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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Jan 26 2007
Why was Hrant Dink killed?
by
MÜMTAZ'ER TÜRKÖNE
When an ordinary Turkish citizen lists possible reasons for the
assassination of Hrant Dink, his Armenian ethnic origin comes last.
The murder was shocking and was like a jolting earthquake, but it was
not triggered by ethnic enmity. This is what everybody was aware of
from the very beginning.
A tripartite picture was formed in the minds of ordinary Turkish
Muslims. These three details, which constituted a strong emotional
bond between Dink and the whole society, formed an identity. The
first detail was his last article titled "Anxiousness of a
Pigeon,"which was misunderstood and thus misused but still shows
Dink's confidence and love for the society he lived in. In his last
article, Dink was saying he had been threatened for his statements,
which were interpreted completely differently from what he actually
meant, but at the same he was expressing his hope that Turkish
society would not harm ?pigeons' like him, people who were helpless.
His anxieties, and the sense of security he portrayed to comfort
Turks, added a very tragic dimension to his murder. The society felt
the grief of killing the pigeon and the warmth of Dink's heart at the
same time. Secondly, Dink's body, lying face-down on the pavement,
was covered with journal paper with his legs visible. The footage
broadcast showed a hole in his shoes. A shoe-with-hole is a symbol of
poverty in Turkish society. Hrant Dink was poor and his dead body
lying on the pavement told of his poverty in the most natural form.
The third detail was his life story that complemented his worn shoes.
Dink was born in the eastern Anatolian city of Malatya and was sent
to an orphanage while he was still young. He was raised in an
orphanage and lacked the care of parents. These were three details
that drew the portrait of Dink, who sat in the limelight of 70
million people in Turkey before being assassinated. This was a
shocking portrait for the majority of people who sensed the world
through their emotions. The murder itself was shameful. The murder
incited a wave of compassion and sympathy against ethnic groups in
Turkey. This wave materialized in the slogan "We are all Hrant Dink"
and marked its seal during the funeral.
I attended the funeral and saw people gather in front of the office
of Agos newspaper to approach the funeral car. The spectrum of
attendees included figures from almost all walks of the society:
University students, retired people, housewives, workers,
intellectuals and marginal figures. All attendees had a shared
expression on their faces: to share the grief. They expressed their
grief in the slogan "We are all Hrant Dink. We are all Armenian." The
slogan was challenging: "If Hrant Dink was murdered because of his
Armenian origin and if it aims to intimidate and daunt Armenians by
killing Dink, the murderers will not achieve their goals. Because we
will take Dink's place and oppose his murderers together with the
Armenian society." This challenging move was inspired by Germany in
1930s. In those years, liberal and socialist Germans challenged
oppression against Jews, which started during the Nazi
administration, with the slogan "We are all Jews."
Dark nature of the murder:
The funeral in front of the Agos office commenced with Dink's wife,
Sakel Dink, addressing participants from the top of a bus. In a
trembling and excited voice, Mrs. Dink delivered a calming and
anger-soothing speech in the wake of "her beloved." What she said
about the murderer directed debates over the assassination. Mrs.
Dink's striking statements placed the reasons behind this shocking
murder in a completely different direction. She was questioning the
conditions that created the murderer, not the murderer himself: "No
matter what the age of the murderer is, 17 or 27, he was once a baby
like every human being. You cannot reveal the reasons behind this
murder unless you question the dark world that created a murderer
from a baby." These statements were not welcomed by people who were
seeking political interests over Dink murder. A marginal leftist
party decorated the town of Beyoğlu, where Dink's funeral was
held, with the pictures of Dink and the banners of the party. They
were in a rush to designate "rising nationalism" as the reason behind
the murder, instead of "a dark world." These political efforts, not
the murder itself, were attempting to create a crack in society that
would urge formation of cliques and polarization. Mrs. Dink's speech
prevented such a crack and contributed to turning debates into a
discussion that might impede more assassinations.
The findings the police reached as well the statements of the murder
suspect and the accomplices broadcasted in the media reveals the
presence of an actual dark and morbid climate. A frantic hooligan in
a football match and the perpetrators of the murder had a similar
psyche. The perpetrators were unemployed youngsters from the Black
Sea city of Trabzon, where the birth rate is quite high. They were
spending most of their time in internet cafes and their only bond
with the outer world was through the Internet. There was a wide gap
between the poor world they were living in and the unreachable
imaginary world. It was impossible to fill this work by exerting
effort, but only through committing frantic acts that no one would
ever dare to do. The most viable short-cut for these teenagers, who
are incapable to grasp the notion of politics and to penetrate into
the world of ideologies, was to adhere to a great cause debated in
the society. Thus, they would become respected heroes and their
courage would be praised. This is the dark world Mrs. Dink is trying
to tell us.
A narrow and barren nationalism is rising in Turkey. Turkish has two
correspondences for the term "nationalism:" Nationalism and
neo-nationalism: Nationalism refers to the right-wing nationalism and
neo-nationalism to that of left wing. A kind of Third World
Socialism, a leftover of the Cold War period, is endorsed by Turkish
neo-nationalists who are closely linked with the state.
Neo-nationalism is an anti-imperialist, anti-American and nationalist
ideology. It was neo-nationalists who demanded the conviction of
Hrant Dink for "insulting Turkishness" and urged a campaign against
Nobel Prize laureate Orhan Pamuk by threatening him. Turkey's ?lumpen
proletariat' youngsters, who diverted from the mainstream and based
their policies on a morbid climate, were again these
neo-nationalists. Although they hold similar feeling and
inclinations, the nationalist cadres of the Nationalist Movement
Party (MHP) and the Grand Unity Party (BBP) oppose both
neo-nationalists and the violent atmosphere they have created. MHP
leader Devlet Bahçeli has always renounced and stopped violence over
the Kurdish problem, a very sensitive and concerning issue for the
MHP. He barred his followers from flowing into the streets, namely to
commit violent incidents. The BBP, another nationalist party which
separated from the MHP and harbored even more ardent youngsters,
holds a significant stance over the recent developments. Newspapers
have written that murderers and collaborators have formed within the
youth movement of the party.
I had an interview with BBP leader Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu
and it was published in the Jan. 27 edition of Zaman daily. I
reminded him about the accusations against his party and asked for a
response. He felt genuine grief at Dink's murder and was outraged
over the accusations directed at him. He drew attention to the "dark
world of the murder" saying the handling of the murder as a social
problem, not a political one, was necessary to curtail violence. He,
furthermore, drew attention to those who were inflaming violence and
seeking political interests over the murder as well as extreme
leftists who turned Dink's funeral into a political show.
As more information is revealed the picture becomes clearer. Dink's
murder is an ordinary political assassination, not a violent action.
The assassin is a 17-year-old minor. This murder is the result of a
deep-rooted social problem, and acted upon by a group of
perpetrators. The people who attended the funeral had already proved
the problem was not ethnically and politically motivated. What falls
to every sensible person now is to question the dark world Mrs. Dink
pointed at, and to improve the social conditions that resulted in the
murder.
Jan 26 2007
Why was Hrant Dink killed?
by
MÜMTAZ'ER TÜRKÖNE
When an ordinary Turkish citizen lists possible reasons for the
assassination of Hrant Dink, his Armenian ethnic origin comes last.
The murder was shocking and was like a jolting earthquake, but it was
not triggered by ethnic enmity. This is what everybody was aware of
from the very beginning.
A tripartite picture was formed in the minds of ordinary Turkish
Muslims. These three details, which constituted a strong emotional
bond between Dink and the whole society, formed an identity. The
first detail was his last article titled "Anxiousness of a
Pigeon,"which was misunderstood and thus misused but still shows
Dink's confidence and love for the society he lived in. In his last
article, Dink was saying he had been threatened for his statements,
which were interpreted completely differently from what he actually
meant, but at the same he was expressing his hope that Turkish
society would not harm ?pigeons' like him, people who were helpless.
His anxieties, and the sense of security he portrayed to comfort
Turks, added a very tragic dimension to his murder. The society felt
the grief of killing the pigeon and the warmth of Dink's heart at the
same time. Secondly, Dink's body, lying face-down on the pavement,
was covered with journal paper with his legs visible. The footage
broadcast showed a hole in his shoes. A shoe-with-hole is a symbol of
poverty in Turkish society. Hrant Dink was poor and his dead body
lying on the pavement told of his poverty in the most natural form.
The third detail was his life story that complemented his worn shoes.
Dink was born in the eastern Anatolian city of Malatya and was sent
to an orphanage while he was still young. He was raised in an
orphanage and lacked the care of parents. These were three details
that drew the portrait of Dink, who sat in the limelight of 70
million people in Turkey before being assassinated. This was a
shocking portrait for the majority of people who sensed the world
through their emotions. The murder itself was shameful. The murder
incited a wave of compassion and sympathy against ethnic groups in
Turkey. This wave materialized in the slogan "We are all Hrant Dink"
and marked its seal during the funeral.
I attended the funeral and saw people gather in front of the office
of Agos newspaper to approach the funeral car. The spectrum of
attendees included figures from almost all walks of the society:
University students, retired people, housewives, workers,
intellectuals and marginal figures. All attendees had a shared
expression on their faces: to share the grief. They expressed their
grief in the slogan "We are all Hrant Dink. We are all Armenian." The
slogan was challenging: "If Hrant Dink was murdered because of his
Armenian origin and if it aims to intimidate and daunt Armenians by
killing Dink, the murderers will not achieve their goals. Because we
will take Dink's place and oppose his murderers together with the
Armenian society." This challenging move was inspired by Germany in
1930s. In those years, liberal and socialist Germans challenged
oppression against Jews, which started during the Nazi
administration, with the slogan "We are all Jews."
Dark nature of the murder:
The funeral in front of the Agos office commenced with Dink's wife,
Sakel Dink, addressing participants from the top of a bus. In a
trembling and excited voice, Mrs. Dink delivered a calming and
anger-soothing speech in the wake of "her beloved." What she said
about the murderer directed debates over the assassination. Mrs.
Dink's striking statements placed the reasons behind this shocking
murder in a completely different direction. She was questioning the
conditions that created the murderer, not the murderer himself: "No
matter what the age of the murderer is, 17 or 27, he was once a baby
like every human being. You cannot reveal the reasons behind this
murder unless you question the dark world that created a murderer
from a baby." These statements were not welcomed by people who were
seeking political interests over Dink murder. A marginal leftist
party decorated the town of Beyoğlu, where Dink's funeral was
held, with the pictures of Dink and the banners of the party. They
were in a rush to designate "rising nationalism" as the reason behind
the murder, instead of "a dark world." These political efforts, not
the murder itself, were attempting to create a crack in society that
would urge formation of cliques and polarization. Mrs. Dink's speech
prevented such a crack and contributed to turning debates into a
discussion that might impede more assassinations.
The findings the police reached as well the statements of the murder
suspect and the accomplices broadcasted in the media reveals the
presence of an actual dark and morbid climate. A frantic hooligan in
a football match and the perpetrators of the murder had a similar
psyche. The perpetrators were unemployed youngsters from the Black
Sea city of Trabzon, where the birth rate is quite high. They were
spending most of their time in internet cafes and their only bond
with the outer world was through the Internet. There was a wide gap
between the poor world they were living in and the unreachable
imaginary world. It was impossible to fill this work by exerting
effort, but only through committing frantic acts that no one would
ever dare to do. The most viable short-cut for these teenagers, who
are incapable to grasp the notion of politics and to penetrate into
the world of ideologies, was to adhere to a great cause debated in
the society. Thus, they would become respected heroes and their
courage would be praised. This is the dark world Mrs. Dink is trying
to tell us.
A narrow and barren nationalism is rising in Turkey. Turkish has two
correspondences for the term "nationalism:" Nationalism and
neo-nationalism: Nationalism refers to the right-wing nationalism and
neo-nationalism to that of left wing. A kind of Third World
Socialism, a leftover of the Cold War period, is endorsed by Turkish
neo-nationalists who are closely linked with the state.
Neo-nationalism is an anti-imperialist, anti-American and nationalist
ideology. It was neo-nationalists who demanded the conviction of
Hrant Dink for "insulting Turkishness" and urged a campaign against
Nobel Prize laureate Orhan Pamuk by threatening him. Turkey's ?lumpen
proletariat' youngsters, who diverted from the mainstream and based
their policies on a morbid climate, were again these
neo-nationalists. Although they hold similar feeling and
inclinations, the nationalist cadres of the Nationalist Movement
Party (MHP) and the Grand Unity Party (BBP) oppose both
neo-nationalists and the violent atmosphere they have created. MHP
leader Devlet Bahçeli has always renounced and stopped violence over
the Kurdish problem, a very sensitive and concerning issue for the
MHP. He barred his followers from flowing into the streets, namely to
commit violent incidents. The BBP, another nationalist party which
separated from the MHP and harbored even more ardent youngsters,
holds a significant stance over the recent developments. Newspapers
have written that murderers and collaborators have formed within the
youth movement of the party.
I had an interview with BBP leader Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu
and it was published in the Jan. 27 edition of Zaman daily. I
reminded him about the accusations against his party and asked for a
response. He felt genuine grief at Dink's murder and was outraged
over the accusations directed at him. He drew attention to the "dark
world of the murder" saying the handling of the murder as a social
problem, not a political one, was necessary to curtail violence. He,
furthermore, drew attention to those who were inflaming violence and
seeking political interests over the murder as well as extreme
leftists who turned Dink's funeral into a political show.
As more information is revealed the picture becomes clearer. Dink's
murder is an ordinary political assassination, not a violent action.
The assassin is a 17-year-old minor. This murder is the result of a
deep-rooted social problem, and acted upon by a group of
perpetrators. The people who attended the funeral had already proved
the problem was not ethnically and politically motivated. What falls
to every sensible person now is to question the dark world Mrs. Dink
pointed at, and to improve the social conditions that resulted in the
murder.