NO TRIAL FOR "WE ARE ALL ARMENIAN" SLOGAN
BIA Magazine
glish/112468/no-trial-for-we-are-all-armenian-slog an
Feb 10 2009
Turkey
The prosecution has refused to open a trial over the slogans and
placards carried at Hrant Dink’s funeral. A complaint had been filed
against Istanbul’s Å~^iÅ~_li municipality mayor Sarıgul.
The Å~^iÅ~_li Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has decided not to
start a trial following a complaint against Mustafa Sarıgul, mayor
of Istanbul’s Å~^iÅ~_li municipality.
Funeral march deliberately misunderstood by nationalists
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was shot dead in front of
his newspaper office in Å~^iÅ~_li on 19 January 2007. His funeral
was attended by over 100,000 people, many of them carrying placards
which read "We are all Armenian" or "Murderer 301", referring to
Dink’s trial under the controversial Article 301. The protestors
walked through Istanbul from his office to the church where he was
buried. The march was mostly silent, but sometimes the crowd called
out "We are all Armenian", a demonstration of solidarity which has
been distorted by nationalists.
Following the funeral, Mete CagdaÅ~_, a columnist in a local newspaper
in Sinop, on the Western Black Sea, had filed a complaint against the
mayor of Å~^iÅ~_li, arguing that the slogans represented a violation
of Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code and insulted Turkishness.
CagdaÅ~_ had written in the newspaper Haber 57 that, as a journalist,
he condemned the murder of his colleague Dink, but that the slogans
used at his funeral were unacceptable. He said that his grandfather
was killed by an Armenian gang.
"They did not even carry a Turkish flag" He also wrote an article
entitled "Honourable Prosecutor", which read:
"They carried placards saying ‘Hrant’s murderer is Article 301.’ They
branded the laws of the Turkish Republic as murderers. Shouting
‘We are all Armenian’, they violated the constitution. They insulted
the unity of the nation with separatism based on race. They caused
traffic congestion. With live broadcasts, they encouraged others to
take part in the demonstration. They did not even carry one Turkish
flag. What else do you want? Treason, provocation, separatism and
extreme disturbance. I am complaining and am a plaintiff. Honourable
Prosecutor, please start an investigation…"
Appeal planned CagdaÅ~_ also said that the funerals of soldiers were
ignored. In a reaction to the prosecutor’s decision, he wrote on 8
February, he said: "Two, three marauders, a handful of gangsters and
traitors- we were beaten by them," thus insulting those taking part
in the funeral procession.
The Å~^iÅ~_li prosecution decided not to prosecute on 15 January,
but the decision has only just been made public. Radikal newspaper
cites CagdaÅ~_ as objecting to the length of time (EO/AG)
–Boundary_(ID_ZfKQP5+Qiv9JKht/19+hjw)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
