Declaration of the European Armenian Federation on the occasion of Hrant Dink’s funeral
ArmRadio.am
26.01.2007 11:52
On the occasion of Hrant Dink’s funerals, the Armenian journalist
assassinated in Istanbul on January 19th, the European Armenian
Federation pays tribute to the courage of this man who dared to talk
about the Armenian Genocide in a State which persists in hiding this
criminal truth from its citizens and continues its aggressive policy
of denial at home and abroad.
Hrant Dink was born in Malatya, a city where the vast majority of
the Armenian inhabitants was exterminated and deported during the
Genocide, an event which deeply affected Dink’s family. His family was
then forced to turkify its name under Mustafa Kemal’s government,
much as many other Armenian survivors who remained among those
who had taken part in their destruction. Dink’s family moved, many
years later in the 1950s, to Istanbul, where -deprived of the normal
avenues of educational advancement, Hrant and his two brothers were
accepted into the academic care of the Armenian Evangelical Church
of Besiktas. Since he began publishing "Agos," the Armenian Turkish
bilingual weekly, 8 years ago, the main struggle of Hrant Dink was
the recognition by Turkey of the Armenian Genocide.
He took upon himself the mission of educating the Turkish people about
the truth of the Armenian Genocide, a truth denied and falsified by
successive Turkish governments. He was inspired by the government’s
superficial – and ultimately illusory – liberalization of discussion
of this subject under pressure from the international community,
and particularly Europe, on Turkey to join the family of civilized
nations. These external trappings of tolerance were shown, by his
assassination, to have been little more than window dressing intended
to impress the outside world, while covering up an escalation of
repression within Turkey’s borders.
Hrant Dink’s struggle for Genocide recognition took place within the
context of Turkey’s desire for EU accession. He supported the Turkish
government’s effort to secure EU membership and fought against efforts
in Europe and the United States to recognize the Armenian Genocide,
holding that any such external pressure on Turkey would incite
his country’s "extremists" to greater heights of anti-Armenian
"radicalisation." The tragic death of Hrant proves that Turkish
extremists – acting on the cue of Turkish officials – need no such
incitement to kill those who tell the truth.
Dink’s efforts led to great frustration, particularly as he came to
understand that his path was blocked by entrenched forces within the
Turkish state. Facing this hidden opposition and harsh public backlash
it sparked, he considered leaving Turkey to live in Europe. In fact,
prior to the European Summit of December 2004, fearing persecutions
and outright execution if Turkey were rejected by the EU, he planned
to never return in his country. Recently, condemned by the Turkish
justice system for "insulting Turkishness," he reported widely on
the racism he was subjected to as an Armenian in Turkey.
Hrant Dink sought, until the end, to provide Europe with a positive –
but ultimately false – image of Turkey as a place where the force
of ideas can change the basic foundations of an authoritarian and
ultra-nationalistic State. He paid with his life for this belief. It
is regrettable to see that his death is not an isolated event in a
society that was established – and continues to
function – based on fostering hatred toward minorities.
This is the same principle that led to the extermination of the
Armenians. It is the same idea that currently fuels the denial of
the Armenian Genocide – a continuation of this crime that must be
forcefully condemned and legally prohibited within Europe.