On the third anniversary of the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was fatally shot outside his office by an ultranationalist teenager, his family, friends and rights organizations once again voiced anger that light has still not been shed on the journalist’s murder.
A series of ceremonies were held across Turkey to mark the third anniversary of the death of Dink, who was gunned down on Jan. 19, 2007 in broad daylight in front of the headquarters of the bilingual Armenian weekly Agos, where he was editor-in-chief. ”You know, an operation plan called the Cage plan was revealed. But has everyone heard about it? Did all the papers write about it?“ asked Arat Dink, the son of Hrant Dink, as he was addressing hundreds of supporters who gathered in front of Agos.
A document called the Cage Operation Action Plan, which was exposed last November during a police raid on the office of retired Maj. Levent Bektaþ as part of a probe launched after the discovery of a large arms cache in Ýstanbul’s Poyrazköy district in April, refers to the killing of Dink as an ”operation.“
Lt. Col. Ercan Kireçtepe, whose signature appears on the document and Maj. Bektaþ, a suspect in the investigation into Ergenekon — a clandestine group charged with plotting to overthrow the government — will reportedly testify to the public prosecutor conducting the probe into Dink’s murder as soon as the indictment on the Cage plan is completed.
Lawyers representing the co-plaintiffs in the Dink trial have long alleged that the murder was the doing of Ergenekon. In the latest hearing they also petitioned the 14th High Criminal Court to contact the prosecutors investigating Ergenekon to request a copy of documents that describe the organization’s plots against religious minorities in Turkey.
At the last hearing of the Dink trial, in October of last year, co-plaintiff lawyer Fethiye Çetin stated that Dink’s murder, along with that of an Italian priest in 2006 and the 2007 slaying of three Christians in Malatya, was part of an operation carried out by Ergenekon.
Masterminds of the murder still a mystery The murder of Dink triggered widespread anger and shock in Turkey and caused massive crowds to take to the streets, chanting, ”We are all Armenians, we are all Hrant Dink.“
Hundreds of people gathered in front of Agos yesterday to commemorate Dink and demanded that the circumstances behind his murder be resolved. Carrying banners that denounced the vicious attack against Dink in a number of languages including Turkish, English, Armenian and Kurdish, protestors shouted, ”For Hrant, for justice“ and ”We are all Hrant, we are all Armenians.“ Protestors also placed carnations in front of the building in memory of the slain journalist. Dink’s friends, his family and rights groups once again expressed frustration that although the suspected perpetrator and his immediate accomplices have been arrested and put on trial, those who masterminded the plot to kill him have yet to be identified. Although police arrested the suspected gunman, Ogün Samast, and an associate, Yasin Hayal, a few days after Dink’s murder, those higher-up who may have planned the murder are still a matter of concern for many. A group calling themselves ”Friends of Hrant“ protested in a public statement the fact that although three years have passed, the real instigators of the murder are still free. ”Who is the murderer of Hrant? Let’s answer. A collective official will killed Hrant. ... Remember the Cage operation plan seized in the back corridors of the deep state. Remember that Hrant’s killing was mentioned as an ‘operation’ there. ... We know that our future is under threat unless ‘the state’s hand’ in Dink’s murder is put on trial and police chiefs, gendarmerie commanders and members of the judiciary who aided and abetted the murderers, tampered with evidence and treated murderers as heroes are called to account,“ read the group statement.
State Minister and Turkey’s chief EU negotiator Egemen Bagiþ issued a message yesterday saying the government’s efforts will make a Turkey a country that is no longer a place of unsolved murders. Praising Dink’s struggle for democracy, peace and Turkey’s adherence to EU standards, Bagiþ said: ”Hrant Dink never made politics over his [ethnic] identity. He believed in the idea that all citizens should live together in peace in his country and worked for this idea. As the government, all our efforts are going towards unearthing secret scenarios penned in dark rooms and saving Turkey from being a country of unsolved murders. This is our basic aim in our fight against illegal formations. “
Meanwhile, a panel discussion titled ”Hrant Dink and Being a Democrat in Turkey“ was held at Istanbul Bilgi University yesterday to commemorate Dink. Professors Fuat Keyman and Ahmet Ýnsel, journalist Ali Bayramoglu and Agos daily columnist Rober Koptaþ participated in the event. Insel said being a democrat in Turkey is not easy and that Dink paid a heavy price for it. Yeni Þafak daily columnist Bayramoglu also said Turkey has a lot to learn from Dink.
Today’s Zaman
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