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ANKARA: Folk Song Replays Dink Murder

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  • ANKARA: Folk Song Replays Dink Murder

    FOLK SONG REPLAYS DINK MURDER

    New Anatolian, Turkey
    17 September 2007

    Turkey is witnessing a new controversy after the video which was
    prepared for folk singer Ismail Turut's last song named "Don't make
    any plans" broadcasted in YouTube. Although Turut denied appraising the
    murderers of Dink who was a prominent member of Armenian community in
    Turkey and the editor of Agos newspaper, video clip shows the dead
    body of Dink while singer says the verse "if a person betrays the
    country, he is finished off."

    Nearly 5,340 people watched the three-minute video clip in the
    YouTube internet site. Broadcast of the song's video clip in the
    YouTube internet site created harsh reaction in Turkey. It was
    claimed that the video clip was shot by an extreme nationalist group
    in Australia. Dink's family is getting ready to file a lawsuit. The
    YouTube stopped broadcasting the video clip.

    "Lyrics and video clip of the song openly violates a number of
    laws. It appraises the murderers and encourages people for crime. Why
    prosecutors keep waiting?" asked the lawyer of Dink family, Erdal
    Dogan.

    Meanwhile, Yucel Sayman, former Chairman of Istanbul Bar, said,
    "if it was about someone else, not Hrant Dink, prosecutors would have
    already taken action."

    Human Rights Association (IHD) stated that they will denounce Turut.

    Suspects in the lyrics

    Hrant Dink was assassinated in Istanbul in January 2007, by Ogun
    Samast, a 17-year old Turkish nationalist. While Samast has since
    been taken into custody, pictures of the alleged assassin flanked by
    smiling Turkish police and gendarmerie, posing with the killer in
    front of the Turkish flag, have since surfaced. The photos created
    a scandal in Turkey, prompting a spate of investigations and the
    removal from office of those involved. Yasin Hayal was also claimed
    to be identifiable as the one actually pulling the trigger.

    As editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper
    Agos. ink was a prominent member of the Armenian minority in
    Turkey. Dink was best known for advocating Turkish-Armenian
    reconciliation and human and minority rights in Turkey. Dink was
    prosecuted three times for denigrating Turkishness, while receiving
    numerous death threats from Turkish nationalists.

    Turut's song mentioned the names of both Ogun Samast and Yasin Hayal
    and went on to say that there will be others who would follow in the
    footsteps of Ogun and Yasin.

    The Dink murder trial opened in Istanbul on July 2. 18 people were
    charged in connection with the journalist's assassination.According
    to Human Rights Watch, Dink's murder trial is "a critical test of
    the Turkish judiciary's independence.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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