NO ADVANCE IN DINK ASSASSINATION CASE EVEN AFTER THREE YEARS

Hurriyet
Jan 18 2010
Turkey

The Hrant Dink assassination case has not advanced despite the
three years since his death. Dink’s relatives and friends share the
pessimism of the family’s lawyers about the future of the case. ‘The
Dink murder wouldn’t be solved even if the Ergenekon case ends,’
according to Yalcın Cilingir, a close friend of the late Dink Although
some hitmen who have assassinated journalists in Turkey during the
last three decades have been caught, their leaders behind the scenes
have never been revealed.

Abdi Ä°pekci, former chief editor for the daily Milliyet was gunned
down in the Macka neighborhood of Istanbul in 1979. The Ä°pekci
assassination was a beginning – more followed afterward. Among those
murdered journalists, the assassinations of Ugur Mumcu and Ahmet
Taner KıÅ~_lalı in 1993 and 1999 had the most tremendous impact.

Three years ago, one of the more infamous recent assassinations
occurred. Hrant Dink, chief editor for the daily Agos, published in
both Turkish and Armenian, was shot in front of his paper’s office
on Jan. 19, 2007.

According to the criminal report, Dink lost his life a few seconds
after the first bullet. The significant detail that separates the
Dink assassination from the ones of Ä°pekci, Mumcu and KıÅ~_lalı
is that he was a Turkish citizen of Armenian origin who strived to
bring the sensitive matters of the Armenian problem to Turkey’s agenda.

The Dink family, along with their lawyers, Fethiye Cetin and Deniz
Tuna, has reiterated its hopelessness about the progress of the case
at every opportunity. The sudden illness of Turkish Armenian patriarch
Mesrop II just weeks after the assassination raised many questions
that were not answered, even after the official medical diagnosis.

Isolated by both Turks and Armenians

The Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review spoke to Yalcın (OÅ~_in)
Cilingir, a close friend of Dink, and lawyer Luiz Bakar, one of Agos’
founders and a press spokeswoman for the patriarchy on the third
anniversary of the assassination.

Dink was a figure who attempted to tear down the wall between
the people of Armenia and Turkey after the sad events of 1915. He
believed the two peoples should build dialogue between themselves
without interventions from the outside, stating this opinion at every
opportunity. Dink’s stance caused reactions in Armenia and among the
Armenian diaspora as much as it did in Turkey. Some Armenians even
claimed Dink was a Turkish agent.

"Some people are reborn after death," said Cilingir. "Hrant perceived
both the societies of Armenia and Turkey as psychologically ill
when it came to the events of 1915; he said both societies needed
treatment. That was why he was isolated by both Turks and Armenians.

It was more agonizing that Armenian society left his outstretched
hand hanging in air."

Dink in the history pages

There were times when Cilingir could not control his emotions during
the interview. "Hrant ended a 100-year loneliness for Istanbul’s
Armenians even though he knew it would cost him his life," he said.

"He managed to make the two peoples get involved in dialogue. The
thousands of people who hit the streets after his death are the
biggest example of that."

Describing Dink as his brother and as "a brave person who jumped into
the sea without knowing how to swim," Cilingir said the murdered
journalist has already attained his rightful place in the pages
of history.

Cilingir is like a member of the family who lacks the surname Dink
only. He said he went through great agony after the assassination. "It
is not possible for anyone to comprehend the pain his wife Rakel and
children experience everyday."

A critical approach to the Dink case

Cilingir said he is not hopeful about the progress of the Dink case.

"The Ergenekon case might come to a result but the Dink murder will
not because the ‘don’t let this go too much farther’ mentality is
dominant in the Ergenekon case. The hitman will be set free in a few
years just like it happened with the Ä°pekci case."

Cilingir said Dink had not mentioned the threats he was receiving to
either himself or his own brother. "Television shows were making him
a target. Being put on trial for Article 301 of the Turkish Penal
Law was the straw that broke the camel’s back."

Mesrop II and Hrant Dink at the crossroads

Bakar said Hrant became a target because his words were twisted. "This
was done on purpose. This situation served the purposes of some
people."

Bakar published the following comment in Agos: "Agos was our child.

Before Agos, there were prejudices against the Armenian community in
the public opinion. We were perceived as unfavorable citizens. We have
showed that we share the fate of this country thanks to our newspaper."

Agos’ founding figures have split in time. When Mesrop II rose to
the patriarchy, Dink supported the idea that the community’s daily
affairs be separated from religious ones, a fact that brought the
two to a crossroads. "Mesrop II and Hrant were strong characters,
that was why they had a conflict but they always kept their love for
each other," Bakar said.

Asked whether he believes there is a connection between Dink’s
assassination and the patriarch’s illness, Bakar said: "The doctors
do not know what triggered Mesrop II’s illness. It is impossible for
me to comment on that."

Bakar said she is following the Dink case closely with a lawyer’s
perspective. "The case is going nowhere fast."

The Ergenekon case

The Ergenekon case started after the discovery of 27 hand grenades in
June 2007 in a shanty house belonging to a retired non-commissioned
officer in Istanbul ‘s Umraniye district. The grenades were found to
be the same ones used in attacks on the daily Cumhuriyet’s Istanbul
offices in 2006.

The finding led to scores of arrests, putting more than 100
journalists, writers, gang leaders, scholars, businessmen and
politicians into detention in what became a terror investigation
to stop the alleged ultranationalist, shadowy gang referred to as
Ergenekon. In the later stages of the investigation, those under
custody were accused of planning to topple the government by staging
a coup in 2009 by initially spreading chaos and mayhem.

The earlier bombings of Cumhuriyet, Dink’s assissination, the
murder of the Council of State’s top judge and alleged plans for
the assassination of high-profile figures in Turkish politics are
occasionally associated with the case.