Agence France Presse — English
January 31, 2007 Wednesday 3:38 PM GMT
MEPs observe minute’s silence for slain Turkish journalist
The European Parliament observed a minute’s silence on Wednesday in
memory of slain journalist Hrant Dink, a leading member of Turkey’s
tiny Armenian minority.
The 52-year-old was gunned down outside the offices of his bilingual
Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos in central Istanbul on January 19.
"I would like, in the name of the European Parliament to express our
indignation," said the assembly’s president Hans-Gert Poettering
during a plenary session in Brussels.
The fact that thousands attended Dink’s burial "gives us hope that
this sad event will be a catalyst for the Turkish authorities to go
forward with fresh reforms to guarantee freedoms," he added.
The European Union has repeatedly called on candidate nation Turkey
to reform its penal code which limits the freedom of expression.
Dink was hated by nationalists for calling the World War I massacres
of Armenians genocide and urging an open debate into this
controversial period in Turkish history.