ARMENIANS AND TURKS MISS A UNIFYING FIGURE
Sassoon Grigorian
Sydney Morning Herald
January 22, 2010
A young boy lights candles at the spot where Turkish-Armenian author
Hrant Dink was killed in Istanbul. Photo: Reuters
I still remember shaking Hrant Dink’s hand in his Istanbul office,
never imagining three years later there there would be a 100,000
strong funeral procession condemning his assassination chanting
"We are all Hrant Dink: We are all Armenian".
It is three years since Dink, an editor-in-chief of the bi-lingual
Turkish Armenian newspaper Agos, and prominent member of the
Armenian minority in Turkey was killed. For decades Dink advocated
for reconciliation between Turks and Armenians as well as calling on
the Turkish Government to recognise the Armenian genocide of 1915.
Since Dink’s assassination, significant progress has been made for
reconciliation, however, his loss emphasises the need for a unifying
figure between Turks and Armenians. Despite progress, deep divisions
still exist, and the absence of an individual that can unify both
peoples.
Dink was a unifying figure for many Armenians and those Turks
advocating for democracy and free speech in Turkey and repealing
repressive laws such as Article 301. Article 301 is a controversial
section of the Turkish penal code making it illegal to insult Turkey,
Turkish ethnicity, or government institutions. Among those charged by
Article 301 included Dink himself and Orhan Pamuk, Turkish writer and
recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2006. Pamuk was charged
following comments made in an interview about the mass killings of
Kurds and Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.
There are those that argued Dink provoked Turkish nationalism. Soon
after Dink’s death, photographs of the assassin emerged flanked by
smiling Turkish police, posing with the killer side by side in front
of the Turkish flag. The photos created a scandal in Turkey.
Despite this, there has been steady progress for reconciliation
including the signing of an internet petition by some 200 Turkish
intellectuals about the genocide, saying that they are sorry. The
text of their apology did not use the term genocide, however, about
30,000 Turks, from many different walks of life, signed the petition.
Then there was the bold move of football diplomacy last year where
Armenia’s President Serg Sargsyan invited Turkish President Abdullah
Gul to Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, to watch the football World Cup
qualifier between both countries. The invitation was reciprocated
when the sides played in Turkey.
Unfortunately, in a backward step, what was meant to be the momentous
signing of protocols between Turkey and Armenia last year degenerated
into a political sideshow. The protocols have been formulated to
restore diplomatic relations between both countries, however, they
are yet to be ratified by their respective parliaments. The protocols
have faced significant resistance within Turkey and Armenia because
of the ambiguous language contained in the document, as well as the
lack of consultation leading to the signing.
In all of this, one thing is clear, there is no individual or leader
that stands out like Dink.
In a speech delivered in May 2006, at a seminar by the Turkish
Journalists’ Association and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Dink said:
"I think the fundamental problems in Turkey exist for the majority
as well. Therefore . . . I will speak for the majority, including
myself in it and dwell on where, we, as Turkey, are headed."
The majority of people want a restoration of diplomatic relations
between Turkey and Armenia, but there exists many different paths to
getting there and continuing deep distrust. Dink had an ability to
bring people together to a common ground. That is what is needed now.
Former South African president Nelson Mandela once said: "If you talk
to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you
talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart."
Dink spoke the language that went to the heart. He remains missed.
Sassoon Grigorian travelled to Turkey in 2004.
Source: theage.com.au