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REMEMBERING HRANT DINK BY VARTAN OSKANIAN*
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Jan 17 2008
I can confess that I have lived through two deep and unforgettable
shocks during my years in office; once in 1999 when the stability
of Armenia was threatened by gunmen and the second time last year,
when I received the call that Hrant Dink had been assassinated. Both
were attacks not on men, but on ideas and values.
Hrant's murder was an assault on democratic state building -- of the
Turkish state. His murderers took aim at his vision of a Turkey that
allowed free speech, that tolerated open discourse and that embraced
its minority citizens, like himself.
We miss Hrant. He would come to Armenia a couple of times a year. In
September 2006, when he spoke at the third Armenian Diaspora
Conference, his message was that as members of the European family,
Turkey and Armenia would have normal relations, because even the
unwilling in Turkey would be induced to find a way to dialogue. That
was music to our ears, echoing as it did our own wishes.
He also addressed the "International Conference on the 90th Anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide" we held in Yerevan in April 2005. Everyone
respected his ardent, reasoned plea for dialogue, for distinguishing
between today's Turkish Republic and the perpetrators of atrocities
nearly 100 years ago. He recounted passionately how he had explained
to Turkish authorities that Armenians are looking for their roots --
the same roots which the Ottoman Empire slashed when it attempted
to completely eradicate a people and tear it away from its home,
its culture and its traditions.
Each time he came to Yerevan, we would find a few minutes to talk. It
was important that I hear from him about the mood in Turkey. Hrant was
the right person to ask because he was not just an Armenian living in
Turkey, he was proud of both his identities -- Turkish and Armenian --
and was insulted and angered that while trying to reconcile them he
was accused of "insulting Turkishness."
When he was first charged under Article 301 for "insulting
Turkishness," I asked whether it would help if I wrote a letter or
spoke publicly. He responded confidently. "My thanks and gratitude,
but right now, I'm all I need. So help me God, I'm going to take my
struggle and my rights all the way to the end."
Later, he wondered how "on the one hand, they call for dialogue with
Armenia and Armenians and on the other want to condemn or neutralize
their own citizens who work for dialogue."
Hrant Dink was candid and courageous, but not naive. Still, he
could not have predicted this kind of "neutralization." His honest
and brave voice was silenced. Worse, some saw in this assassination
a clear message that the danger they face lies deeper than a mere
judicial conviction.
This message is just one of the dividends that this killing offered
those who contributed to the fanatical nationalist environment which
colors Turkish politics in and out of Turkey. The brutality, the
impunity, the violence of Hrant's murder serves several political
ends. First, it makes Turkey less interesting for Europe, which is
exactly what some in the Turkish establishment want. Second, it scares
away Armenians and other minorities in Turkey from pursuing their
civil and human rights. Third, it scares those bold Turks who are
beginning to explore these complicated, sensitive subjects in earnest.
In Armenia, we have insisted for more than a decade, that although we
are the victims of historical injustice and although we are on the
other side of a border that Turkey has kept closed, we are prepared
at any time for dialogue with our neighbor on any subject, so long as
there are normal relations between us, so long as this last closed
border in Europe is opened, so long as someone on the other side
wants to talk. We are ready.
A year ago, we were moved by the outpouring of fundamental, human
grief from all levels of Turkish society, especially from those who
have been scared by the demonstration of such violence on the part
of a young person, and saw it for what it is -- the continuation of
hatred and enmity into the next generation.
Hrant Dink's family, his colleagues at and around Agos and his friends
in Armenia and in Turkey will find some comfort knowing that today
and tomorrow Hrant will be remembered - by Armenians, who share his
vision of understanding and harmony among peoples, and by Turks,
who share his dream of living in peace with neighbors and with history.
*Vartan Oskanian is the minister of foreign affairs of the Republic
of Armenia 17.01.2008
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/deta ylar.do?load=detay&link=131780&bolum=109
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Jan 17 2008
I can confess that I have lived through two deep and unforgettable
shocks during my years in office; once in 1999 when the stability
of Armenia was threatened by gunmen and the second time last year,
when I received the call that Hrant Dink had been assassinated. Both
were attacks not on men, but on ideas and values.
Hrant's murder was an assault on democratic state building -- of the
Turkish state. His murderers took aim at his vision of a Turkey that
allowed free speech, that tolerated open discourse and that embraced
its minority citizens, like himself.
We miss Hrant. He would come to Armenia a couple of times a year. In
September 2006, when he spoke at the third Armenian Diaspora
Conference, his message was that as members of the European family,
Turkey and Armenia would have normal relations, because even the
unwilling in Turkey would be induced to find a way to dialogue. That
was music to our ears, echoing as it did our own wishes.
He also addressed the "International Conference on the 90th Anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide" we held in Yerevan in April 2005. Everyone
respected his ardent, reasoned plea for dialogue, for distinguishing
between today's Turkish Republic and the perpetrators of atrocities
nearly 100 years ago. He recounted passionately how he had explained
to Turkish authorities that Armenians are looking for their roots --
the same roots which the Ottoman Empire slashed when it attempted
to completely eradicate a people and tear it away from its home,
its culture and its traditions.
Each time he came to Yerevan, we would find a few minutes to talk. It
was important that I hear from him about the mood in Turkey. Hrant was
the right person to ask because he was not just an Armenian living in
Turkey, he was proud of both his identities -- Turkish and Armenian --
and was insulted and angered that while trying to reconcile them he
was accused of "insulting Turkishness."
When he was first charged under Article 301 for "insulting
Turkishness," I asked whether it would help if I wrote a letter or
spoke publicly. He responded confidently. "My thanks and gratitude,
but right now, I'm all I need. So help me God, I'm going to take my
struggle and my rights all the way to the end."
Later, he wondered how "on the one hand, they call for dialogue with
Armenia and Armenians and on the other want to condemn or neutralize
their own citizens who work for dialogue."
Hrant Dink was candid and courageous, but not naive. Still, he
could not have predicted this kind of "neutralization." His honest
and brave voice was silenced. Worse, some saw in this assassination
a clear message that the danger they face lies deeper than a mere
judicial conviction.
This message is just one of the dividends that this killing offered
those who contributed to the fanatical nationalist environment which
colors Turkish politics in and out of Turkey. The brutality, the
impunity, the violence of Hrant's murder serves several political
ends. First, it makes Turkey less interesting for Europe, which is
exactly what some in the Turkish establishment want. Second, it scares
away Armenians and other minorities in Turkey from pursuing their
civil and human rights. Third, it scares those bold Turks who are
beginning to explore these complicated, sensitive subjects in earnest.
In Armenia, we have insisted for more than a decade, that although we
are the victims of historical injustice and although we are on the
other side of a border that Turkey has kept closed, we are prepared
at any time for dialogue with our neighbor on any subject, so long as
there are normal relations between us, so long as this last closed
border in Europe is opened, so long as someone on the other side
wants to talk. We are ready.
A year ago, we were moved by the outpouring of fundamental, human
grief from all levels of Turkish society, especially from those who
have been scared by the demonstration of such violence on the part
of a young person, and saw it for what it is -- the continuation of
hatred and enmity into the next generation.
Hrant Dink's family, his colleagues at and around Agos and his friends
in Armenia and in Turkey will find some comfort knowing that today
and tomorrow Hrant will be remembered - by Armenians, who share his
vision of understanding and harmony among peoples, and by Turks,
who share his dream of living in peace with neighbors and with history.
*Vartan Oskanian is the minister of foreign affairs of the Republic
of Armenia 17.01.2008
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/deta ylar.do?load=detay&link=131780&bolum=109