Earthtimes, UK
Jan 19 2008

Turks gather to commemorate murder of ethnic Armenian journalist
Posted : Sat, 19 Jan 2008 13:47:05 GMT

Ankara – Thousands of Turks on Saturday took part in a ceremony in
Istanbul to mark the first anniversary of the murder of ethnic
Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. The crowds carrying banners with
slogans including "We want justice" and "For Hrant, for justice"
gathered outside the offices of the Agos newspaper where Dink was
shot dead on January 19 2007.

Police closed the streets around the office of the newspaper of which
Dink was editor when he was murdered, in order to allow for the
thousands to take part in the ceremony which included speeches from
friends and colleagues of Dink as well as his widow Rakel.

"What has this country’s justice system done to those police officers
who knew exactly who would be killed," Rakel Dink asked the crowd
after a minute of silence was observed.

Dink was shot dead by a 17-year-old nationalist from the Black Sea
city Trabzon. He immediately confessed to the murder and is on trial
along with associates.

The murder investigation has also unveiled that security authorities
had failed to act on numerous death threats that Dink and his family
had received.

Dink was targeted by nationalists angry at his writings in which he
called on Turkey to acknowledge responsibility for mass killings of
Armenians by Ottoman forces during the First World War.