure. The fact that the government
is permitting it to take place on a grand scale is another sign of
a change in Ankara.
A wide boulevard in the heart of Istanbul’s main commercial district
will be closed to traffic as the funeral cortege gathers outside
the offices of the newspaper where Dink was shot. The mayor of
the district, Mustafa Sarigul, said the local government would be
releasing hundreds of birds, a symbol of peace, and passing out
thousands of carnations.
A large crowd is expected to follow the procession for a couple of
kilometers before the body is driven across the Golden Horn to the
Kumkapi district for Mass at the Church of the Virgin Mary. Among
the Turkish government officials expected to attend the Mass are the
interior minister, Abdulkadir Aksu, and the deputy prime minister,
Mehmet Ali Sahin.
Most Armenian Turks live in Istanbul, seen as the center of
intellectual and leftist thought in Turkey. But the anti-nationalist
demonstrations that followed Dink’s killing also surfaced in places as
diverse as Izmir, an Aegean coastal city, and in Sanliurfa and Hatay,
which are close to Turkey’s eastern border with Syria.
Although members of the community complain of discrimination, ethnic
Armenian Turks, like Jewish and Greek Turks, are an officially
recognized minority group and are allowed to operate their own
schools. Dink, for example, attended Armenian schools in Istanbul
until entering a state-run university.
The suspect in the slaying, Ogun Samast, 17, was escorted back to
the scene of the crime Sunday night to describe the attack to law
enforcement authorities. Hundreds of police officers in riot gear
formed a cordon so that Samast could divulge details. A small crowd
of Turkish onlookers pumped their fists into the air and shouted,
"We’re all Hrants! We’re all Armenians!"
One of the most prominent intellectuals in Turkey, Dink was a staunch
defender of free speech. Like others he was prosecuted under a law
known as Article 301, which nationalists have used to file suit against
writers who supposedly insulted "Turkishness." Dink was convicted of
insulting the state and sentenced to six months in jail; but his term
was suspended.
The process labeled Dink as a target among nationalist groups that
carried their tirades against the editor in their Web sites. Samast
read and was influenced by those postings, according to the Anatolian
news agency.
Seven other suspects also were being detained over the weekend,
including Yasin Hayal, who served 11 months in jail for the bombing
of a McDonald’s restaurant in Trabzon in 2004.
Hayal, a known nationalist, is suspected of having a history of Islamic
militant activity. He attempted to join the rebels in Chechnya but
was turned away at the border, his former lawyer, Fatih Cakir, said
by telephone Sunday.
Samast’s mother, Havva Samast, knew that her son and Hayal were
buddies. "I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw him on television and
had a shock," she said during a televised interview with the Dogan
News Agency from their home city of Trabzon. "He couldn’t have done
this on his own. I know that he was friends" with Hayal.
But many here still blame Article 301 for Dink’s death and see it as
an obstacle to freedom of speech in Turkey. In another sign of change,
Bulent Arinc, the parliamentary chairman from the ruling Justice and
Development Party, said he would back efforts to abolish the measure.
"It can be discussed to totally abolish or completely revise the
Article 301," Arinc said, adding that members of Parliament "are open
to this."