Nationalists rally in Yerevan to protest reporter Dink’s murder
Agence France Presse — English
January 23, 2007 Tuesday 12:50 AM GMT
Dozens of Armenian nationalists brandishing slogans decrying "the
continuing genocide" rallied Monday in Yerevan to denounce the murder
of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
The protesters, rallied by the youth movement of the nationalist
party Dashnak Tsutyun, marched in downtown Yerevan to the European
Union’s mission, many adorned with black ribbons and Dink’s photos.
"This crime was motivated by racial hatred which must disgust the
civilised world, including the EU which must punish the organisers
of this terrorist act," protesters said in a declaration.
"Dink died for our future and we will follow his cause," said Ani
Azatkoli, an Armenian-born student from Iran, adding that she did
not believe the Turkish police who Saturday announced the arrest of
the suspected killer, a 17-year-old.
"They organised this terrorist act and know well where to find the
killer," she accused.
"I cannot say that the Turkish state organised this crime, but the
fact that there are extremists in that country is the result of the
Turkish authorities’ anti-Armenian policies," said Manuel Kanian,
a young artist from Canada.
Dink, the 52-year-old editor of the weekly Agos newspaper, was shot
dead outside his Istanbul office on Friday. Police say a 17-year-old
suspect has confessed to the murder.
Dink had publicly criticised the Turkish state’s refusal to admit to
genocide in the Armenian massacres of the early 20th century.