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TURKISH JUDICIARY PUT TO TEST WITH DINK TRIAL
Ilnur Cevik
The New Anatolian, Turkey
July 2 2007
The murder trial of journalist Hirant Dink promises to be not only
controversial as the ultra nationalists will try to sabotage it but
will also be a test case for the Turkish judiciary which has been
taking a beating recently.
There have already been some ugly scenes between our liberal journalist
friends and the ultra nationalists outside the court as the Dink
trial got underway.
The ultra nationalists seem to feel that there could be some kind
of justification for the murder of Dink... There is also widespread
belief that the 18 defendants including a young man who is suspected
of killing Dink are receiving some kind of official sympathy if
not support...
It is sad that there are efforts that this case is being turned into a
simple murder case instead of a complicated political assassination
where the role of the police and even the Gendarmerie should be
scrutinized.
There are all kinds of criticisms being leveled against the case.
Observers are justified in saying the role of a police informant
involved in the assassination remains a mystery. It is also a mystery
that the police have not properly investigated the role of an ultra
nationalist party in the murder of Dink. There are still too many
unanswered contradictions that have not even been addressed by the
indictment.
The trial should not simply end with some defendants being punished
for the Dink murder. The trial should bring into the open in very
clear terms who is using ultra nationalist outcasts to perform their
own dirty work or even executions. We have to know why is all this
happening.
In the past too many political murders have remained unsolved. This
time we have a chance to get to the bottom of a case where the
defendants have been captured immediately thanks to the help of
modern technology.
What is the role of the "deep state" in this mess? Who has promised
official protection for the defendants? The nation has to know.
We see with great shame that the Semdinli case is being covered up in
a very clear manner. We do not want this to happen to the Dink trial.
Turkey has to perform well in the Dink trial. It cannot afford to give
the image that if you are an Armenian and especially a controversial
Armenian who wants to express his views freely then you deserve what
you get...
Dink did not deserve to die. Now those really responsible for this
death have to pay for their crime but will they?
Ilnur Cevik
The New Anatolian, Turkey
July 2 2007
The murder trial of journalist Hirant Dink promises to be not only
controversial as the ultra nationalists will try to sabotage it but
will also be a test case for the Turkish judiciary which has been
taking a beating recently.
There have already been some ugly scenes between our liberal journalist
friends and the ultra nationalists outside the court as the Dink
trial got underway.
The ultra nationalists seem to feel that there could be some kind
of justification for the murder of Dink... There is also widespread
belief that the 18 defendants including a young man who is suspected
of killing Dink are receiving some kind of official sympathy if
not support...
It is sad that there are efforts that this case is being turned into a
simple murder case instead of a complicated political assassination
where the role of the police and even the Gendarmerie should be
scrutinized.
There are all kinds of criticisms being leveled against the case.
Observers are justified in saying the role of a police informant
involved in the assassination remains a mystery. It is also a mystery
that the police have not properly investigated the role of an ultra
nationalist party in the murder of Dink. There are still too many
unanswered contradictions that have not even been addressed by the
indictment.
The trial should not simply end with some defendants being punished
for the Dink murder. The trial should bring into the open in very
clear terms who is using ultra nationalist outcasts to perform their
own dirty work or even executions. We have to know why is all this
happening.
In the past too many political murders have remained unsolved. This
time we have a chance to get to the bottom of a case where the
defendants have been captured immediately thanks to the help of
modern technology.
What is the role of the "deep state" in this mess? Who has promised
official protection for the defendants? The nation has to know.
We see with great shame that the Semdinli case is being covered up in
a very clear manner. We do not want this to happen to the Dink trial.
Turkey has to perform well in the Dink trial. It cannot afford to give
the image that if you are an Armenian and especially a controversial
Armenian who wants to express his views freely then you deserve what
you get...
Dink did not deserve to die. Now those really responsible for this
death have to pay for their crime but will they?