Turkish-Armenian Journalist Shot Dead

Hrant Dink Spoke Out About Mass Killings Of Armenians By Turks A Century Ago

CBS NEWS
ISTANBUL, Turkey, Jan. 19, 2007

(AP) Journalist Hrant Dink, one of the most prominent voices of
Turkey’s shrinking Armenian community, was murdered by a gunman Friday
at the entrance to his newspaper’s offices, police said.

Dink, a 53-year-old Turkish citizen of Armenian descent, had gone on
trial numerous times here for speaking out about the mass killings
of Armenians by Turks at the beginning of the 20th century. He had
received threats from nationalists, who viewed him as a traitor.

Dink was a public figure in Turkey, and as the editor of the bilingual
Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos, one of its most prominent Armenian
voices.

In an earlier interview with The Associated Press, Dink had cried
as he talked about some of his fellow countrymen’s hatred for him,
saying he could not stay in a country where he was unwanted.

His friend Can Dundar, also a journalist, said he wished Drink had
left the country, as he once promised he would.

"Hrant’s body is lying on the ground as if those bullets were fired
at Turkey," Dundar told private NTV television.

Police said they were searching for the suspected murderer, believed to
be a teenager wearing a white hat and a jean jacket, but the identity
and motivation of the shooter were unknown.

Dink’s body could be seen covered with a white sheet in front of the
newspaper’s entrance. NTV said four empty shell casings were found
on the ground and that he was killed by two bullets to the head.

Fehmi Koru, a columnist at the Yeni Safak newspaper, said the murder
was aimed at destabilizing Turkey.

"His loss is the loss of Turkey," Koru said.

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