PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Cooperation Center Of Georgia (ACCG)
7 Khodasheni St., Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, 0105
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Commemoration of Hrant Dink and other Slain Journalists
On January 19, an event called `Journalists – Victims of Freedom of
Speech’ took place in the office of ombudsman of Georgia which was
devoted to the memory of the journalist of Armenian origin Hrant Dink
assassinated in Turkey, as well as to the memory of Giorgi Sanaia,
Anna Politkovskaya and many other journalists who became victims of
their professional work.
`Armenian Cooperation Center of Georgia’ NGO together with the council
of national minorities under the ombudsman office was the organizer
and the initiator of this event.
During the event the Public Defender of Georgia Sozar Subari and the
president of the Armenian Cooperation Center of Georgia Karen Elchian
gave speeches on the following topics: `Tendencies and problems of
modern journalism development in the region’, `Hrant Dink – a victim
of 301 article.
Reaction of the international organizations to his murder’. The event
began with one minute of silence in memory of Hrant Dink.
At the meantime, `Journalists – Victims of Freedom of Speech’ photo
exhibition as well as the screening of the film about Hrant Dink was
held.
Representatives of mass media and non-governmental organizations as
well as the representatives of the Armenian community of Tbilisi were
present at the event. Besides that, information booklets on Hrant Dink
and Armenian Question were distributed in the church of Surb Gevork
during the mourning liturgy dedicated to the anniversary of the murder
of well-known journalist.
Note: In 2007, 111 journalists in the world were assassinated for
carrying out their professional duty. This number exceeds the tragic
statistics of the previous years. One of the first victims of `Hunting
the truth’ 2007 is Hrant Dink. He was assassinated on January 19, in
Istanbul, infront of the entrance of his editorial office. 53-year-old
Hrant Dink was the editor-in-chief of the Turkish-Armenian newspaper
`Agos’. He was famous for his rigorous articles, dedicated to the
Armenian Genocide, carried out in 1915-1923 by Turkish government in
Western Armenia. Exactly because of the work on this topic he has not
once became the object of persecutions by today’s Turkish government.
The murder of the journalist caused a wide resonance in the whole
civilized world. This murder was condemned by the leaders of Euro
structures and by many international organizations.
Today, the criminal case is opened against 19 citizens of
Turkey. Court trial is postponed until February, 2008.
On December 10, 2007 he was awarded the Title of Hero for the freedom
of press in the world, by the International Institute of Press. He is
the 52nd journalist honored with this high award.
After Hrant Dink’s murder, his son Arat Dink has been a subject to
pursuit and was forced to leave Turkey due to the emerging
situation. Despite the fact that the part of Turkish society has
condemned Hrant Dink’s murder, the editor of a Greek newspaper was
attacked in the end of 2007.
The press service of the Armenian Cooperation Centre of Georgia.