AZG Armenian Daily #014, 26/01/2007
Murder of Hrant Dink
THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT, THE CANADA-ARMENIA
PARLIAMENTARY FRIENDSHIP GROUP AND THE NATIONAL ETHNIC
PRESS AND MEDIA COUNCIL OF CANADA CONDEMN THE MURDER
OF JOURNALIST HRANT DINK
Ottawa- The Canadian Government and the Chair of
Canada-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group have
condemned the murder of the Armenian-Turkish
Journalist Hrant Dink in Turkey last week. The Hon.
Jason Kenney, Secretary of State, Multiculturalism and
Canadian Identity, in a statement issued today
extended his "heartfelt sympathy" to the Dink family
and to "believers in freedom and democracy." The
Secretary of State called Dink’s assassination a
"barbaric hate crime," and said he hoped justice would
be eventually served. Mr. Kenney described Dink as a
courageous and principled journalist particularly "in
his writings regarding the Armenian Genocide." On
behalf of the Canada-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship
Group (CAPFG), Gary Goodyear (MP-Cambridge) issued a
statement expressing his "shock and deep sadness for
the tragic murder of Turkish journalist Hrant Dink."
He described Dink’s murder as "an act which assaults
the basic principles of free expression and
democracy." According to the CAPFG president, Dink was
silenced because "his offence was to seek dialogue and
reconciliation between Turks and Armenians by
recognizing the Armenian Genocide of 1915." To mourn
the assassination of Dink, the National Ethnic Press
and Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC) also issued a
statement condemning the murder and expressed "the
horror of its members for the barbaric murder of
journalist Hrant Dink." The president of the
council, Thomas Saras called on the "United Nations to
investigate the circumstances of Dink’s murder," and
asked "the European Union and all the nations of the
world to disassociate themselves from the fascist
establishment in Ankara." Jean Meguerditchian,
President of the Armenian National Committee of Canada
(ANCC), expressed "The Canadian-Armenian community’s
appreciation to the Hon. Jason Kenney, Mr. Gary
Goodyear and Mr. Saras for their solidarity and
compassion during these difficult and somber times for
the Dink family, the Armenian people and Dink’s
righteous Turkish colleagues."