CAMPAIGNING FOR HRANT DINK STREET

armradio.am
25.02.2010 12:12

An online petition to change a street name in Istanbul to Hrant
Dink Street – after the murdered Armenian-Turkish journalist – has
been signed by nearly 2,000 people, but the city has twice rejected
the request.

The campaigners say the people’s support is more important than the
municipality’s objections and are focusing on gathering more signatures
and support. The number of signatures on the petition’s Web site,
(Hrant Dink Avenue), reached 1,800 as of
Wednesday, including many prominent intellectuals.

People working on the campaign, titled "Art for Peace," replaced
the sign for Ergenekon Avenue in Istanbul’s KurtuluÅ~_ neighborhood
with a sign reading Hrant Dink Avenue on Jan. 19, minutes after the
commemoration of Dink’s murder in KurtuluÅ~_ in the Å~^iÅ~_li district.

"Changing the name of Ergenekon Avenue has a symbolic meaning for us,"
Ragıp İncesagır, spokesperson for the Art for Peace initiative,
told the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review.

Ergenekon is the name of a mountain in Central Asia in a Turkish legend
that symbolizes Turks leaving Asia and moving to Anatolia. It is also
the name of a recent case against a suspected gang that allegedly
aimed to topple the ruling government.

"Ergenekon has always been a symbolic name that says, ‘Everyone here
is a Turk and others can only live on streets named by Turks,’" said
İncesagır, adding that this policy is not only against Armenians
in Turkey but also against Alevis, a sect of Islam, and Kurds.

The campaigners also see a connection between the Ergenekon case and
Dink’s murder.

Feryal Oney, a soloist for the KardeÅ~_ Turkuler music group and
one of the campaigners, told the Daily News that, like many others,
she also believes the Ergenekon gang was involved in Dink’s murder.

"It might be right to change the street’s name through official
channels, but if we cannot achieved this, then we will continue
our campaign to raise awareness in society," İncesagır said. "We
believe that society should start making peace by changing the names
of these streets."

Å~^iÅ~_li Municipality first applied to the Istanbul Metropolitan
Municipality to change the name of Å~^afak Street to Hrant Dink Street.

Å~^afak Street is symbolic because it is near the building of the
Armenian- and Turkish-language daily Agos. Dink was editor in chief
of Agos and the street is where he was shot dead on Jan. 19, 2007.

Istanbul rejected Å~^iÅ~_li’s request without discussing it in its
council on the grounds that name changes for streets cause chaos in
emergencies and extra work for institutions and companies located on
that street.

Tayyibe Ulgen, an official from Istanbul Municipality’s map department,
told the Daily News that according to a notice sent by the Prime
Ministry, they only name streets that do not have names, or when a
street is divided into two. "By procedure, we did not accept the name
change," said Ulgen.

Aziz Ozhan, press coordinator for Å~^iÅ~_li Municipality, said
Å~^iÅ~_li does not have any further attempts to change the street
name on its agenda at the moment.

The second application for Hrant Dink Ave. to Istanbul Metropolitan
Municipality was filed by municipal council member Ozgen Nama from
the Republican People’s Party, or CHP. He brought the request to
change Ergenekon Ave. to Hrant Dink Ave. onto the council’s agenda,
but it was rejected on Feb. 9, Hyrriyet reports.