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Turkey far from democracy and freedom of speech

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  • Turkey far from democracy and freedom of speech

    Turkey far from democracy and freedom of speech

    ArmRadio.am
    20.01.2007 16:05

    Hrant Dink's assassination will further strain the internal political
    situation in Turkey, Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of
    the Armenian National Academy of Sciences Ruben Safrastyan said in a
    press conference today.

    According to him, in May 2007 presidential elections are due in
    Turkey, and the main struggle launches between the President in office
    Ahmet Nejdet Sezer, representative of the so-called Kemalist of
    European course, and adherents of the Islamist position headed by
    Prime Minister Rejeb Tayyip Erdogan.

    The two opposing camps aspire to attract the army, and the one who
    manages this will come out victor. However, one should not forget
    about the factor of the `state inside state' factor permanently
    existing in Turkey, that is to say about the group of senior officials
    who prefer to stay in the shadow, who resolve important state
    questions and accomplish this with the help of radical groups like the
    `Grey wolves' terrorist organization. It's quite possible that they
    could have ordered ad perpetrated the murder of Hrant Dink in order
    `to show everyone that real Turkey is not the central districts of
    Istanbul but the rest of areas with pro-Islamic position,' Safrastyan
    considers.

    He noted also that the accident will further delay the opening of the
    Armenian-Turkish border, which seemed extremely unrealistic and far
    even before. Hrant Dink was a dreamer, who sincerely believed that it
    is possible and necessary to change Turkey from inside staying in the
    country. However, his death showed how far Turkey is from democracy
    and freedom of speech, noted Ruben Safrastyan.

    Director of the Caucasus Institute of Mass Media Alexander Iskandaryan
    also declared that Istanbul should be differentiated from the rest of
    Turkey. `The population of central parts of Istanbul, which is
    aspiring to Europe and which organized an act of protest connected
    with Dink's death, is one thing, but if you go 20 km away from
    Istanbul you will find yourself in quite a different pro-Islamic
    Turkey, the population of which cannot comprehend why it should
    organize an act of protest for the murder of some Armenia,' noted
    Iskandaryan.

    As for the Armenian-Turkish relations in light of yesterday's murder,
    Alexander Iskandaryan considers nothing special will occur here. Those
    who believed establishment of relations is unnecessary will keep to
    their conviction. Those who supported the idea will say nothing
    extraordinary has happened, murders happen indifferent countries of
    the world.

    Participants of the press conference agreed on one thing: there is no
    need to search for thid countries behind Hrant Dink's assassination,
    since it is the result of the current internal political situation in
    Turkey.
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