THOUSANDS IN ISTANBUL MARK ANNIVERSARY OF DINK’S MURDER

Armenian Weekly
January 20, 2010

ISTANBUL (Combined Sources)-Thousands gathered Tuesday at the site
in Istanbul where Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was murdered three
years ago.

The crowd, numbering around 2,000 to 3,000 according to police,
braved snowfall to gather outside the offices of the Agos newspaper
where Dink was editor-in-chief, chanting "The murderer state has to
account for this!", "We know the murderers, we want justice!"

"As long as light is not shed on this murder, we will be here, we
will not give up," said one of the many people who addressed the
crowd from the window of the Agos office from which hung a picture
of the slain journalist.

Several people left carnations and candles at the place where then
52-year-old Dink was killed on Jan. 19, 2007.

This year’s slogan during the commemoration was "We know the killer,
we want justice."

"I am eminently enraged," retired teacher Semra Tugcu said as she
stood in the crowd.

She said she was not hopeful about Dink’s murder case. "I am a Turk,
but this does not mean that I am not a minority in this country,"
she said. "I feel like a minority, too."

Hrant Dink’s wife, Rakel Dink, and their son and daughter were also
at the Agos newspaper office.

Arat Dink, Hrant Dink’s son, spoke to the crowd. "Were those kids
[those suspected of murdering Dink] alone while they were making fun
of us in the court? … I do not trust justice in this country. But
being here for the last three years with you makes me hopeful,"
Arat Dink said.

Dink’s speech was frequently cut by slogans from the crowd such as,
"Murderer state will give account," "Despite fascism, you are my
brother Hrant," and "Either all together, or none of us, there is no
salvation alone."

The gunman, an unemployed nationalist who was 17 at the time, was
captured shortly after the killing. He went on trial along with 19
suspected accomplices in 2007. The investigation, however, has yet
to reveal the masterminds behind the killing.