10 years without Hrant Dink (photos)
January 19 marks the 10th anniversary since the assassination of Hrant Dink, the founding editor-in-chief of the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos.
Tens of thousands in Istanbul will head to the editorial office today to commemorate the slain journalist and intellectual who is firmly believed to have fallen victim to his outspoken criticism of the Turkish authorities, their discriminatory policies towards ethnic minorities and denial of the Armenian Genocide.
“There are Turks who don't admit that their ancestors committed genocide. If you look at it though, they seem to be nice people… So why don't they admit it? Because they think that genocide is a bad thing which they would never want to commit, and because they can't believe their ancestors would do such a thing either,” he said.
Dink was gunned down in broad daylight outside his office on January 19, 2007.
“10 Years without Dink” is the slogan of this year’s commemoration events.
Ten years ago this day, people headed to the site “to eternalize Dink” (as his wife, Rachel, would say). And they did it. But he was alone before – both in his article “Lyrical Solitude” and the in front of Turkish nationalists in court - where only two or three friends would attend the hearings to offer their support to Dink. But Hrant’s bright presence later filled the hearts of millions of people who re-found and reshaped, and reproduced themselves and their own lives and relationships, as well as their own past.
“I had Armenian roots before Hrant[’s assassination]; now I am an Armenian,” says Selin, a character depicted in Turkish writer Leila Niazi’s novel “Talking to Each Other”.
Hrant, a son of Armenians from Sebastia (currently Sivas), was born on September 15, 1954 in the Western Armenian province of Malatia. In 1960, the six-year old boy migrated to Istanbul with two younger brothers; without a home to live, the three spent one cold winter day outside the Armenian Patriarchate then.
Adopted later by Patriach Shorhk Galstyan, Hrant received his primary and secondary education in local Armenian schools.
Hrant was later admitted to Istanbul University, where he studied zoology and became a sympathizer of TİKKO, the armed faction of the Maoist TKP-ML. Around this time, in 1972, he legally changed his name (to Firat Dink), along with two Armenian friends, Armanek and Istepan, to disassociate their factional activities from the Armenian community. His friend Armanek Bakircıyan, who changed his name to Orhan Bakir, later rose in TIKKO to membership of the central committee, took part in armed struggle in Eastern Turkey and was killed during fighting in 1978. Having fallen in love, Hrant Dink parted ways with his friends and remained at the sympathizer level, completing his bachelor's degree in Zoology and enrolling in the Philosophy Department for a second bachelor's degree, which he did not complete.
Dink met his future wife, Rakel Yagbasan, when she came to the Tuzla Armenian Children's Camp at age nine in 1968. Born in 1959 in Silopi, Cizre, Rakel was one of 13 children of Siyament Yagbasan, head of the Varto clan and Delal Yagbasan who died when Rakel was a child.
Dink founded Agos, the first Turkish language Armenian publication, in 1996. He had a strong belief that they needed a dialogue with the Turkish society in their own language “to share the history of the Armenian Genocide”.
As Dink repeatedly stated, he never struggled for Genocide recognition. Instead, he was focused on the elimination of its consequences. “Apart from those who are killed or being killed, let us also talk a little bit about those who are alive,” he said.
Videos
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Armenians Commemorating 106th Anniversary of Genocide
Biden Under Pressure to Recognize Armenian Genocide - KTLA 5 News
Governance and Oversight Capacities Account for Our Bank's Robust Management System - Philip Lynch, Independent Board Member at Ameriabank
'Mr. President, It Is Now in Your Power to Right Decades of Denial' - US Congressman Adam Schiff Urges Joe Biden to Recognize Armenian Genocide
Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh in Despair After Trauma of Military Defeat - France 24
Interview with Kakhaber Kiknavelidze, an Independent Member of Ameriabank Board of Directors
Only Terrorists Keep Hostages, Putting Forward Preconditions for Their Release - Edmon Marukyan
Rep Adam Schiff Says Congress Should Recognize Artsakh
UN's Guterres Issues Global Appeal to Make 2021 'Year of Healing'
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Azerbaijan Uses Prohibited Phosphorus Chemical Munitions - Defense Army Video
Artsakh Defense Army Units Neutralizing Azerbaijani Arms Supplies
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Nagorno-Karabakh's Status Has Been At the Heart of Our Approach - Zohrab Mnatsakanyan
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President Armen Sarkissian Meets Emmanuel Macron at Élysée Palace
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Artsakh Defense Army Units Destroying Azerbaijani Tank
Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: Ceasefire Does not Mandate Azerbaijan to Kill Civilians and Hit Civilian Settlements
Armenians Protest Outside Turkrish Embassy in Los Angeles
Losses in Azerbaijan's Military Featured in Defense Army Footage
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There is a solid evidence that Azerbaijan has launched a thoroughly planned attack on the NKR
EU calls for Immediate End to Hostilities over Nagorno-Karabakh
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