Author: Torosian Aram

European Parliament respects Dink’s memory with a minute of silence

ArmRadio.am
01.02.2007 12:53

At its plenary sitting the European Parliament respected the memory of
the editor-in-chief of the Agos daily Hrant Dink with a minute of
silence.

According to `Franspress,’ Parliament Speaker Hans-Gert Pottering said
that only the fact that thousands of people attended Hrant Dink’s
funeral ` inspires hope that this sad event will become an
accelerative force for Turkish authorities towards reforms and freedom
guarantees.’

The European Commission that has recognized the Armenian Genocide has
been repeatedly calling on Turkey to reconsider Article 301 of the
Penal Code, which restricts freedom of speech.

STRONG WAVE OF CHAUVINISM MAY RISE IN TURKEY POSING DANGER TO
ARMENIANS LIVING THERE

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, NOYAN TAPAN. Strong wave of chauvinism may rise
in Turkey posing danger to Armenians living there. Ruben Safrastian,
Director of Oriental Studies Institute of RA National Academy of
Sciences, expressed such an apprehension at the February 1 press
conference. In his words, anti-Armenian hysteria becomes stronger in
the past one-two years in Turkey. There is even an organization –
Union of Lawyers of Turkey, which made speeches against Armenians the
main goal of its activity.

In R.Safrastian’s opinion, as a sovereign state Armenia should
undertake some steps using the Treaty of Lausanne signed in 1923, by
which Turkey assumed commitment to protect the rights of religious
minorities living in its territory.

The murder of editor-in-chief of Agos newspaper of Istanbul, Hrant
Dink was committed by an organization, which makes part of movement of
Idealists acting in the recent 30-40 years in Turkey. This
organization has one more name, Grey Wolves. In R.Safrastian’s words,
this movement is the most mysterious and large-scale movement of
Turkey. It mainly consists of young people who have passed a special
training, have been educated by the extremist chauvinistic spirit of
Panturkism. At the same time, they pass training for taking part in
military operations.

R.Safrastian said that Turkey has one more phenomenon, "deep state."
Former Turkish leaders, as well as the current Prime Minister publicly
declared and admitted this. This is a group of people, 100 persons,
who hold important posts in various spheres and "support the state
created by Ataturk preventing any phenomenon threatening this state."
In R.Safrastian’s words, there are some data that the order of
H.Dink’s murder was given by this "state."

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Jan 26 2007

PACE WELCOMES SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF ARMENIAN CONSTITUTION
REFORMATION

YEREVAN, January 26. /ARKA/. Parliamentary Assembly of Council of
Europe welcomes successful completion of Armenian Constitution
reformation though pointing out some faults, PACE says in its
resolution on fulfillment of commitments assumed by Armenia toward
Council of Europe.
"Constitutional referendum conducted in Armenia on November 27, 2005,
made it possible to reform the Constitution. The Assembly welcomes
successful completion of the reformation implemented with
considerable support from the Council of Europe, especially from
Venice Commission", the resolution says.
T the same time, the document pointed out some illegalities committed
with impunity during the referendum overshadowed it and called
official results into question.
"The Constitution reformation and related laws amendment paved the
way for fulfilling many commitments assumed by Armenia upon joining
Council of Europe, which now have their fulfillment terms expired.
More than that – the reformation enabled Armenia to reach progress in
complying with charter demands in democracy and human rights areas",
the document says.
The resolution was passed Tuesday in Strasbourg. M.V.-0–

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Jan 29 2007

AZERBAIJAN SECTION OPENED IN ROYAL DUTCH LIBRARY
[January 29, 2007, 21:40:52]

Presentation of the valuable books about Azerbaijan organized by
Azerbaijan Embassy to Belgium and Azerbaijan-Turkish-Dutch Cultural
Society took place at Royal Dutch Library, the Embassy said.

The first Secretary of the Embassy Fuad Humbatov, Chairman of
Azerbaijan-Turkish-Dutch Cultural Society Ilhan Ashki updated the
library director John Noordam on Azerbaijan success in political and
economic area, integration to the Europe, as well as occupation of
Azerbaijan territories by Armenians.

Mr. Humbatov handed over the book released by Heydar Aliyev
Foundation on life and activity of the nationwide leader to the
library director, also including the books of the late Austrian
historian, great friend of Turkic world Erich Feigle, published in
three languages, of the French lawyer George de Malawi ‘Armenian
tragedy’, as well as books on Azerbaijan culture and art.

The Embassy of Azerbaijan to Belgium established bilateral relations
with the leading libraries of Benelux and done important work to
disseminate the books of Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

CoE: Kosovo, Karabakh, Cyprus and Transdnistria independence should be decided by UN

PanARMENIAN.Net
24.01.2007 18:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis
considers that the UN should decide whether to grant independence to
Kosovo, Nagorno Karabakh, Cyprus, Transdnistria and other territories.

"Only the UN can grant independence. The CoE is not empowered to make
decisions on Kosovo’s independence," Terry Davis said. Meanwhile,
Lord Russel-Johnston, who submitted a report on Kosovo to the CoE
today, said that Kosovo should be granted independence under a number
of conditions. "Return of Kosovo under the aegis of Belgrade will
only deteriorate the problem, since the sides have been contacting
with the assistance of mediators for a long time already," he said,
reports RFE/RL.

The Universe, UK –
Jan 24 2007

Shooting risks Turkish faith relations progress
Posted on January 24, 2007

The murder of a journalist in Turkey for allegedly insulting
‘Turkishness’ could undo some of the benefits the country received
following the visit of the Pope, according to Turkey’s apostolic
nuncio.
Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, 52, who was a figurehead of the
Armenian community, was shot dead in Istanbul on Friday as he left
work.
The Pope’s visit to Turkey in November has been credited with
bettering interfaith relations between Christians and the Muslim
majority, but it is feared a backlash fom the Armenian community
could threaten this.
The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano reported that Dink had
been accused last year of insulting Turkish identity, in breach of a
controversial law that the European Union has asked the government to
change.
"It is a low blow for all Turkey," Nuncio Archbishop Antonio
Lucibello said.
"Not just one body has been hit, but the entire fabric of Turkish
society, at a point of time when it is consolidating democracy and
searching for a common course for the various components that make up
the country.
"During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity we cannot but unite
ourselves to the sorrow of our brothers, showing them our solidarity
and closeness.
"We hope in the depth of our hearts that this will not alter the
peaceful climate that was created by the Pope’s visit, between the
faithful and the leaders of the different religions and Christian
confessions present on Turkish soil."

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister to consult with OSCE co-chairs in Moscow

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Jan 22 2007

[ 22 Jan. 2007 12:03 ]

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov will consult with OSCE
Minsk Group co-chairs mediating in settlement of Nagorno Karabakh
conflict, Foreign Ministry Press and Information Policy Department
chief Tahir Tagizadeh told the APA.

The minister will hold negotiations with his Armenian counterpart
Vardan Oskanyan within "Prague process". As a result of the talks
the co-chairs will be able to visit the region.

Elmar Mammadyarov arrived in Moscow after finishing his official
visit to Kuwait. /APA/

Protest Action against Dink Murder to Take Place in Hague January 23

PanARMENIAN.Net
22.01.2007 13:33 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ As a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter came to know from the
Federation of Armenian Organizations of the Netherlands, a rally in
protest of the assassination of prominent Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink, the editor of Agos Turkish-Armenian newspaper, will take place
in Hague on 23 January 2007, from 12 a.m. till 3 p.m. According
to Spokesperson of Abovyan cultural center Inge Drost, the action
participants will submit a protest declaration to the Dutch Parliament
and to the Turkish Embassy.

Agence France Presse — English
January 19, 2007 Friday

Journalist murder revives memories of Turkey’s political killings

Burak Akinci

ANKARA, Jan 19 2007

The murder Friday of prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink
is only the latest in a long line of political killings Turkey has
had to suffer over the past three decades, observers said.

Although police gave no motive for the shooting in Istanbul, leaders
from all parties joined the media in immediately labelling it a
"political assassination."

"This is the worst thing that has happened to Turkey in recent
years," commented Erkan Mumcu, chairman of the conservative
opposition Motherland Party.

He said in a television interview that it would serve as fodder for
opponents of Ankara’s bid to join the European Union, already
critical of Turkey’s human rights record despite a marked improvement
in recent years.

"Nothing can justify such an act," commented Onur Ã-ymen of the
centre-left Republican People’s Party, the main opposition, calling
for "an end to political assassinations" in this country.

"This is extremely serious," said Mehmet Dulger, chairman of the
parliament’s foreign affairs committee. "Political killings should be
a thing of the past — we should forget about this sort of thing."

"This tragedy will have very harmful effects on Turkey," said
journalist Cengiz Candar, saying the murder was "obviously
pre-meditated and well-planned."

Another journalist, Derya Sazak, called for a mass mobilization to
protest against what he called "no doubt … a political
assassination, which must not remain unsolved."

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed swift action and promised
the perpetrators would quickly be brought to justice, but most of
Dink’s friends remained skeptical, his lawyer Erdal Dogan saying: "I
strongly doubt the killer will ever be found."

Turkey has been plagued since the 1970s by a series of murders of
prominent politicians, journalists and academics, often under similar
circumstances; in most cases, their killers were never found.

One exception was the popular liberal newspaper editor Abdi Ipekci,
gunned down near his Istanbul home in 1979 by Mehmet Ali Agca, an
ultra-right wing hit-man who gained international prominence when he
tried to kill the late pope John Paul II in 1981.

Ugur Mumcu, a popular author, investigative reporter and staunch
defender of Turkey’s secular system, died in 1993 when a bomb placed
in his car exploded as he turned the ignition in front of his
residential Ankara home.

Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets of the capital for
his funeral, and the turnout was matched in 1999 for Ahmet Taner
Kislali.

The former culture minister, academic, newspaper columnist and
fervent secularist died when a booby-trapped package left on the
bonnet of his car exploded as he tried to brush it off outside his
suburban Ankara home.

Professor Bahriye �çok, a secularist and one of very few women to
become a theology professor in Turkey, was killed by a package bomb
delivered to her home in 1990.

Another prominent secularist academic, law professor Muammer Aksoy,
had been gunned down in front of his house in Ankara just eight
months earlier.

The 1970s too were rife in killings of right- and left-wing
personalities as militants of rival political camps dragged Turkey
into near civil war; the main reason the army cited to justify its
September 1980 coup, just nine years after Turkey’s previous military
putsch.

The latest headline-grabbing political killing occurred only last
year, when an Islamist lawyer sprayed gunfire at a meeting of
magistrates at the Council of State, Turkey’s top administrative
court, killing one judge and wounding several others.

The gunman, who said he was protesting against a court ruling to
maintain a ban on women wearing Islamic headscarves in government
offices, was immediately arrested. His trial continues.

Gulf News, United Arab Emirates
Jan 20 2007

Turkish-Armenian journalist shot dead near office
AP

Istanbul: Journalist Hrant Dink, one of the most prominent voices of
Turkey’s shrinking Armenian community, was killed by a gunman
yesterday 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 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 the editor of the bilingual
Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a press conference after the
killing, vowed to catch those responsible and called the slaying an
attack on Turkey’s unity.

Erdogan said he had appointed top officials from the Justice Ministry
to investigate the killing, and that two suspects had been arrested
in Istanbul.

In an interview with the Associated Press in October 2005, Dink 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.

"I don’t think I could live with an identity of having insulted [the
Turks] in this country … if I am unable to come up with a positive
result, it will be honourable for me to leave this country," Dink had
said as he contemplated his trial.

"Hrant’s body is lying on the ground as if those bullets were fired
at Turkey," Dink’s friend Can Dundar told private NTV television. 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 killing
was aimed at destabilising Turkey.

A colleague at Dink’s newspaper, Aydin Engin, said Dink had
attributed the threats to elements in the "deep state", a Turkish
term used for alleged shadowy, fiercely nationalist and powerful
elements embedded in the government and security establishment.