The Assassination of Hrant Dink

[Joseph]

The long shadow

Payam Akhavan
National Post


Monday, January 22, 2007


The prominent journalist and voice of Turkey's dwindling Armenian
minority, Hrant Dink, was shot dead on Jan. 19 as he left his office
in Istanbul. Dink was editor of Agos, the sole Armenian newspaper in
Turkey. He had been prosecuted because of his call for recognition of
Ottoman Turkey's 1915 massacre of 1.5 million of its ethnic Armenian
citizens -- a crime against humanity that the Canadian House of
Commons formally acknowledged in April, 2004. His murder starkly
demonstrates how Turkish denial of this abomination, the first
genocide of the 20th century, amounts to continuing violence against
multi-ethnic democracy and pluralism. It is a painful reminder that
without redemption for past injustices, the ghosts of history will
cast a long shadow on Turkey's future.

Mr. Dink was convicted in October, 2005, of the crime of "insulting
Turkishness" under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code. In being
branded as a criminal for calling attention to the 1915 genocide, he
joined the ranks of prominent fellow ethnic Turkish citizens,
including the famous novelist Orhan Pamuk, recipient of the 2006
Nobel Prize in Literature, the renowned intellectual Murat Belge, who
organized a conference on the Armenian genocide in 2005, and the
courageous historian Taner Akcam, author of A Shameful Act which
details Turkish responsibility for the events of 1915. These eminent
Turks would argue that the greatest insult to "Turkishness" is the
continuing denial of this historical tragedy, which brutally ripped
Turkey's multiethnic fibre apart, and that the greatest disgrace is
the appeasement of ethnic chauvinists who seek to destroy its modest
but precious remnants. The truth that Mr. Dink and his fellow
citizens upheld transcends ties of blood and soil. This was
poignantly expressed at the candlelight vigil after his murder, where
hundreds of Turks held signs reading: "We are all Hrant Dink. We are
all Armenians."

The Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Erdogan, condemned Mr. Dink's
murder as a "bullet aimed at free speech." But so long as Article 301
of the Turkish Penal Code criminalizes "insulting Turkishness," these
remain empty words. Limitations on freedom of speech should apply to
hate speech, not to speech against hate. Recognition of past
injustice promotes mutual respect and redeems a shared humanity. But
its denial sows the seeds of hatred, by perpetuating both the
dehumanization of its victims and the moral depravity of its
perpetrators. In a world where Holocaust denial is a crime, state-
sanctioned denial of genocide is all the more reproachable. It is
telling that when the House of Commonsrecognized the Armenian genocide in 2004, Turkey condemned "narrow
minded Canadian politicians" who failed to understand that their
decision "will awaken feelings of hatred among people of different
[ethnic] roots and disturb social harmony." The murder of Mr. Dink
should leave no doubt that social harmony is not achieved through
appeasement of ethnic chauvinists.

Mr. Dink's last op-ed, written on Jan. 10, a few days prior to his
murder, is a testament to his nobility and heroism. He speaks of
death threats against him, but he fears for his family and not for
himself. And despite his ordeal, he speaks of his abiding commitment
to Turkey and its people: "There were moments when I seriously
thought about leaving the country and moving far away. And especially
when the threats started to involve those close to me." But to stay
in Turkey "was necessary because we truly desired it and [had to do
so] out of respect to the thousands of friends in Turkey [who]
struggled for democracy and who supported us. We were going to stay
and we were going to resist." In an allusion to the recurring trauma
of collective destruction and exile, he reveals how strongly he was
clinging to his beloved home: "If we were forced to leave one day,
however ? We were going to set out just as in 1915 ? Like our
ancestors ?Without knowing where we were going ? Walking the roads
they walked through ? Feeling the ordeal, experiencing the pain ?
With such a reproach we were going to leave our homeland. And we
would go where our feet took us, but not our hearts." It is in light
of this vivid memory of 1915 that the magnitude of his murder becomes
apparent, almost as if those unspeakable events have continued
unabated to the present day.

In his last days, Mr. Dink wrote that he felt the "unease of a
pigeon" that must constantly live in fear of being preyed upon. But
in an expression of unfailing hope and trust in his fellow Turkish
citizens, he remained confident that "in this country people do not
touch pigeons. Pigeons live their lives all the way deep into the
city, even amidst the human throngs. Yes, somewhat apprehensive but
just as much free." Yet, it was in the busy streets of Istanbul,
amidst the human throngs, that he was shot to death. At least if this
shocking betrayal awakens the Turkish people to the paramount
necessity of atonement for the past, Mr. Dink's confidence in his
fellow citizens may still be vindicated, and the restless ghosts of
Ottoman times may finally repose in their sepulchers.

- Payam Akhavan is a professor of International Law at McGill
University in Montreal and a former UN war crimes prosecutor at The
Hague.

© National Post 2007

[Setta]

New photos link retired general to Arslan

The New Anatolian / Ankara
23 January 2007

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Photos released yesterday showed a mysterious ex-army member linked in reports to Friday's slaying of Hrant Dink as well as the 1996 Susurluk scandal with the gunman in last year's deadly Council of State shooting.

A news agency released photos showing Veli Kucuk together with Alparslan Arslan, the gunman who killed one judge and wounded four others last May.

Speculations regarding the murder of Dink, an Armenian-origin Turkish journalist, have been growing, raising further questions, while the media has been looking into the killer's possible link with a notorious ex-general, Kucuk. However, photos released by a pro-PKK media organ, the Firat News Agency, formerly the Mesopotamia News Agency, showed Kucuk with some other important figures.

Kucuk's name entered into Dink's murder investigation when the late writer's lawyers told officials that Kucuk had threatened Dink. They also also said that Ogun Samast, who confessed to the murder, was threatened by circles close to Kucuk.

In a photo taken two years ago Kucuk was seen with gunman Arslan at the Azerbaijan Congress held in Stockholm. After the bloody Council of State attack, Kucuk said he didn't knew Arslan. He also said after Dink's murder that he had no connection with the murder or suspect.

In another photo, Kucuk was seen with Muzaffer Tekin, said to be the mastermind of both the Council of State and daily Cumhuriyet attacks, and Association of Lawyers' Union head Kemal Kerincsiz, a high-profile ultranationalist figure known for filing complaints against writers and journalists, including Dink.

Analysts and security experts warned against possible irrelevant conspiracy theories and said such claims about Kucuk should be looked into calm.

Furthermore, the news agency claimed that Kucuk was organizing nationalist circles in Azerbaijan and established a murder network against Armenians. The agency said it based this claim on information obtained in 2001 from Turan A., the nephew of Azerbaijan's then Interior Minister Siyavuz Mustafa . The news also accused Turkey's Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) of illegally training soldiers with Kucuk in Azerbaijan.

Deputy asks for state protection for Kucuk

Meanwhile, Young Party (GP) deputy head and Istanbul Deputy Emin Sirin wrote letters to the premier and Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu asking why the government had not provided state protection to retired Gene. Kucuk.

In his letter, Sirin praised the decision to provide state protection for people who have been on trial under controversial Turkish Penal Code (TCK) Article 301 which is on "insulting Turkishness."

"I heard that the government also provided protection and an armored vehicle to Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeos," he said. "I also believe necessary measures were taken considering possible targets such as Turkish Armenians' Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan and politicians."

Sirin claimed that some media circles are pointing fingers at Kucuk after Dink's murder, asking, "Kucuk, who served his country, was removed from his home, losing his protection as well. Now why doesn't the government provide any protection to Kucuk?"

http://www.thenewanatolian.com/tna-21665.html

[Joseph]

Murdered Armenian Editor in Turkey Received 2600 Death Threats

Assyrian International News Agency
Jan 22 2007

Hrant Dink, The Armenian journalist and editor in chief of newspaper
AGOS, who was murdered last week in Turkey, had received 2600 death
rates by email, the police reported, as well as numerous threats by
telephone and letters.

Two weeks ago the Turkish foreign minister Abdullah Gul urged all
Turkish organizations to counteract all efforts to have the genocide
of Assyrian, Armenians and Greeks recognized.

Hrant Dink was charged for the notorious paragraph 301 ("insulting
Turkish identity") in the Turkish penal code. During the trial Hrant
Dink was stigmatized by the media and was labeld a traitor and enemy
of Turkey.

Hrant Dink ended his last article with the quote below:

"I can feel restless as a dove but I know that in this country people
do not touch and disturb the doves. The doves continue their lives
in the middle of the cities. Yes indeed a bit frightened but at the
same time free."

EasternStar News Agency

[Gavur]

The background to the murder of Turkish journalist Hrant Dink

By Sinan Ikinci
27 January 2007

http://wsws.org/articles/2007/jan2007/turk-j27.shtml

On January 19 Hrant Dink, the well-known Turkish journalist of Armenian origin, was murdered in broad daylight on the streets of Istanbul by a right-wing assassin. Dink’s murder is the tragic result of a wave of nationalism and chauvinism spearheaded by the Turkish military, supported by its “civilian partners,” which has terrorized the country over the last few years.

Dink was assassinated outside the Istanbul offices of Agos, the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly newspaper he edited. He was shot in the head and neck three times, allegedly by 17-year-old Ögün Samast, an unemployed youth from the northeastern town of Trabzon, with links to fascist organizations.

Dink, who died at the age of 51 leaving behind a wife, two daughters and a son, was the most outspoken and courageous opponent of the official Turkish nationalist policy of denying the Armenian genocide, which took place in 1915 towards the end of the Ottoman Empire. At the same time, Dink was an outspoken advocate of mutual respect between Turkey’s majority population and its Armenian minority.






His stance led to him becoming a hated figure among Turkish nationalists both of the “left” and right-wing variety. For their part, Armenian businessmen and the Armenian clerical leadership in Turkey tended to see him as a troublemaker. Dink also clashed with Armenian nationalists, whom he accused of not being really interested in the rights of Armenians, but instead of using the genocide to pursue nationalist identity-politics. He took a principled stand against imperialist maneuvers aimed at aggravating the difficult relationship between Turks and Armenians.

When the French National Assembly organized a reactionary provocation, with the active support of the Stalinist French Communist Party, and made denial of the Armenian genocide a punishable offence, Dink commented, “How can we in future argue against laws that forbid us to talk about a genocide if France, for its part, now does the same thing? That is completely irrational.” He even threatened to go to France and, contrary to his own views, deny the genocide in defiance of the new law.

Dink was prosecuted several times under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, which criminalizes insulting the state, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (the first president of the Turkish republic), the judiciary, the military and “Turkishness.” In 2005 he was sentenced to jail for six months for “insulting Turkishness.” His sentence was subsequently suspended. In September 2006 he faced another court case under Article 301.

Dink answered the charge of “insulting Turkishness” as follows: “In my opinion to denigrate the people with whom one lives on ethnic or religious grounds is pure racism and there is no excuse for that.... If I am not cleared of these indictments I will leave my country because anyone condemned for such a crime does not deserve the right to live with the people he derides.” On the basis of this statement he had to face a further criminal charge of “trying to influence the public.”

Dink was regarded as a traitor undermining the Turkish state by fascists, all sorts of far-right tendencies, as well as all variants of Kemalists (right and “left”) and various other conservative circles. After his first court case Dink received numerous death threats and during the court hearings he was intimidated and attacked by fascists, as well as members of the Maoist-Kemalist Workers Party (Isci Partisi), outside and sometimes even in the courtroom.

All of the major political parties and media in Turkey have contributed to this chauvinist campaign against Hrant Dink, by labeling him an enemy of the Turks and marking him out as a target. The well-known journalist Mehmet Ali Birand wrote, “We are the real murderers of Hrant. We have brought up our murderers in an atmosphere and mentality created by Article 301.”

His death also made clear that despite the fact that he had alerted the Turkish authorities about the threats to his life, his appeals for protection were never taken seriously.

In his last column in Agos, published on January 19, Dink explained that he was being “psychologically tortured” and wrote, “The fascists physically attacked me in the corridors of the courthouse and flung racist curses.... They bombarded me with insults. Hundreds of threats hailed down for months by phone, email and post—increasing all the time.”

He continued, “Those who tried to single me out and weaken me have succeeded. With the false information they oozed into society, they were able to influence a significant section of the population who view Hrant Dink as someone who ‘insults Turkishness.’ ... How real are these threats? To be honest, it is impossible for me to know for sure.”

In fact, the threats were very real and he was assassinated, apparently by a young fascist, before the ink had dried on his article.


Article 301

Hrant Dink has not been the only target of escalating chauvinist violence and oppression. In recent years more than 100 writers, artists, journalists, translators, publishers, etc., have been put on trial for things they have said, written or created. All of these cases concerned comments on the genocide against the Armenians, the Kurdish conflict or the military’s domination of Turkish society.

The prosecution writs for the numerous court cases stem largely from a group of ultra-right-wing lawyers (the so-called Unity of Jurists led by Kemal Kerincsiz) with close ties to Turkey’s fascist “Grey Wolves” movement. There has been little difficulty persuading state prosecutors to accept such cases, under conditions where the Turkish judiciary is dominated by right-wingers, Islamists and ultra-nationalists.

Like Dink, many of those convicted have been systematically harassed and exposed to verbal and physical intimidation by the same circles.

Cases involving well-known intellectuals, such as the winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, Orhan Pamuk, or famed author and journalist Elif Safak, have received some coverage by the mainstream bourgeois media, but many more lesser-known cases go unnoticed.

Article 301 was introduced on June 1, 2005, and replaced Article 159 of the old penal code, with an amnesty introduced for past offences. The new paragraph was allegedly aimed at ensuring increased freedom of opinion and was part of reforms adopted by the Turkish state as a condition for the country’s future admission into the European Union. In fact, it soon became clear that previous repressive practices were merely being continued under the new statute.

The European Union (EU) has voiced some criticism of Article 301, but mainly in high-profile cases. In addition, conservative European media outlets and politicians are using the issue of human rights violations to mobilize resentment against Turkey and its attempt to join the EU. The US government has remained silent about the Article 301 trials.

The moderate Islamist AKP (Justice and Development Party) government has taken a hesitant stand, saying it may consider amending the article if the latter’s implementation makes such a measure necessary. However, the government has refrained from taking any concrete steps due to the serious danger of an offensive by the military and its “civilian” supporters, who are seeking excuses to challenge the government on the grounds that the AKP is undermining national unity.

Last year Justice Minister Cemil Cicek expressed the AKP’s concerns by saying, “If Article 301 is lifted, then we will be faced with a regime debate. There are proposals to take out ‘Turkishness’ from the law. But wouldn’t some people then ask us if we are ashamed of being Turks?”

Deniz Baykal, leader of the secular “leftist” Republican People’s Party (CHP), the biggest opposition faction in Turkish parliament, acting as a mouthpiece for the military against the AKP government, has played a despicable role and openly opposed changes to Article 301: “We are almost asked to apologize because we are Turks. We won’t apologize, we are proud of this.” Currently CHP leaders are trying to prove that there is no link between Dink’s assassination and Article 301.

The conservative Motherland Party (ANAVATAN), True Path Party (DYP) and, needless to say, the fascist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) are against any revisions of Article 301. Just a few months ago ANAVATAN Erzurum deputy Ibrahim Ozdogan cynically claimed that insulting “Turkishness” had become the route to success for some people. He claimed it was the reason why the novelists Pamuk and Safak and journalist Dink had won recognition. He claimed that Dink was given an award in Denmark solely for this reason: “Whenever someone insults Turkishness, the whole world lines up to give them awards.”

The columnist Dogu Ergil wrote: “The straw that broke the camel’s back was an editorial published in Agos on Feb. 6, 2004. According to the editorial, the famed adopted (or god-) daughter of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and hero of Turkey, Sabiha Gokcen, was originally an Armenian. Indeed Hrant had found and interviewed the relatives of the late Gokcen now living in Armenia. According to the information obtained, she was taken from an Armenian orphanage and raised by Atatürk to be an accomplished military bomber pilot. She was a national icon and symbol of modern Turkish women, besides being the daughter of Atatürk.”

The news rocked official Turkey. The most virulent protest came from the military. The press release from the office of the Chief of General Staff stated: “Whatever the reason, opening up such a symbol to public debate is a crime against national unity and social peace.”

Obviously the Agos editorial intended to show that Armenians could be the best and most loyal defenders of the Turkish state. But according to the Turkish military high command, even suggesting that a national icon might have been of Armenian descent was an insult of criminal proportions, bordering on treason.

It cannot be excluded that sections of the military are directly involved in Dink’s death. His lawyer Erdal Dogan claimed that the journalist had received death threats from retired brigadier general Veli Kücük. Kücük was one of the main figures in the “Susurluk affair” of 1996, which brought to light the close links between security forces, mafia gangs and fascist death squads. His name was mentioned more recently in connection with the murder of the leading judge at the administrative court last year. It was learned that Kücük had known the perpetrator, the lawyer Alparslan Aslan, who had links to the same milieu of mafia and fascist groups in Trabzon as Dink’s alleged murderer, Ögün Samast.


Wave of repression

During the ongoing wave of chauvinism, more than 20 murders or attempted murders of leftists and Kurdish nationalists have taken place in different parts of Turkey over the past two years. Every time the perpetrators have gone unpunished due to the lenience of governors, police chiefs and other local administrators. For example, on November 2, 2005, members of the left-wing Association for Inmates’ Families’ Solidarity (TAYAD) were stoned in Rize.

The response of local governor Enver Salihoglu was to excuse the perpetrators. “The citizens were provoked,” he declared. Parliamentary deputy Abdulkadir Kart said the citizens of the region had been taught the necessary lesson. Mayor Halil Bakirci stated, “TAYAD members tried to unfurl banners. If I had known that it was them, I would have gone there and hit them myself.”

In April 2005 the journalist Birand expressed his concerns in the face of the increasing rate of persecution and assassination attempts: “Incidents under the guise of nationalism are occurring right before your eyes, with lynch mobs prowling the streets, but officials are wasting time by saying things like ‘Please don’t interfere. Let it cool down, people are very angry.’ It appears the brute force being used to try and silence all other opinions is being protected.”

He expressed his disillusion with the political establishment, “As the government continues to be silent, the opposition doesn’t say a thing. It was natural for us to expect the Republican People’s Party (CHP) to come out and defend freedom of expression.”


Official response

After the murder of Dink, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a press conference and declared, “The bullets fired at Dink were indeed fired at Turkey.” His comment merely echoed the general hypocritical response of the major bourgeois parties to the assassination of Hrant Dink. In fact the bullets fired at Dink were aimed at a Turkish journalist of Armenian origin explicitly challenging Ankara’s official view about the Armenian genocide.

Reading between the lines, the real meaning of Erdogan’s statement can be summarized as follows: ‘This murder puts us in a very difficult situation. Our policy was to make life miserable for Dink and all others like him, in order to intimidate the whole population. His death, however, is a stupid move, which doesn’t serve our interests.’

The wave of nationalism and chauvinism in Turkey is the response by specific establishment political circles, in particular, to the implications of the Iraq war. As a result of the disastrous US-led war and occupation of the country, Iraq is on the verge of breaking apart and the Turkish elite is extremely worried about the possible consequences of such a development. Increasing independence for the Kurdish region in northern Iraq, combined with revenues from oil reserves flowing into Kurdish hands, have intensified fears in nationalist quarters of a resurgence of Kurdish nationalism inside Turkey itself.

The hysterical reaction by the establishment to any questioning of Turkish nationalism, including the official myth surrounding the “events” of 1915, which claims that a violent and treacherous separatist uprising by Armenians had to be put down, stems from the fact that under capitalism the unity of the Turkish state is incompatible with basic democratic rights.

The assessment made by National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Undersecretary Emre Taner on the 80th anniversary of the organization underscores these concerns. In his statement Taner maintained, “In this period we will see the process by which many nations lose the marathon of history.” He continued: “All values, structures, relations, systems and social order, be it socioeconomic or political, religious or moral, are being reshaped and redefined. This process is representative of the period in which new key players, secondary players and the rules of the international system are being redefined and even reborn.” Taner then urged the government to take a much more aggressive stand.

The fact that Yasar Büyükanit, the man who was implicated in the “Semdinli affair” just two years ago (in which army forces committed terrorist attacks in southeast Turkey that were then blamed on the PKK—Kurdish Workers Party), is now the chief of general staff, shows that an influential faction of the state apparatus is prepared to take such an aggressive stand. Erdogan, who came to power advocating a political liberalization in line with EU reforms to break the power of the old Kemalist elites, has adapted increasingly to this right-wing faction. Now growing hostility to Turkish membership within the EU itself has also served to strengthen the hand of the Turkish nationalists.

[Hovik]

European Armenian Federation On Hrant Dink's Funeral

EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION
for Justice and Democracy
Avenue de la Renaissance 10
B-1000 Bruxelles
Tel: +322 732 70 26
Tel/Fax: +322 732 70 27
Email: [email protected]

PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
January 25, 2007
Contact: Vartenie ECHO
Tel: +322 732 70 26


DECLARATION OF THE EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION ON THE OCCASSION OF
HRANT DINK'S FUNERAL

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - 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.

[1.5 million]

Euro Human Rights Court to review Dink's Article 301 conviction

ANKARA, JANUARY 25, NOYAN TAPAN - ARMENIANS TODAY. The European Court of Human Rights on January 25 stated that it accepted the lawsuit of Hrant Dink, assassined editor-in-chief of the weekly newspaper "Akos" (Istanbul).

After being accused of "insulting Turkish identity" by Article 301 of Turkey's Criminal Code and getting a six-month suspended sentence, Dink applied to the European Court of Human Rights with a request to reconsider the court's decision.

According to the Jihan news agency (Turkey), the European Court of Human Rights stated that Dink's lawsuit is related to violation of 4 articles of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms: "Article 6 of the Convention says that each accused person has the right of fair trial, Article 7 stipulates that there may be no punishment without law, Article 10 says that everyone has the right of speech freedom, and according to Article 14, manifestation of discrimination is forbidden in any sphere," the European Court's statement says.

Due to the death of the person who filed the suit, the European Court of Human Rights will ask the family of Hrant Dink to decide the issue of continuing the suit. The fate of the lawsuit depends on the family's decision.

[1.5 million]

It was only a matter of time...

TURKISH JOURNALIST ADDRESSES TO PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE DEMANDING TO PUNISH THOSE USED THE SLOGAN "WE ARE ALL ARMENIANS"

ISTANBUL, JANUARY 29, NOYAN TAPAN - ARMENIANS TODAY. Mete Cagdas, an article author of the "Haber 57" newspaper being published in Sinop
addressed to the city Prosecutor's Office, stating that the slogan "We
are all Armenians, we are all Hrant Dink" is against Article 301 of the
Criminal Code and demanded that the authors and users of that slogan
are punished. "Hurriyet" wrote as if the grandfather of the journalist
presented the protest was killed by Armenians. And he now condemns his
colleague Hrant Dink's murder but at the same time insists that the
slogan contradicts the law. As Marmara states Turkish Minister of
Industry and Trade Ali Coskun relates to the slogan "We are all
Armenians" with preservation. "By having respect towards everybody, I
pray the God that I am a Muslim and am happy that I am Turkish, he
said, adding that others must display the same respect towards him.
According to Radikal, Ankara Trade Chamber Chairman Sinan Aygun said:
"We, Turks, have lived in this geographic territory 1000 years. We are
not Hrant. My name is Sinan Aygun." And Minister of State Mehmet Ali
Sahin mentioned that those using the slogan "We are all Armenians, we
are all Hrant" want to say that the crime committed against Hrant Dink
is against all of us.

[1.5 million]

Why am I not surprised...

PanARMENIAN.Net/ During the investigation in Trabzon it cleared up one of suspects of ‘Agos’ Armenian-Turkish editor-in-chief Hrant Dink’s assassination Erhan Tuncel warned about the preparing crime the Trabzon Security Services in advance. According to some reports, beginning from 2004, when the McDonalds’s café was blown, Tuncel was intelligencer for police. In regard with the blast in the McDonalds’s café Erhan Tuncel alongside with Yasin Hayal and other suspects occurred on the dock. But Trabzon Security Service Chief Ramazan Akurek offered Tuncel to release him if he agreed to give information on the terror act. After it Erhan Tuncel visited Trabzon Security Office often. His last tip contained information on preparing murder of Hrant Dink. But Tuncel could not give proofs for the possible attack on the journalist. For this reason the workers of Security Service did not pay attention to that tip, “Milliet” reports.

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=20891

[1.5 million]

Lets see how far this goes...

PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Caucus Member Rep. Joseph Crowley has introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives condemning the assassination of Armenian-Turkish bilingual ‘Agos’ weekly editor-in-chief Hrant Dink. In his words, it is of utmost importance that the U.S. Congress adopts this resolution condemning the brutal killing of Hrant Dink and sends a message that Turkey must protect the rights of all religious and ethnic minorities indiscriminately. "It is past time for Turkey to abolish Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code which precipitated this heinous crime,” said Representative Crowley. The resolution calls on the House to strongly condemn the tragic murder of Hrant Dink, as well as urge Turkey to continue its investigation and prosecution of those individuals responsible for his death. Furthermore, the legislation encourages Turkey to take appropriate action to protect freedom of speech by repealing Article 301, which criminalizes public discussion on the Armenian Genocide.

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=20887

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PanARMENIAN.Net/ Hrant Dink’s assassination once more confirmed Armenian Genocide issue is not excluded from agenda, stated Armenian Ambassador to Great Britain Vahe Gabrielyan during an interview to English edition of "Al Jazeera" TV company. In his words, the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire is not subject to discussions and doubts and was proved by many documentary materials, including by evidences of Turkish historians.

“Instead of discussing if it happened or not, it is necessary to discuss the problem of recognizing the Armenian Genocide and improving the Armenian-Turkish relations. After all, the Turkish special tribunal in 1919-1920ies sentenced some of the organizers of the Genocide to death penalty or other punishments, but today this fact is being forgotten,” Gabrielyan said.

Alongside he underlined Armenia is not EU member and cannot put forward preconditions for recognizing the Armenian Genocide in front of Turkey to enter the European Union. “But the Copenhagen standards demand from the EU member states to establish good neighboring relations with all neighbors, solution of existing problems, improvement of the situation with national minorities. All this supposes recognition of the Armenian Genocide. A number of EU states have already raised this question and Armenia hopes on EU’s principled stance over this issue,” underscored the Armenian diplomat, the RA MFA Press Office reports.

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=20896