JOURNALISTS GORMUS AND HAAS RECEIVE INTERNATIONAL DINK AWARD
Today’s Zaman
Sept 17 2009
Turkey
Journalists Alper Gormus (2nd from left) and Amira Haas (C) were
the first recipients of the International Hrant Dink Award, given to
journalists who have shown outstanding bravery to uncover the truth.
Turkish journalist Alper Gormus_ and Israeli journalist Amira Haas
became the first recipients of the Hrant Dink International Award on
Tuesday evening, given in the name of Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian
journalist who was murdered in 2007 by an ultranationalist youth
allegedly for insulting Turkishness.
Ali Bayramoglu, the head of the award committee of the International
Hrant Dink Foundation established by the Dink family, said at the
ceremony that "what we are looking for is what Hrant symbolizes," in
reference to his ideals, which were "purified out of discrimination,"
and people who follow those ideals taking risks for a more just world.
GörmuÅ~_, a columnist for the Taraf newspaper and a faculty member
at Bilgi University, said after receiving the award that he carries a
great responsibility because he has fears that he could do something
improper to undermine the meaning of the award.
"I saw Hrant Dink right after the Supreme Court of Appeals upheld
a lower court’s decision to convict him. I had gone to Agos for an
interview with him. During the whole interview, he spent all his energy
explaining why it was impossible for him to ‘insult Turkishness’,"
GörmuÅ~_ said.
The award committee recalled that GörmuÅ~_, the former editor-in-chief
of the now-defunct Nokta weekly, was acquitted last year in April
of charges of libel for running a story that featured excerpts from
a diary, allegedly penned by a former naval commander, revealing
plans by some generals to stage a military intervention. GörmuÅ~_
said yesterday that he was not satisfied with the court’s decision,
even though he was acquitted of all charges. Although GörmuÅ~_
was acquitted, he had said that his acquittal was not satisfactory
because he was not given a chance to prove his publication’s claims.
Haas, a correspondent for Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, expressed
her regret over Dink’s death and that the award was named "after a
murdered man." Born in Jerusalem, she is the daughter of Holocaust
survivors. Reporting on the Palestinians since 1991 when Haaretz
sent her to Gaza, she became the first and only Israeli journalist
to settle in Ramallah in the West Bank to live among Palestinians.
Dink’s murder trial has been continuing, and the Dink family lawyers
frequently refer to the series of mistakes made by the police in
handling the case and official attempts to protect those who plotted
the crime as previously reported by the press. Dink was shot dead
outside the offices of the Agos newspaper, of which he was the
editor-in-chief.
Dink’s wife, Rakel, said in her emotional speech that Dink would
have been 55 on Sept. 15 if his life had not been "usurped." She
said establishing the foundation was a result of efforts from many
"friends" and that it was difficult to heal the wound.
"The wound was deep in 1915; how is it going to be dressed?" she said,
referring to the killings of Anatolian Armenians perpetrated by the
Ottoman Empire during World War I, which Armenians claim constituted
genocide. Among the attendees of the award ceremony were State
Minister Egemen BagıÅ~_, Parliament’s Human Rights Committee head
Zafer Uskul, independent deputy Ufuk Uras, British Consul General
in Ä°stanbul Jessica Hand, journalists Nadire Mater and Leyla Umar,
author Adalet Agaoglu, conductor Cem Mansur and actress Lale Mansur.
KardeÅ~_ Turkuler, a well-known folk music ensemble praised for its
wide repertoire of ethnic music from Anatolia, and Arto Tuncboyacıyan,
an internationally acclaimed Turkish-Armenian avant-garde folk
musician, gave a short concert at the ceremony.