PLAYERS INVOLVED IN DINK MURDER PROBED IN BOOK

Hurriyet
June 10 2009
Turkey

ISTANBUL – A book written by journalist Kemal GöktaÅ~_ delves into the
bigger picture behind the assasination of Turkish-Armenian journalist
Hrant Dink in front of his office in Istanbul in 2007. GöktaÅ~_
explores the role of the media in turning Dink into a target and
how the state and judiciary also played their part in the incident
leading to Dink’s murder

A new book released last week by a current affairs journalist delves
into the wider role of certain people and institutions that led to
the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

Dink was gunned down in front of the Agos newspaper office, where
he was editor-in-chief, in central Istanbul on Jan. 19, 2007. At the
time he was being tried for "insulting Turkishness" under the infamous
Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.

One of the factors the book examines is the possible effect of the
widespread media coverage of the trial that might have gradually led
to him becoming a target. Other authors such as novelist Elif Å~^afaf
and Nobel winner Orhan Pamuk have also faced prosecution under the
same article and widespread media coverage of their trials forced
Pamuk to seek refuge abroad fearing for his life while Å~^afak opted
for silence.

Thesis of judiciary reporterbecomes a book Kemal GöktaÅ~_, a judiciary
reporter at the Ankara office of the daily Vatan since 2002, followed
the trials of Dink, Pamuk and Å~^afak in their entirety. Also a
doctorate student at Ankara University at the time, he prepared his
thesis on "The press forming public opinion in Turkey Ä~^ Exemplary
event: Transformation of Hrant Dink into a political target." He
deepened the scope of his work after the murder of Dink. GöktaÅ~_’s
book, which took a long time to prepare, was released by the Guncel
Publishing House last week under the title: "Hrant Dink Cinayeti –
Medya, Yargı, Devlet" (The Hrant Dink murder – The Media, Judiciary,
State)

‘Dink different from Orhan Pamuk and Elif Å~^afak’ In the first
chapter of the book, GöktaÅ~_ features in detail how Dink was made
into a target after his news story claiming that Sabiha Gökcen
Ä~^ Turkey’s first female pilot and adopted child of Mutsa Kemal
Ataturk, the founder of the Republic Ä~^ was of Armenian origin. In
this chapter, the statement by the Chief of General Staff after the
story’s publication and the media’s attitude is mentioned.

The second chapter deals with the judicial process of the trial based
on Article 301 and analyses on how Dink was found guilty despite the
expert report commenting to the contrary.

The third chapter focuses on the ties between Dink murder’s and the
alleged Ergenekon coup plot. The alleged Ergenekon gang reportedly
sought to topple the government by creating social unrest within
the country. The final chapter is on the state’s alleged role on
the assassination. "The trial of Dink was just as important to us
as those of Pamuk, Å~^afak and other intellectuals but that was a
great mistake because Dink was an alienated name due to his ethnic
background," GöktaÅ~_ told the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review.

GöktaÅ~_ said Dink was expressing his views as an Armenian and a
leftist and added: "He had an original attitude that shook common
perceptions. Of course, other intellectuals and writers were also
targeted for what they said but the bullets found their way to Dink,
not them. We can only explain this by linking it to the values Dink
stood for against the common politics and his identity. We already
know that the murder was committed with the knowledge of the state."

GöktaÅ~_ said the reactions that followed the publication of the
Gökcen story in the daily Agos are very important ideological
indicators. "The mentioned story was both bringing the historical
myth into disrepute and pointing to a great danger in terms of the
debate on the Armenian problem. Gökcen was both a militarist and
the source of pride of modernization. A Turkish woman dropping bombs
on separatists in Dersim turning out to be of Armenian origin would
hurt that taboo greatly," GöktaÅ~_ said.

GöktaÅ~_ was among the 10 Turkish journalists that traveled to Armenia
last week in a joint venture by the International Hrant Dink Foundation
and the Heinrich Böll Foundation. "I went to Armenia for the first
time. It was a very impressive trip. The Armenians are experiencing
a trauma and mourning passed on from generation to generation. Most
of the people I’ve met had their roots in Anatolia; they were very
friendly to us," GöktaÅ~_ said.