ARF Washington Sebouh Committee
AYF Washington Ani Chapter
ANC Greater Washington Chapter
4906 Flint Drive
Bethesda, MD 20816
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 24, 2007
Contact: Serouj Aprahamian
Email: serouj@anca.org
Washington DC Area Armenian Americans Condemn Assassination of
Hrant Dink
Vigil at Turkish Embassy Calls for Armenian Genocide Recognition;
End to Repression of Free Speech in Turkey
WASHINGTON, DC Some 100 Armenian Americans from throughout the
Greater Washington DC area braved the snow and freezing
temperatures on Sunday, January 21, to honor slain Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink and call on the Turkish Government to end its
92 year international campaign of Armenian Genocide denial. The
vigil was organized the ARF Washington Sebouh Gomideh, ANC of
Greater Washington, and AYF Washington Ani Chapter.
The crowd gathered in front of the Turkish Embassy just two days
after Dink, a respected journalist and free speech advocate, was
gunned down outside his "Agos" newspaper office in Istanbul,
Turkey. Dink had long been persecuted by the Turkish government
for his calls for Armenian Genocide recognition, and was convicted
last year for "insulting Turkishness" under Turkey’s notorious
Article 301 law restricting free speech. Nobel prize winner Orhan
Pamuk, publisher Ragip Zarakolu and novelist Elif Shafak are just
some of the many writers who have also been prosecuted according to
the same repressive law.
During remarks at the vigil, AYF Ani Chapter chairman Serouj
Aprahamian stated, "Many are saying that Dink was killed by
ultranationalists who considered his statements to be insulting
Turkey’s honor and threatening its unity. But this is not just the
position of some so-called ‘ultranationalists’; it is the official
position of the Turkish government which prosecuted and condemned
Dink for his stance on the Armenian Genocide." Aprahamian
continued to note that,"It is the shameless policy of Genocide
denial perpetrated by Ankara which is the real problem and that is
what we must continue to fight against."
Other speakers at the vigil included ANCA Executive Director Aram
Hamparian and Father Sarkis Aktavoukian, pastor of the Soorp Khatch
Armenian Church, who led the vigil participants in prayer in memory
of Dink. In a statement issued immediately upon news of Dink’s
assassination, Hamparian noted that, ""Hrant Dink’s murder is
tragic proof that the Turkish government – through its campaign of
denial, threats and intimidation against the recognition of the
Armenian Genocide – continues to fuel the same hatred and
intolerance that initially led to this crime against humanity more
than 90 years ago."
Earlier on Sunday, Fr. Aktavoukian had held a special requiem
service in memory of Hrant Dink at Soorp Khatch Church.
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Photo Caption:
Photo1.jpg: Washington DC area Armenian Americans urge Turkish
government to end international genocide denial campaign in wake of
Dink assassination.
Photo2.jpg: Armenian Americans protest Article 301 and 305
repression of free speech restrictions, under which Dink was
prosecuted prior to his murder.