PanARMENIAN.Net
Hrant Dink’s only book published in Istanbul
28.06.2008 15:13 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ An international foundation that was founded to
promote Turkish-Armenian relations following the 2007 murder of famous
Turkish-Armenian writer and journalist Hrant Dink, has published
Dink’s first and only book.
The International Hrant Dink Foundation’s publicity cocktail for the
book `Two Close Nations, Two Distant Neighbors’ was held on Thursday
at the Tutun Deposu in the Tophane quarter of Istanbul, with the
attendance of the murdered journalist’s wife, Rakel, his daughter,
Sera, Etyen Mahjupyan, who took over the post of editor-in-chief of
the Armenian daily Agos after Dink’s demise, and a number of other
journalists, academics and intellectuals, such as Ali Bayramoglu,
Prof. Ahmet nsel, Esber Yagmurdereli and Hakan Tahmaz.
In a short speech, Rakel Dink said: `We live on for the continuity of
that courageous voice. He used to speak out for justice without asking
questions or questioning things. We should follow in his footsteps for
the sake of justice. Let my husband’s ears ring.’
`Hrant Dink never wrote a book. He used to make fun of this situation,
saying, `I’m a writer without a book.’ This humorous approach also
points to the fact that Hrant was a man of action. As the founder and
editor-in-chief of Agos, he developed a style and a way of action,
primarily on Turkish-Armenian relations, one of the main problems in
Turkey. He also contributed to the democratization process in Turkey,’
according to the poster that invited people to the publicity
cocktail. In the book, Dink talks about the importance of
Turkish-Armenian relations.
`He writes that he dedicated the book to the Armenians, Turks and
Kurds killed during the forced migrations of 1915. `Are we going to
act like the perpetrators of the great disasters of the past or are we
going to write new pages in a way befitting a civilized person by
extracting lessons from those errors? This is the biggest
responsibility incumbent on us. It’s my most important duty to make
efforts for the improvement of Turkish-Armenian relations,’ he writes,
Zaman reports.