SPEECH OF HOSROF DINK

AZG Armenian Daily
04/07/2007

Your Honor President and the Member of the Court

Hrant Dink, who was brutally murdered on January 19, is my brother. I
am here to seek justice and to see that the perpetrators of this
crime against humanity are found out.

My older brother Hrant, I and my younger brother Yervant were born
in Malatya and shared the most sacred and fundamental right of the
humankind the right to life as well as our hopes, our pains and
our poverty.

Our father Sarkis and our mother Gulvart are divorced when we were
children. The conditions forced us to grow in an orhanage. We had to
begin learning the harsh conditions of living humanly on these land
when we were children, in the orphanage

We thought we were born as human beings. In time, against our will we
were given many identities, we were labeled. We no longer belonged
to the humankind, nor to the earth. We became part of a particular
region, a particular people, a particualr family and many more
different identities. Even during our childhood we were aware that
other children were different. We saw and lived discrimination. We
witnessed the crowds with intolerance to diversity.

We shared our lives with our wifes: Hrant with his Rakel, me with my
Zabel and Yervant with his Haygan.

We grew bigger with our children; we transformed our pains to
happiness, our poverty to wealth and our hopes to eternity. We fought
together to ensure that our children, together with the children of
the world, would not live through the pains and difficulties that we
had to experience.

We did not forget to laugh with the people around us and share the
joy with the world. On January 19, a bullet hit our happiness and our
family, which we built with our efforts, tears, joy and hopes. On
19 January once again we understood that we were neither human nor
an earthling

My brother knew that our ancestors were born in these lands and
harvested this land, turned grape into pectin, grape juice to wine,
wheat to bread, earth to jug, cupper to ewer, iron to pullow and
that they dearly loved this land, they caressed it with their hands
and smelled with their noses. I know he thought that all the people
who lived and currently live share the same pain, and that all their
happiness, sadness and hopes are linked to each other.

After the murder of my brother people expected that we would be afraid
and leave this country. And for some thinking was not enough they
did everything they could to make us escape. Some of the threats
we received are in the case files. But they could not understand,
they did not perceive something. Like all the people that were born
on these soils, we were born and grew up here; we blended our sorrow
and hopes with the people of this land. In short we were born here
and we will die here. Hrant, with all the opprtunity he had, did not
leave this country; he did not abondon his friends. This is what
suits us. This trial, which will begin today, will be a milestone
for Turkey if the truth comes out.

In fact, this trial is one that the rule of law vs.

the people who implement justice for their own interests and
incomes. In other worlds it will be between the people who believe
in the rule of law and the people who say "we are the law, we are
the state".

We do not have anthing to win or lose in this trial.

Neither the beloved we lost will come back, nor our lives will get
beter. In essence, you are the addressees of this case.

On one hand there is the judiciary; on the other an organization that
see themselves superior to the state, have no respect to law and
prove this through their acts and executions. In their dark world,
they can decide who shall live or die; they are the judge and the
executioner. Under these circumstances we, you and even little
children, none of us is safe.

The main question waiting to be answered is: What will the justice
do against this power that can take away the right to life of an
Armenian citizen; that can kill a judge in his own seat?

There has been similer structures in every country that get its
support from within state institutions.

But these countries were able to bring their country to lightness from
the darkness by destroying these structures through their belief to
justice and with brave judges. This trial is a chance to do the same.

We believe that there exist such brave judges in our country, too.

The people will give all the support they will need.

And a last word?

Every citizen of Turkey’s right to life is sacred and under state
protection.

And it will be Turkey that will win or lose at the end of this trial.

Hosrof Dink