Agos Editor Hrant Dink Assassinated in Istanbul

Staff Report

Hrant Dink, a prominent Armenian journalist, and editor of the Armenian and Turkish language Agos newspaper, was assassinated on January 19th, in Istanbul.

Born in Malatya, in 1954, he was a fearless defender of the right of free speech.

For his efforts he was prosecuted numerous times in Turkey on the charge of “insulting Turkishness,” according to article 301 of the Turkish penal code. Just last year Dink had traveled throughout California on a speaking tour, promoting dialogue between Armenians and Turks.

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.

In the 2006 genocide documentary film Screamers 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.”

Dink had a long history of personal threats by Turkish nationalists for his statements on Armenian identity and the Armenian Genocide. 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.” 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?”

Tens of thousands protested his death on the streets of Istanbul. The death of Hrant Dink was a tragedy and the Armenians have lost a powerful voice.