HRANT DINK’S FRIENDS ISSUE CALL TO GATHER TURKISH, ARMENIAN CHILDREN

Today’s Zaman
Jan 21 2009
Turkey

Friends of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink issued a call to
bring together Turkish and Armenian children, during an evening of
artistic performances titled "Without Hrant 2," commemorating the
second anniversary of his death.

At the Lutfi Kırdar International Congress and Exhibition Center
on Monday evening, a choir singing solemn Armenian songs took the
stage, followed by a slideshow of photographs of Dink’s childhood
in an Armenian orphanage. A voiceover stressed the importance of
bringing together Turkish and Armenian children on April 23, when
Turkey celebrates its National Sovereignty and Children’s Day. There
was also a call for the holiday to be extended to include April 24,
on which Armenians mark the anniversary of the beginning of the World
War I-era killings that they allege constituted genocide.

Also featured at the event was a documentary describing the
developments that led to Dink’s assassination and the trial against his
suspected murderers. He was shot outside his office in broad daylight
by a teenager who allegedly took directions from his neo-nationalist
superiors. The trial is still under way, but his lawyers complain
that crucial evidence in the assassination was obscured soon after
the murder.

At the end of the evening well-known singer Sezen Aksu took the
stage. The audience included Dink’s wife, Rakel Dink, and her
family, as well as many of Dink’s friends and Å~^iÅ~_li Mayor Mustafa
Sarıgul. Amongst the hundreds of attendees were not just Armenians
but people from many different backgrounds.

Eylem Akkaya, 29, said she was not an Armenian citizen but added
that she was at the event because it was important to remind people
"not to forget" Dink.

Nusret Karayazgan, 63, said she is not Armenian and did not know
Dink well but that she liked what he said. "I understood what Hrant
said. We spoke the same language," she told Today’s Zaman. Dink had
supported the country’s process of democratization and had not become
a voice for the Armenian diaspora’s typical claims that the situation
in Turkey is universally bad for Turkish-Armenians.

Also attending the event, Oncu Kırlangıc, 23, said she was there
because it was important to carry "Dink’s banner" following his death.

Speaking with Today’s Zaman, a reporter from Agos said that after
Dink’s murder some Turkish-Armenian citizens have become more passive
than ever but that others have become more active than before. "There
have even been people who wanted to leave Turkey forever, but I prefer
to stay here and continue to struggle," he said.

He added that the earlier demonstration in front of the Agos office
was also important to show that people want to see Dink’s murderers
punished soon.

Those who attended the ceremony chanted slogans saying, "Ergeneknon
murdered Hrant Dink," "We are all Hrant Dink" and "We are all Armenian"
in Turkish, Armenian and Kurdish.

Dink’s lawyers say that Ergenekon — a clandestine criminal
organization with ties to the state that is accused of plotting to
topple the government — was behind the murder.

Commemorative events were held in front of the offices of the Agos
weekly newspaper, where Dink had been editor-in-chief, in Ä°stanbul’s
Å~^iÅ~_li district, and in various parts of the country, including
Ankara and his hometown of Malatya.

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