New Anatolian, Turkey
Jan 26 2007
Ankara Bar asks who threatened Dink at Istanbul deputy governor’s
office
Burak Esen – The New Anatolian / Ankara
26 January 2007
After days of rallies and tears, as interest in Hrant Dink’s killing
fades to join a long list of political murders, the Ankara Bar
yesterday made an attempt to keep the issue alive, at least for a
short while longer.
The bar asked the Interior Ministry to launch a disciplinary and
criminal investigation into an Istanbul deputy governor and two
people with him who allegedly threatened the late Armenian-origin
Turkish journalist, basing this request on a column by Dink telling
of this incident in the deputy governor’s office.
Dink, in his Jan. 12 column "Why was I chosen as a target?" in his
bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, claimed that he was
threatened by two unknown "relatives" of the deputy governor over one
of his news articles.
The claims were also touched upon by a close friend of Dink following
his murder last Friday. Aydin Engin stated that some time ago an
Istanbul deputy governor called and extended an invitation to Dink.
"When Dink got there, no one paid attention to him," said Ergin.
"There were two people with the deputy governor. He introduced them
to Dink as his friends. Afterwards, one of the two, a man, spoke at
length and said that there are all sorts of people on the streets and
that something bad could happen to him."
Engin added that Dink mentioned the event in his application to the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Dink wrote in his column that he was invited to the office of an
Istanbul deputy governor and to bring documents about a news story,
but only after he reminded them about the documents did they remember
that they had called him to discuss them.
The documents were about a news story claiming that Ataturk’s adopted
daughter Sabiha Gokcen, Turkey’s first female Turkish pilot, was an
ethnic Armenian, and Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler, in a statement
in defense of his deputy, said that the news had disturbed the
Turkish people.
Guler also said that Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II Mutafyan was
subjected to death threats after the story, which, he remarked, may
have prompted the deputy governor to tell Dink of the unwanted
consequences of his news.
Guler also said, as quoted in the petition, that while the police and
the governor’s office were discussing security measures to protect
Mesrob II, an official responsible for security called Dink to
exchange information with him about threats against the patriarch.
However the governor revealed neither the name of the deputy governor
or the position of people with him during the meeting.
Dink, who explained the reason for the invitation as to examine
documents about the story, also said in his column that both the
deputy governor and the unknown male at the meeting respectively told
him that he was an experienced journalist and that he should write
more carefully.
"Although we’re sure that you have no bad intentions, you may face a
public backlash as not everyone interprets your articles the way we
do," Dink quoted the unknown guest as saying.
The bar’s petition, which asked about the relationship of the two
people to the deputy governor and whether they are public servants,
was given to the ministry by lawyer Kemal Vuraldogan yesterday.
The details the lawyer sought from the ministry on behalf of the
Ankara Bar are as follows:
– Whether the deputy governor has the authority to invite Dink to
discuss documents about a news article he wrote.
– Why the documents brought along by the journalist weren’t examined.
– Whether the two people who attended the meeting are public
servants, and if so, which institutions they work for.
– Why the deputy governor introduced the two as his relatives if
these people were actually public servants and if this could be
considered unethical.
– Under what authority the deputy governor met with Dink, while two
other people accompanied him
– Why the deputy governor failed to record the minutes of the
meeting.
– Why Dink was informed about threats against Mesrob II rather than
Mutafyan himself.
– Whether the deputy governor or the two people threatened Dink.