From Grigor Zohrap to Hrant Dink
Yerkir.am
January 26, 2007
`The Armenian who contributes even insignificantly to the process of
Turkey’s democratization will have a great contribution to the solution
of the Armenian nation’s problems,’ Hrant Dink insisted. However, this
opinion is not something new, it was expressed over a century ago.
The Armenian intellectual murdered in Istanbul was called the
1,500,001st victim of the Genocide. Hrant Dink is not the only Armenian
intellectual who was murdered because of his efforts to reform the
Turkish state.
The massacres in Western Armenia had already started when the Armenian
poet Ruben Sevak, who had started a brilliant career of a doctor in
Lausanne, returned to Polis from Europe.
Sevak lived with the most progressive European ideas and knew the most
outstanding European intellectuals. He returned to Turkey nurturing a
weak hope for the salvation of his nation hoping that he might b e able
to civilize the Turks with the progressive ideas that he had brought
from Europe.
The Armenian writer Grigor Zohrap who was also a member of the Turkish
parliament, wrote Turkey’s constitution together with the country’s
political elite trying to bring it as close to the European
constitutions as possible.
He too saw his nation’s salvation and solution of its problems only
through an effort to civilize the Turks. These two examples are not
unique. We can continue the list. They both were killed, so was Hrant
Dink.
The massive response that followed Dink’s murder, massive participation
of Turks in the protest actions and demonstrations still cause some
euphoric reaction among some Armenians.
We need time to digest the Turks’ and Kurds’ shouts saying `We are all
Armenian’. This is a political issue. I am concerned with another thing
` in what a tragic condition the Armenian political, social and
cultural leaders and intellectuals are that they have to deal with
civilizing the enemy, think about its welfare and progress in order to
serve efficiently the interests of his nation.
By Hovhannes YERANIAN