Hrant Dink

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Hrant Dink Հրանդ Տինք
Born	September 15, 1954
Birth place	Malatya, Turkey
Died	January 19, 2007, age 52
in	Istanbul
Circumstances
Occupation	newspaper editor, columnist and journalist
Ethnicity	Armenian
Notable credit(s)	founder and editor-in-chief of Agos

Hrant Dink (Armenian: Հրանդ Տինք, IPA: [həɹɑnt diːnk]) (September 15, 1954 – January 19, 2007) was a Turkish-Armenian editor, journalist and columnist.

As editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos (Ակօս), Dink was a prominent member of the Armenian minority in Turkey. Dink was best known for his opinions on methods towards a Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and on human and minority rights in Turkey with a special emphasis on the rights of the Armenian minority and was often critical of both Turkey's denial of the Armenian genocide, and of the Armenian diaspora's campaign for its international recognition.^[1][2] Regarding his statements Dink was prosecuted three times for denigrating Turkishness and received numerous death threats from Turkish nationalists who accused him of treachery.^[1][3][4][5]

Hrant Dink was assassinated in Istanbul on January 19, 2007, allegedly by Ogün Samast, an ultra-nationalist Turk. While Samast has since been taken into custody, pictures of Dink's alleged killer holding up a Turkish flag, flanked by smiling Turkish police and gendarmerie officers, have since surfaced, triggering a wave of investigations and the removal from office of those involved.^[6]

In his funeral, one hundred thousand mourners walked against the ideas that killed him, chanting "we are all Armenians" and "we are all Hrant Dink". The criticisms against Article 301 grew even larger after his death, leading to the proposals of change in the parliament.

[edit] Early life

Hrant Dink was born in Malatya on September 15, 1954 to Sarkis Dink (known as Haşim Kalfa), a tailor from Gürün, Sivas, and Gülvart Dink, from Kangal, Sivas, as the eldest of three sons.^[7] His father's gambling debts led to the family's move to İstanbul in 1960, where they sought a new beginning.^[7] Sarkis Dink's gambling continued in İstanbul, however, and one year after their move, Dink's parents separated in a bitter fight, which left Dink, then aged seven, and his brothers without a place to live, necessitating his grandfather to enroll the boys at the Gedikpaşa Armenian Orphanage.^[7] In his interviews, Dink pointed out his grandfather, a man who spoke seven languages and read constantly, as the role model and father figure that inspired Dink's love of letters.^[7]

The Gedikpaşa Armenian Orphanage, an institution run by the Armenian Evangelical Community was to be home to Hrant Dink for the next ten years.^[8] The Orphanage children spent their summers at the Tuzla Armenian Youth Camp, on the Marmara beachfront in a suburb of İstanbul, building and improving the summer camp during their stay.^[9] The Tuzla Armenian Youth Camp played a significant role in Hrant Dink's life, both personally, as he met his future wife as a child and later married her at the Camp, and professionally, as the government-led closing of the Camp in 1983 was one of the factors that raised Dink's awareness of the issues of the Armenian community and eventually led to his becoming an activist.^[8][9]

Dink received his primary education at the Hay Avedaranagan İncirdibi Protestant Armenian Primary School and Bezciyan School and his secondary education at the Üsküdar Surp Haç Armenian High School, working as a tutor at the same time.^[10] During his senior year, he was expelled from the Üsküdar Surp Haç, and completed his high school degree at the Şişli Public High School.^[7]

[edit] Rakel Yağbasan, childhood friend, future wife

Hrant Dink met his future wife, Rakel Yağbasan, when she came to the Tuzla Armenian Youth Camp at age 9 in 1968.^[11] Born in 1959 in Silopi, Cizre, Rakel was one of 13 children of Siyament Yağbasan, head of the Varto clan and Delal Yağbasan who died when Rakel was a child.^[11]

In 1915, the Varto clan had received orders to relocate along with the rest of the Armenian population in the region, but they were attacked during the journey.^[11] Five families from the clan escaped to nearby Cudi mountain and settled there, remaining without any contact to the outside world for 25 years.^[10] Eventually they re-established contact and largely assimilated into the nearby Kurdish population, speaking Kurdish exclusively, although they retained knowledge of their Armenian origin and Christian belief.^[10] Armenian Protestant lay preacher Hrant Güzelyan (also known as Küçükgüzelyan), who was running a program for relocating Anatolian Armenian population to İstanbul, visited the clan and brought back around 20 children to the Tuzla Camp, including Rakel and two of her brothers.^[12][13]

Staying at the Tuzla Camp during summers and at the Gedikpaşa Orphanage during winters, Rakel learned Turkish and Armenian, and finished primary school.^[11] But, because Rakel was registered as a Turk, not as an Armenian, she was not allowed to enroll at Armenian community schools and her father did not give permission for her to attend a Turkish school past the then-compulsory 5th grade.^[10] Not able to obtain further formal schooling, Rakel was privately tutored by instructors at the Gedikpaşa Orphanage.^[10]

Rakel's father, Siyament Yağbasan first opposed Hrant Dink's marriage proposal since the Varto clan traditionally practiced endogamy, but eventually relented when elders of the Armenian community, including Patriarch Kalustyan applied pressure and Rakel declared that she would marry no one else.^[10] After potentially agreeing to the marriage, Siyament Yağbasan asked for başlık, a form of dower paid to the bride's family by the bridegroom's family, for the sum of 40,000 TL, enough to purchase 6 flats in İstanbul at the time, reducing his demand to 5,000 TL through the intercession of Patriarch Kalustyan.^[10][11] Hrant Dink and Rakel Yağbasan got married in a civil ceremony on April 19th, 1976 when they were 22 and 17, respectively.^[14] One year later, at Rakel Dink's insistence, the couple conducted a church wedding ceremony on April 23rd, 1977, at the Tuzla Camp.^[9][14]

[edit] Children and college

Hrant Dink and Rakel Dink had three children Delal, Arat and Sera.^[7][15] In 1972, Dink changed his legal name to Fırat Dink to disassociate his Maoist political activities from the Armenian community.^[16] He later graduated from the Zoology department of Istanbul University. He then studied for a second Bachelor's Degree at the Philosophy Department at the same university, which he did not complete.

Hrant was an active member, and a former chairman in the Armenian Evangelical Church of Gedikpaşa, Istanbul.^[17]

[edit] Tuzla Armenian Youth Camp

Together with his wife, Rachel (Rakel), Hrant Dink started to manage the Tuzla Armenian Youth Camp.^[18] They loved the camp so much that their children were born in the camp grounds. However in 1979 the Turkish authorities took over the camp, where 1,500 Armenian orphans were being sheltered.

The General Management of Foundations started court action to abolish Gedikpaşa Armenian Protestant Church's ownership of the site of camp, demanding that the land be returned to its previous owner. Following a four-year legal process the court ruled that the land should be returned to its previous owner. The decision was in line with the 1974 decision of The Court of Appeals which declared that all real estate acquired by minorities after 1936 should be either returned back to their previous owners or in case of their bereavement, should be handed over to the National Real-estate Foundation. Ever since then Dink struggled to have the camp restored to the orphan children.

Dink has written a book about the story of the camp but he did not succeed in his attempts. He summarized his experience of the camp:

"I was eight when I first went to Tuzla. I have worked hard for 20 years for that camp. I met my wife Rakel there. We grew up together. We got married there. Our children were born there. But one day they handed us a court declaration. We were defeated after a five-year struggle. What could we do, we had the state against us?"^[19]

During this period, Hrant Dink was taken into custody three times because of his political views.^{[citation needed]} Between 1980 and 1990, Dink operated a bookstore along with his brothers and stayed away from political activism.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Editor of Agos

Following the transfer of the Tuzla Armenian Youth Camp administration after 21 years of operation to direct Ministry of Education control, he decided to become the voice of his community by founding and assuming the role of editor-in-chief of Agos weekly in Istanbul, a newspaper published in Armenian and Turkish. He tried to make it the democratic, opposition voice of Turkey, a voice used to inform the public of the injustices committed against the Armenian community. One of the major aims of the newspaper was to contribute to a dialog between the Turkish and Armenian communities, as well as between Turkey and Armenia. Additionally, he wrote for the national dailies Zaman and BirGün.

At its inception, Agos had only 1,800 subscriptions. With his balanced editorials, the subscription increased to 6,000 in a very short time and included many Turkish subscribers. It became a medium of communication for reaching the Armenian community and for the Armenian community to make its voice heard.^[8]

According to Hrant Dink, Agos helped the development of the Armenian community such that it helped triple the participation in the last Patriarchal elections, trained many journalists, became the community's face to Turkish society and cultivated many friends. He voiced his intention for an "Institute of Armenian Studies" in Istanbul.^[20]

[edit] Editorial policy

Dink hoped his questioning would pave the way for peace between the two peoples:

"If I write about the [Armenian] genocide it angers the Turkish generals. I want to write and ask how we can change this historical conflict into peace. They don’t know how to solve the Armenian problem."^[3]

He defended his constant challenge of established notions:

"I challenge the accepted version of history because I do not write about things in black and white. People here are used to black and white; that’s why they are astonished that there are other shades, too."^[3]

[edit] Armenian issues

Dink was one of Turkey's most prominent Armenian voices and, despite threats on his life, he refused to remain silent. He always said his aim was to improve the difficult relationship between Turks and Armenians.^[21] Active in various democratic platforms and civil society organizations, Hrant Dink emphasized the need for democratization in Turkey and focused on the issues of free speech, minority rights, civic rights and issues pertaining to the Armenian community in Turkey. He was a very important peace activist. In his public speeches, which were often intensely emotional, he never refrained from using the word genocide when talking about the Armenian Genocide, a term fiercely rejected by Turkey.^[22]

At the same time, he made clear that this term had a political meaning, rather than a historical one, and he was strongly critical of the strategy of the Armenian diaspora of pressuring Western governments into official recognition of the Genocide label.^[20][23]

Hrant Dink featured in the genocide documentary film Screamers in 2006

Dink featured prominently in the 2006 genocide documentary film Screamers in which he explains:

There are Turks who don't admit that their ancestors committed genocide. If you look at it though, they seem to be nice people… So why don't they admit it? Because they think that genocide is a bad thing which they would never want to commit, and because they can't believe their ancestors would do such a thing either.^[24]

Hrant Dink believed that diaspora Armenians should be able to live free of the weight of historical memory (the "residues of the past"), considering first and foremost the needs of the living majority (he said "eyes of the other side").^[20]

Indicating that a show of empathy would have nothing to do with accepting or refusing the genocide, Dink called for dialogue:

Turkish-Armenian relations should be taken out of a 1915 meters-deep well.^[20]

By pointing out issues of rhetorical discourse that hampered Armenian-Turkish dialogue, he believed these obstacles could be overcome to the benefit of Turkish Armenians. Dink's unique perspective has been described as a "four way mirror", simultaneously empathetic to people of the Armenian diaspora, citizens of the Republic of Armenia, Turkish Armenians, and citizens of Turkey.^[20]

He was opposed to the French law that makes denial of Armenian Genocide a crime. He was planning to go to France to commit this 'crime', when the law came into effect.^[25]

[edit] Policy view

Hrant Dink promoted a policy of wider integration of Turkish-Armenians into the wider Turkish society. Critical of state injustices, he often underlined the fact that a stronger Turkey would be achieved through the elimination of discrimination. Even after his conviction for speaking of the Armenian genocide, Dink continued to value his community, city, and country, noting often that his analysis and criticism was in the interest of strengthening the country. He concentrated on the mismanagement of community institutions, tried to promote obtaining rights through legal means, and was always open to compromise, once noting, "After all, Turkey is very reluctant to concede rights to its majority as well."^[20]

[edit] Prosecution for denigrating Turkishness

Dink was prosecuted three times for denigrating Turkishness under the Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.^[1][3][4] He was acquitted the first time, convicted and received a postponed 6 months jail sentence the second time, which he had appealed at the European Court of Human Rights and at the time of his death, the prosecutor's office was getting ready to press charges for a third alleged offense.

The first charge under the previous version of Article 301, then called Article 159, stemmed from a speech he delivered at a panel hosted by human rights NGO Mazlum-Der in Şanlıurfa on 14 February 2002.^[26] Speaking at the "Global Security, Terror and Human Rights, Multiculturalism, Minorities and Human Rights" panel, Dink and another speaker, lawyer Şehmus Ülek were pressed charges for publicly denigrating Turkishness and the Republic.^[27] In the speech, Dink had stated:

"Since my childhood, I have been singing the national anthem along with you. Recently, there is a section where I cannot sing any longer and remain silent. You sing it, I join you later. It is: Smile at my heroic race.... Where is the heroism of this race? We are trying to form the concept of citizenship on national unity and a heroic race. For example, if it were Smile at my hard-working people..., I would sing it louder than all of you, but it is not. Of the oath I am Turkish, honest and hard-working, I like the 'honest and hard-working' part and I shout it loudly. The I am Turkish part, I try to understand as I am from Turkey."^[28]

On February 9, 2006, Hrant Dink, and Şehmus Ülek, who stood trial for another speech at the same panel, were acquitted of all charges.^[29]

The second charge under 301 was pressed for Dink's article called "Getting to know Armenia" (13 February 2004), in which he suggested to diaspora Armenians that it was time to rid themselves of their rage against Turks, a condition he considered himself free of, keeping himself emotionally healthy while at the same time knowing something of discrimination. His statement, "replace the poisoned blood associated with the Turk, with fresh blood associated with Armenia"^[30] resulted in a six-month suspended sentence.^[16]

Dink defended himself vigorously against the charges and stated:

"This trial is based on a total misunderstanding," Dink told Reporters Without Borders. "I never meant to insult Turkish citizens. The term in question was taken out of context and is only symbolic. The real subject of the article is the Armenian diaspora who, once they have come to terms with the Turkish part of their identity, can seek new answers to their questions from independent Armenia.^[31]

In a February 2006 interview with the Committee to Protect Journalists, Dink spoke about his 2005 conviction for denigrating Turkishness in a criminal court:

"This is a political decision because I wrote about the Armenian genocide and they detest that, so they found a way to accuse me of insulting Turks."^[3]

In the same CPJ interview, explained that while he had always been in the sights of Turkish nationalists, the past year had seen an increase in their efforts:

“The prosecutions are not a surprise for me. They want to teach me a lesson because I am Armenian. They try to keep me quiet.”^[3]

His appeal on the ruling that found him guilty was rejected by a Turkish court on May 2006.^[32] Having exhausted internal appeal mechanisms, Dink appealed to the European Court of Human Rights for an overturn of the ruling on January 15th. The appeal is on grounds that Article 301 is against freedom of expression and Dink has been discriminated against because of his Armenian ethnicity. Dink's family has the right to decide whether or not to proceed with the appeal after his death.^[33]

In September 2006, another case was opened against Dink on charges of 'denigrating Turkishness' under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, which Amnesty International considered to be "part of an emerging pattern of harassment against the journalist exercising his right to freedom of expression." ^[34] The charge was brought against him by the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office after he reportedly referred to the 1915 massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide during a July 14 2006 interview with the Reuters news agency:^[34][35]

"Of course I'm saying it's a genocide, because its consequences show it to be true and label it so. We see that people who had lived on this soil for 4000 years were exterminated by these events."^[34]

[edit] Death threats and last days

Dink had a long history of personal threats by Turkish nationalists for his statements on Armenian identity and the Armenian Genocide.^[5][36] He regularly received emails with threats to his physical security and he compared himself to a dove, "equally obsessed by what goes-on on my left and right, front and back. My head is just as mobile and fast".^[37] He complained about the indifference of the Turkish government to this atmosphere of terror: "Do you ministers know the price of making someone as scared as a dove?"

In his last column in Agos of January 10, 2007, Dink complained of the Turkish state propaganda against him which led many Turks to consider him an enemy of Turkey:

"It is obvious that those wishing to alienate me and make me weak and defenseless reached their goal. Right now they have brought about a significant circle of people who are not low in number and who regard me as someone “insulting Turkish identity” due to the dirty and wrong information."^[38]

He also complained of the indifference shown by Turkish authorities to provide him with personal security:

"The diary and memory of my computer is full of messages from citizens of this circle full of rage and threats. (Let me note that I regarded one among them posted from Bursa as a close threat and submitted it to Public Prosecutor’s office in Şişli but got no result.)"^[38]

[edit] Assassination

Despite his complaints, Dink never formally asked for protection from the authorities stating that he didn't want to lead a life being protected all the time. This was also confirmed by his lawyer, Erdal Doğan.^[39][40] A week before the assassination, Dink wrote that he felt "nervous and afraid" because of the intensity of hate mail and threats he had been receiving. In his column in Agos he had written: "I see myself as frightened, the way a dove might be, but I know that the people in this country would never harm a dove."^[41]

Dink was assassinated around 12:00 GMT on 19 January 2007 as he was returning to the offices of Agos after having run some errands at a nearby bank.^[40] According to a Turkish news TV channel, the killer introduced himself as a student of Ankara University, and wanted to meet with Mr. Dink, but his request was rejected. It has been later understood that after rejection, he waited in front of a nearby bank for a while.^[42][43] According to eye witnesses, Dink was shot by a man of 25–30 years of age, who fired three shots at Dink's head from the back at point blank range before fleeing the scene on foot. According to the police, the assassin was a man of 18–19 years of age. Two men had been taken into custody in the first hours of the police investigation, but were later released.^[18] Another witness, the owner of a restaurant near the Agos office, said the assassin looked about 20, wore jeans and a cap and shouted "I shot the infidel" as he left the scene ^[44] and Dink's close friend Orhan Alkaya claimed that the three-shot assassination technique was a signature mark of the Turkish Hezbollah.^[45]

[edit] Capture of the suspected shooter

One day after the assassination, the police announced that the shooter had been identified in video footage collected through both Istanbul MOBESE electronic surveillance network (4000+ cameras throughout the city) and local security cameras. They later released photos to the public while urging every citizen to aid with the investigation. On the same evening, Istanbul Governor Muammer Güler addressed the press to state that special investigation committees were pursuing nearly two dozen leads and the police were analyzing ten thousand phone calls made from the vicinity of the crime scene.

News agencies reported on Saturday, 18:22 GMT that the shooter had been identified as "Ogün Samast", a teenager born in 1990 and registered as residing in Trabzon, the same city where barely one year ago the catholic priest Andrea Santoro was shot dead by a 16-year-old native of the city, in front of the church of Santa Maria of Trabzon, which is a nationalist gathering center.^[43][46] In recent years, Trabzon has become an important recruiting place for the ultra-nationalist movement.^[47] Samast's father identified him from the publicly released photos and alerted the authorities. Six people, including Samast's friend Yasin Hayal, who had been involved in a bombing of a McDonald's restaurant in Trabzon in 2004, were taken into custody and brought to Istanbul.^[48] Later that evening at 19:55 GMT, news of Samast's capture in Samsun was announced.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also confirmed that the alleged assassin Ogün Samast had been captured in Samsun, with the assassination weapon on him.

[edit] Funeral

Dink's funeral service was held on January 23, 2007 in the Surp Asdvadzadzin Patriarchal Church in the Kumkapı neighborhood of Istanbul. The ceremony planned for Dink's funeral upon his assassination turned to a demonstration where a hundred thousand marched.^[49]

During a ceremony in front of the Agos office in Osmanbey, Rakel Dink, Hrant Dink's widow, read a letter she had written, addressed to her murdered husband.^[50] Afterwards the crowd walked for eight kilometers to Yenikapı via Taksim and Aksaray, while from Taksim Square onwards the coffin was taken directly to Kumkapı for a church service. During the march, many in the crowd carried placards reading "We are all Armenian" and "We are all Hrant Dink" in Turkish, Kurdish and Armenian, and also placards stating "301 is the murderer". As the crowd passed in front of the party offices of MHP and BBP, catcalls were heard.^{[citation needed]} All leave for police in Istanbul had been cancelled, and the funeral and march proceeded without incidents.^{[citation needed]}

The service was attended by members of the Turkish government, representatives from the Armenian diaspora as well as religious leaders. Although Turkey has no official diplomatic relations with Armenia, upon the invitation Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Gül, the Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakosian was present at the funeral.^[51][52] Prime Minister Erdoğan was not present at the funeral, because he had to attend the scheduled inauguration of the Mount Bolu Tunnel.^[53]

After the church services, the hearse made a final tour for the thousands of marchers still gathered at Yenikapı, before proceeding to Balıklı Armenian Cemetery in Istanbul's Zeytinburnu neighborhood, where Dink's body was laid to rest. At the cemetry Rev. Krikor Agabaloglu (Pastor of the Armenian Evangelical Church of Gedikpaşa) and Rev. Rene Levonian (Armenian Evangelical World Council's representative) delivered short speeches in Turkish and in Armenian.

[edit] Investigation

The Istanbul Criminology Department stated that from the empty shells, they were able to determine that the assassination weapon used 7.65 millimeter ammunition and had never been used in another crime.^[54]

Ahmet Çokçınar, a prosecutor in the city of Samsun told the Anatolia news agency that Samast has confessed to killing Hrant Dink.^[42] According to this preliminary news, Samast said the killing was a personal act and did not have any organizational agenda.^[55] Samast's uncle Faik Samast has told private NTV television that he didn't think his nephew was capable of acting alone - "He didn't even know his way around Istanbul," "This kid was used."^[56] Samast said that he killed Dink for "insulting Turks", and that he doesn't regret it.^[57] According to media reports, Samast is a high school dropout and a possible drug addict.^[56] Later news reports stated that Samast had had no idea of the significance of his act until watching TV coverage, and that he had ended his written confession with an expression of remorse.^[58][59]

Three people were taken into custody in relation with the murder on the day of the murder.^[60] However, movements tied to the ultra-nationalist movement are currently suspected of carrying out the murder, in particular after the arrest of Yasin Hayal, a militant who passed 11 months in prison for having taken part in the bombing of a McDonald's in Trabzon in 2004, and of Karadeniz Technical University student Erhan Tuncel, close to the Alperen organization, the neo-fascist youth organization associated with the ultra-nationalist and Islamist party Great Union Party (BBP), created by former members of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).^[47][61] Yasin Hayal confessed to telling Samast to kill Dink and supplying the murder weapon, while Erhan Tuncel has been charged as a main instigator of the killing, and allegedly directed both Samast and Hayal.^[61] The BBP has denied any involvement in the assassination.^{[58][59][62][63]} Hrant Dink was qualified as a "traitor" by the Turkish far right, and had received up to 2,600 death threats from ultra-nationalist circles.^[46][64][48] According to rumors reported by Turkish newspapers late January 2007, Erhan Tuncel was actually a police informer for Trabzon Police. The rumors also suggested that he warned Trabzon police office before the murder, but that the warnings were ignored.^{[65][66][67][68]}

In a surprising development, eye witnesses of the killing and people who had watched video footage of the killing captured by CCTV declared that a team composed of four to five people were involved, led by a man of about age 40–45, among which Yasin Hayal, who was claimed to be identifiable as the one actually pulling the trigger.^[69][70] The words of one of the witnesses implied that the police had been trying to hide the existence of one revealing video cassette.^[70] Asked whether he thought the group of people behind the assassination of Dink were a small gang or a bigger organization, Turkish minister of Justice Cemil Çiçek responded by saying, "according to the information and the connections received up to now, it seems that this is an act of organization."^[71]

[edit] Reactions

After the news of his assassination spread, condemnations came instantly from virtually all major political parties, government officials and NGOs in Turkey, as well as from many international observers.^[72]

[edit]  Turkey

[edit] Condemnations

Crowd protesting Dink's assassination in front of the Agos. The picture is from the spontaneous protest of thousands that took place on the very day Dink was assassinated.

Placards held in Dink's funeral reading "We are all Hrant Dink" and "We are all Armenian" in Turkish, Kurdish and Armenian. These placards were later protested by MHP, a major Turkish political party on far-right.^[73]

Placards planted in flower beds after the funeral

• Tens of thousands of people marched in Istanbul from the Agos newspaper's office to the Taksim Square in a spontaneous protest of the assassination.^[74] According to the BBC protesters chanted "We are all Armenian, we are all Hrant Dink."^[21][44][75] People marched in other cities (including Ankara, Antalya, Bursa, İzmir, Tunceli and Trabzon) as well to protest the assassination.^[76][77] They also blamed the Turkish state for the assassination, chanting, "The killer state will be held accountable".^[78]

• All press outlets expressed outrage over the killing.^[79] Some headlines: "The Murderer Is a Traitor" (Hürriyet), "Same Bloody Scenario" (referring to assassination of prominent journalists in the past) (Akşam), "It Was Turkey That Was Shot Dead" (Milliyet), "Nothing could harm Turkey more than this" (Vatan) and "They Killed Our Brother" (BirGün). Some newspapers blamed the media that supported nationalist points of view around Hrant Dink's trial for denigrating Turkishness, up to the point of declaring him a traitor. One of those headlines was "Be Proud Of Your Work" (Radikal)
• Columns in Turkish newspapers included Armenian in transliteration: Ahparik, Ahparik! [Armenian for "brother, brother!"] by Hadi Uluengin in Hürriyet, and Tsidesutyun Paregamis! [Farewell My Friend!] by Can Dundar in Milliyet.
• President Ahmet Necdet Sezer: "I am deeply saddened by the assassination of Hrant Dink in front of the Agos newspaper. I strongly condemn this ugly and shameful act.^[72]
• Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: "The dark hands that killed him will be found and punished."^[72][80]
• Armenian Patriarch of Turkey, Mesrob Mutafyan, declared 15 days of mourning for the Armenian community in Turkey.^[44]
• Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Bülent Arınç,^[72]
• Chief of General Staff Yaşar Büyükanıt condemned the assassination.^[81]
• Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I: "We are deeply saddened by the heinous assassination of Hrant Dink, one of our country's prominent journalists".^[82]
• The Foreign Ministry: "We strongly condemn this act. Perpetrators will be caught in the shortest time (...) We offer condolences to the people of Turkey, its press, and particularly to the Armenian community and Dink's family."^[83]

• Over one hundred thousand people marched in Dink's Funeral to protest his assassination, holding placards that are saying "We are all Armenian" and "We are Hrant Dink" in both Turkish, Kurdish and Armenian.(See funeral above.) Later, these placards were protested by the far-right MHP. The leader of MHP described the placards saying "We are all Armenian" as "a freak show organized by those who do not participate in martyr funerals". On the other hand, a party council member of the main-opposition CHP, a member of Socialist International, said "we became ashamed of being Turkish. I am Turkish and I protest the assassination. Maybe we should have carried the placards saying 'We are all Human' instead of 'We are all Armenians'. The placards that say "assassin 301" are also wrong. As long as we do not want to denigrate Turkishness, we cannot call 301 an assassin."^[73]
• Nobel Prize-winning Turkish novelist, Orhan Pamuk visited Dink's family in Istanbul on January 21. "In a sense, we are all responsible for his death," he said. "However, at the very forefront of this responsibility are those who still defend Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code. Those who campaigned against him, those who portrayed this sibling of ours as an enemy of Turkey, those who painted him as a target, they are the most responsible in this. And then, in the end, we are all responsible."^[84]

[edit] Actions Afterwards

• Hüseyin Yavuzdemir, governor of Trabzon and Reşat Altay, chief of police of Trabzon were removed from duty and a special investigation team was sent from Ankara to Trabzon to investigate the situation in the city.^[85]
• A ferryboat on the Gelibolu–Lapseki line was hijacked by Nihat Acar (36), who protested the slogan "We are all Armenian". The hijacker made the ferryboat return to Gelibolu where passengers were allowed to disembark. The hijacker, who worked at a convenience shop in Gelibolu, surrendered after holding the ferry captain hostage for 2 hours.^[86]
• On the 7th day after Hrant Dink's murder, a dance troupe organized a protest in front of Agos, where they asked passersby to lie in front of Agos in the same position as the murdered journalist, with a newspaper over their bodies.^[87][88] About 50 people took part, despite heavy rain. The organizers said that they were asking people to lie on the sidewalk for 10 minutes and to die symbolically for a rebirth.^[88]
• Agos, whose normal circulation was about 6,000, was printed 30,000, distributed nationally and was getting ready for a re-print in its first publication since the murder of its editor-in-chief. A group of intellectuals and journalists took part in selling Agos on the streets of Istanbul.^[89]
• Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdullah Gül declared in Davos on 28th of January that a change in Article 301 was imminent as it was hindering the reform process in Turkey.^[90]
• On February 1, 2007, the private Turkish television channel TGRT, which was bought by Rupert Murdoch, broadcast video footage of the man accused of shooting Hrant Dink posing proudly behind a Turkish flag, flanked by police officers of both military and security police, allegedly filmed in the police bureau of Samsun where he was taken after his arrest. In the background was a poster bearing the words of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk: "The nation's land is sacred. It cannot be left to fate." The video caused shock and consternation as commentators warned it was another sign of the growing power of Turkish ultra-nationalism, as the nation gears up for parliamentary and presidential elections later this year. Ismet Berkan, editor of the liberal newspaper Radikal, said that the release of the video was like killing Mr Dink a second time. It proved, he claimed, "that the murderer and his associates are not alone, that their supporters ... have penetrated all segments of the state." A police spokesperson said an investigation into the video footage and its leaking was under way.^{[91][92][93][94]} Rumours of the existence of such footage had been circulating for days, but were officially denied.^[93] In an apparent act of retaliation to the broadcasting of the footage, the Turkish General Staff canceled the accreditation of Rupert Murdoch's TGRT, required for attending press events at the staff headquarters.^[95] The general director of TGRT, Murat Akgiray, and the director responsible for the broadcasting, Bahattin Apak, have resigned.^[96]
• On February 4, 2007 100 nationalist Turks of the National Struggle Association demonstrated on İstiklâl Avenue in Istanbul.^[97] The demonstration was seen as a reaction to the people attended the funeral ceremony of Hrant Dink, many of whom carried banners that read "We all are Armenians", "We are all Hrant Dink." The protesters marched with Turkish flags, portraits of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and carried placards reading, "We all are Mustafa Kemal. We all are Turks." Among the demonstrators were children wrapped in Turkish flags, chanting nationalistic slogans.^[97]

[edit]  Armenia and the Armenian diaspora

Demonstrations for Hrant Dink (such as this one that took place in Yerevan) occurred throughout Armenia after the news of his murder.

• Armenian President Robert Kocharian: "The killing of this well-known Armenian journalist in Turkey raises numerous questions and deserves the strongest condemnation. We hope that the Turkish authorities will do everything possible to find and punish the culprit strictly in accordance with the law."^[98]
• Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian: "We are deeply shocked by the news of the assassination of Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, a man who lived his life in the belief that there can be understanding, dialogue and peace amongst peoples. We categorically condemn this act, regardless of the circumstances, and call on the Turkish authorities indeed to do everything to identify those responsible."^[98][99]
• Speaker of Armenia's parliament, Tigran Torosyan: "Following the murder, Turkey should not even dream about joining the European Union."^[98]
• The Armenian Church of America held prayer services in parishes throughout the country.^[100] Armenian Evangelical churches worldwide also held a special service of remembrance.^[17]
• There were demonstrations in cities all throughout Armenia in the aftermath of the assassination (among them Yerevan). During a demonstration in Vanadzor, residents pledged to continue Dink's work.^[101] There were demonstrations in the Armenian diaspora as well.
• Armenian Revolutionary Federation's Political Party in Armenia: "This killing once again proves the atmosphere of intolerance in Turkey even against the protection of state interests."^[102]
• Armenian National Committee of America: "Hrant Dink's murder is tragic proof that the Turkish government - through its campaign of denial, threats and intimidation against the recognition of the Armenian Genocide - continues to fuel the same hatred and intolerance that initially led to this crime against humanity more than 90 years ago," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.^[103]
• Armenian Assembly of America: "The [Armenian] Assembly [... ] remains deeply troubled by Ankara’s refusal to heed international calls to abolish Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, which stifles freedom of speech and criminalizes public discussion of the Armenian Genocide. Hrant Dink himself stood trial several times for his public comments on the genocide and was convicted in October 2006 for “insulting Turkishness” under the much-criticized law. He received a six-month suspended sentence and was set to appear in court again in March 2007 for telling a foreign journalist that the events of 1915 constituted genocide."^[104]

[edit] International

[edit] States

•  European Union: EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn: "I am shocked and saddened by this brutal act of violence," he said in a statement. "Hrant Dink was a respected intellectual who defended his views with conviction and contributed to an open public debate. He was a campaigner for freedom of expression in Turkey," he said.^[72]

Vice President of the Barroso Commission Günther Verheugen said in a statement to reporters during his visit in Bursa, Turkey: "I severely condemn this act. I congratulate the Turkish government for their behaviour in this issue. Because I believe that all these misdeeds intended against Turkey will ultimately fail. It is my sincere belief that Turkey will do whatever is necessary to shed light on the issue."^[105]

•  United States: The United States embassy in Ankara also offered condolences to Dink's family, saying that "we are shocked and deeply troubled to hear that Hrant Dink was killed in an armed attack today in Istanbul."^[106]
•  France: French president, Jacques Chirac sent a letter to Dink's widow which said: "I can't express strongly enough how I condemn this abominable act, which deprives Turkey of one of its most courageous and free voices."^[107]
•  Germany: Germany, as the EU President for 2007, condemned the murder in its official statement. "The Presidency is appalled by this abominable killing and would like to express its deepest sympathy to the victim's family and friends." reads the statement. "The Presidency is convinced that the Turkish authorities will solve this case as quickly as possible and has no doubt that Turkey will steadfastly continue along the path towards fully realizing freedom of expression," the statement says.^[108]
•  Italy: Italian Premier Romano Prodi condemned the killing in Istanbul of Hrant Dink when he met his Turkish counterpart on Monday, January 22nd. "It is a very serious episode on which I hope full light will be shed," Prodi said in an interview with Turkish newspaper Sabah.^[109]

[edit] Human Rights Bodies

• Amnesty International USA: "This horrifying assassination silences one of Turkey's bravest human rights defenders. [...] legitimate debate about ideas must be protected. The Turkish government must redouble its efforts to protect human rights defenders and open its political climate to a range of views. Recent legal reforms have brought many areas of Turkish law in line with international human rights standards, but existing limitations on free speech such as Article 301 must be repealed."^[110]
• Amnesty International (UK): "Amnesty International calls on the Turkish authorities to condemn all forms of intolerance, to uphold the rights of all citizens of the Turkish Republic and to investigate the murder of Hrant Dink thoroughly and impartially, to make the findings of the investigation public - and to bring suspected perpetrators to justice in accordance with international fair trial standards."^[2]
• Human Rights Watch: "We are deeply saddened by Hrant Dink's murder. Dink's killing robs Turkey of an important voice of conscience on the need for Turkey to come to terms with its past," said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director for Human Rights Watch.^[1]
• ARTICLE 19: “The Turkish authorities must also take a very hard look at their own role: their failure to repeal Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, the continuing use of this and other provisions to prosecute writers, journalists and others that dare speak out on taboo topics, and the authorities’ public criticism of these voices: all of these contribute to creating an environment that legitimizes attacks on freedom of expression, including attacks of a most violent and deadly nature,” said Dr. Agnès Callamard, ARTICLE 19’s Executive Director.^[111]

[edit] Journalism Organizations

• Reporters Without Borders: "This murder will distress and disturb all those who defend the freedom of thought and expression in Turkey and elsewhere," the press freedom organization said. "The Turkish government must weigh the extreme gravity of this crime and ensure that a thorough investigation identifies those responsible as quickly as possible."^[112]
• International Federation of Journalists: “This man has been the target of abuse and threats ever since he dared to express an opinion that challenges an established orthodoxy,” said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. “It is scandalous that he appears to have become the victim of a culture of intolerance that remains deeply rooted in parts of society.”^[113]
• International Press Institute: "This is a terrible event for Turkish press freedom. It sends the inevitable signal to all Turkish media that, if you discuss the Armenian massacre in the same terms as Dink, you face not only constant harassment from the authorities, but the possibility of assassination. [...] I think the time has now come for the government to realize that such laws have no place in a modern society. I would also hope that, following Dink’s murder, there is an open discussion about these issues leading to an agreement by all sides to consign such laws to Turkish history," said IPI Director Johann P. Fritz.^[4]
• Committee to Protect Journalists: "Through his journalism Hrant Dink sought to shed light on Turkey’s troubled past and create a better future for Turks and Armenians. This earned him many enemies, but he vowed to continue writing despite receiving many threats," said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. "An assassin has now silenced one of Turkey’s most courageous voices. We are profoundly shocked and saddened by this crime, and send our deepest condolences to Hrant Dink’s family, colleagues, and friends."^[5]
• PEN American Center: "We are horrified," said Larry Siems, Director of Freedom to Write and International Programs at PEN American Center. "Hrant Dink was one of the heroes of the nonviolent movement for freedom of expression in Turkey—a movement in which writers, editors, and publishers have practiced civil disobedience by defying laws that censored or suppressed important truths in that country. Theirs is one of the most significant human rights movements of our time. Hrant Dink’s countrymen can help cement some of the gains he helped win for them by sending a strong, unified message that those responsible must be brought to justice for his murder."^[35]
• International PEN: "The murder [...] of Armenian-Turkish writer and editor Hrant Dink, the courageous and principled advocate for dialogue and understanding between the Armenian minority and the Turks, is an appalling act. Hrant Dink’s fellow writers worldwide express their profound shock at this terrible loss. Dink, whose campaign against the law making it a crime to insult the Turkish State, particularly as it relates to the killings of Armenians in the early years of the last century, has paid the highest price with his own life." Jiri Grusa, International President of International PEN, the world association of writers, called the murder “a symptom of old hatreds that threaten the relationship of all Turkish people to the democratic values shared in Europe and the world.”^[114]

[edit] Awards

• 2005 Ayşenur Zarakolu Award for Freedom of Thought and Expression, awarded by the Turkish Human Rights Association in Turkey^[115]
• 2006 Henri Nannen Prize for Freedom of the Press by Gruner + Jahr, publisher of Stern in Germany
• 2006 Oxfam/Novib PEN Award for Freedom of Expression by Oxfam Novib in Netherlands^[114]
• 2007 Bjørnson Prize by The Norwegian Academy of Literature and Freedom of Expression in Norway

[edit] See also

Wikinews has news related to:

Turkish-Armenian journalist killed in Turkey

• Agos
• Armenians in Turkey
• Armenian Genocide
• Anti-Armenianism
• List of assassinated people from Turkey

[edit] Citations

Portions of this article are drawn from the Turkish Wikipedia, including their article on Dink's assassination: tr:Hrant Dink cinayeti

[edit] References

[edit] Publications and TV appearances by Hrant Dink (by publication/release date)

in Armenian with English subtitles (Hrant Dink appearance):

in English:

[edit] Biographical newspaper/magazine articles and interviews (by publication date)

in English:

in Turkish:

[edit] Newspaper and magazine articles (by publication date)

in English:

in French:

in Turkish:

[edit] Press releases (by release date)

in English:

in Turkish:

[edit] External links

• Agos, Istanbul
• (English) Hrant Dink Foundation - A California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation.
• (English) Extracts from Hrant Dink's last column at BBC.
• (Turkish) Hrant Dink's columns at the BirGün newspaper.
• (Turkish) Hrant Dink interview in the Akşam newspaper.
• (Turkish) (English) Our Hrant - Video Blog
• Turkish-Armenian journalist killed (Wikinews)
• Suspected assassin arrested (Wikinews)
• Dink's brother says Dink feared for his safety after seeing Veli Küçük (Wikinews)
• (Turkish) Hrant Dink's essays from Radikal newspaper.
• (English) Dink’s murder and the new counter guerilla from soL the online newspaper.
• (English) The New York Times News about Hrant Dink