U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ADOPTED RESOLUTION CONDEMNING HRANT DINK’S MURDER

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.03.2007 13:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Senate Foreign Relations Committee adopted human
rights legislation, authored by the panel’s chairman and presidential
candidate, Senator Joe Biden, condemning the murder of journalist and
human rights activist Hrant Dink and calling on the Turkish government
to repeal the law, Article 301, under which he was prosecuted. The
Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) reports that this measure
was adopted unanimously by voice vote March 28. At the last meeting,
on March 6th, the panel, at the request of its Ranking Member Richard
Lugar, had deferred consideration of the legislation for three weeks.

Despite the efforts to cut any reference to the Armenian Genocide,
the resolution noted Dink’s persecution because of his speech on the
Genocide. The legislation condemns Hrant Dink’s murder as "a shameful
act of "democratic values, non-violence, and media freedom." It
specifically notes that he was "subjected to legal action under
Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code for referring to the 1915
massacre of Armenians as genocide." It also calls on the Turkish
government to repeal this anti-free speech law and "work diligently
to foster a more open intellectual environment." "We want to thank
Chairman Biden for his leadership in honoring Hrant Dink’s memory by
urging the Turkish government to repeal Article 301 – the law under
which he was prosecuted," ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian said.

The version of the resolution adopted on March 28 is an amended version
of the text initially introduced by Senator Biden. The original version
included a more direct reference to the Armenian Genocide and a more
pointed mention of Turkey’s responsibility for its blockade and refusal
to normalize relations with Armenia. The State Department and Turkish
government, despite their aggressive lobbying, were unsuccessful in
removing reference to the Armenian Genocide from the resolution.

Earlier ANCA Press Secretary Elizabeth Chouldjian said removing the
term "genocide" from the text of resolution is unacceptable and makes
the document senseless.