FOLK SONG REPLAYS DINK MURDER
New Anatolian, Turkey
17 September 2007
Turkey is witnessing a new controversy after the video which was
prepared for folk singer Ismail Turut’s last song named "Don’t make
any plans" broadcasted in YouTube. Although Turut denied appraising the
murderers of Dink who was a prominent member of Armenian community in
Turkey and the editor of Agos newspaper, video clip shows the dead
body of Dink while singer says the verse "if a person betrays the
country, he is finished off."
Nearly 5,340 people watched the three-minute video clip in the
YouTube internet site. Broadcast of the song’s video clip in the
YouTube internet site created harsh reaction in Turkey. It was
claimed that the video clip was shot by an extreme nationalist group
in Australia. Dink’s family is getting ready to file a lawsuit. The
YouTube stopped broadcasting the video clip.
"Lyrics and video clip of the song openly violates a number of
laws. It appraises the murderers and encourages people for crime. Why
prosecutors keep waiting?" asked the lawyer of Dink family, Erdal
Dogan.
Meanwhile, Yucel Sayman, former Chairman of Istanbul Bar, said,
"if it was about someone else, not Hrant Dink, prosecutors would have
already taken action."
Human Rights Association (IHD) stated that they will denounce Turut.
Suspects in the lyrics
Hrant Dink was assassinated in Istanbul in January 2007, by Ogun
Samast, a 17-year old Turkish nationalist. While Samast has since
been taken into custody, pictures of the alleged assassin flanked by
smiling Turkish police and gendarmerie, posing with the killer in
front of the Turkish flag, have since surfaced. The photos created
a scandal in Turkey, prompting a spate of investigations and the
removal from office of those involved. Yasin Hayal was also claimed
to be identifiable as the one actually pulling the trigger.
As editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper
Agos. ink was a prominent member of the Armenian minority in
Turkey. Dink was best known for advocating Turkish-Armenian
reconciliation and human and minority rights in Turkey. Dink was
prosecuted three times for denigrating Turkishness, while receiving
numerous death threats from Turkish nationalists.
Turut’s song mentioned the names of both Ogun Samast and Yasin Hayal
and went on to say that there will be others who would follow in the
footsteps of Ogun and Yasin.
The Dink murder trial opened in Istanbul on July 2. 18 people were
charged in connection with the journalist’s assassination.According
to Human Rights Watch, Dink’s murder trial is "a critical test of
the Turkish judiciary’s independence.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
