COL. OZ DENIES HAVING PRIOR INFORMATION ON DINK MURDER

Today’s Zaman
July 22 2008
Turkey

Former chief of the Trabzon Gendarmerie Command Col. Ali Oz gave a
deposition yesterday on the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist
Hrant Dink at a Bursa court, where he denied allegations that he
had been tipped off about the plot to shoot Dink before the murder
was committed.

"I don’t remember being previously informed about the plot to shoot
Dink," Oz reportedly said. Dink was shot dead in broad daylight
outside the office of his newspaper, Agos, in Ä°stanbul on Jan. 19,
2007, and an investigation in the wake of his assassination revealed
that a group of ultranationalist youths were behind the murder. Strong
evidence suggested that some members of the group had ties with the
police department in northern Trabzon, the hometown of the plotters.

Some gendarmes later confirmed that they had been tipped off about
the plot to kill Dink before his assassination.

"We had been informed about the murder plot months before Dink’s
assassination and wanted to share this information with Col. Oz,
but he covered up the issue," the two gendarmes had said.

Inspectors from the Interior Ministry opened an inquiry into the
Dink murder, requesting permission last week from the relevant
authorities to launch an investigation into Oz along with other
gendarmerie officers to ascertain whether their alleged dereliction
of duty played a role in the Dink assassination.

Oz traveled to the court in Bursa yesterday to testify on the Dink
murder after Trabzon Governor Nuri Okutan granted permission to the
ministry inspectors to launch an investigation into him.

"I didn’t know who Hrant Dink and Yasin Hayal [one of the key
suspects in the plot to kill Dink] were. I hadn’t heard about Dink
or his newspaper until the incident. I swear I don’t remember any
information reaching me about the plot to kill Dink," he said.

He also refuted claims that two gendarmes gave him prior information
about the Dink murder plan, saying these men would know what to do
if they had knowledge of such a plot.

"They are well-trained gendarmes. They would have done what was
necessary if they had had knowledge of an assassination plot. They
should have had such intelligence recorded once they were informed
about it. It doesn’t mean much that they brought it up in a meeting. As
I said before, I don’t remember it [the Dink assassination plan]
being brought up in a meeting. I didn’t hear anything about it. They
[gendarmes] should have informed their department chiefs about the
plot. If the chiefs had mentioned the issue to me, I would have looked
into it and decided what to do. This is all I know about the matter,"
he stated.

Asked whether he commissioned two gendarmes, Sgt. Maj. Okan Å~^. and
Sgt. Veysel Å~^., to meet with Hayal’s uncle, CoÅ~_kun Ä°gci, Oz said
he didn’t remember doing this. "I don’t remember whether I assigned
them to such a duty. If I did, it must be in records. It is the chief
of the intelligence bureau who commissions officers. I just approve
commissions. But I don’t remember whether I approved it," he remarked.

Upon a question about the bombing of a McDonald’s in northern Trabzon
province in 2004, Oz said he remembered neither the incident nor
whether he was in Trabzon at the time of the bombing.

Oz was also asked whether he had a memory problem as he had replied
to many questions saying he didn’t remember. "I don’t have such a
problem. I am a healthy person who plays sports. A man can’t remember
everything," he responded.

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