A Great Voice Silenced: The Murder of Widely Respected Journalist Hrant Dink

Many times when we are little, we are asked what we would like to be when we grow up. Many of us say an astronaut or a movie star. Sometimes we say we want to be a hero. One must wonder if Hrant Dink ever thought he really would grow up to be a hero. I believe the thought never crossed his mind. His undying love for his culture and his commitment to the truth was abruptly cut short when he was unjustifiably murdered Jan 19^th in broad daylight on the busy streets of Istanbul.

Hrant Dink was best known as an intellectual power as a columnist and editor in chief of the Armenian language weekly newspaper Agos. The goal of his paper was to provide a voice for the Armenian community in Turkey and to open the doors of reason between Turkey and Armenia, two countries with no previous diplomatic relations. He was greatly respected as a journalist in both the Armenian and Turkish communities. Dink had emerged as the risk taking voice of the Armenian-Turkish community, constantly threatened for his educated opinions on the history of his ancestral nation and the nation he called home. Accused many times for insulting Turkish identity, in 2005 he along with Orhan Pamuk (recent winner of the Nobel Peace Prize) was put on trial several times and even convicted under article 301 of the Turkish penal code, and sentenced to six months in prison. The sentence was postponed, but the public persecution surrounding the event made him an easy target of ultra-nationalists.

Sadly, in what was to be one of his last articles, he lamented on his personal struggles with the death threats that were putting a strain on him and his family. He felt torn between leaving the country he loved and saving his family from further torture, and staying to fight another day. His decision to stay true to his beliefs cost him his life. Upwards of twelve people are being held for questioning in regards to the murder. Most importantly, Ogun Samast, a seventeen year old boy has been found to be the main suspect. Dink was shot three times in the back of the head and neck in front of the Agos building. Samast was identified by his father when officials released a photo of him caught on security cameras. The extreme right activists held for Dink's murder accused him of "insulting and offending Turkishness."

Hrant Dink had written extensively about what is well known as the Armenian Genocide committed by the Turks between 1915 and 1921. 1.5 million Armenians were murdered, displaced, or walked to death in those years. Turkish officials have always disputed the Armenian Genocide as an unfortunate side effect of war (World War I specifically), although technically World War I lasted between 1914 and 1918. Also, neither Turkey nor Armenia held any active part or involvement within World War I.

Dink often wrote of the atrocities committed against the Armenians, and also of how important it was to bond the broken tie between Turkey and Armenia. His greatest wish was to see the two countries put their differences aside and to find peace. Journalists and politicians in Turkey have expressed their outrage at this tragedy, describing this as a political assassination. The US, EU and France along with several human rights groups voiced their shock, sorrow, condemnation and commitment to the Dink family. Turks throughout the country shouted "We are Hrant Dink". They even believed him to be a martyr among men; a true hero of our time.

Even though he was a Turkish born Armenian, his ancestral country, Armenia stood by him and his family in their outrage and search for justice. President Robert Kocharian said this "..raises numerous questions and deserves the strongest condemnation....we hope that the Turkish authorities will do everything possible to find and punish the culprit strictly in accordance with the law." Tigran Torosyan, the speaker of Armenia's parliament told Armenian news agency Arminfo, "Following the murder, Turkey should not even dream about joining the European Union".

Tens of thousands of people flooded the streets on the day of his funeral, gathering near his office and walking five miles to the Armenian Orthodox church where the funeral service was led by the patriarch. Streets were closed and mourners chanted "we are all Armenian". Doves were released as Dink was buried at the Armenian cemetery in Istanbul. His widow told the crowds "We are seeing off our brother with a silent walk, without slogans and without asking how a baby became a murderer."

Hrant Dink loved Turkey. Hrant Dink loved Armenia. Most of all, Hrant Dink loved truth and justice. He believed the bond in his heart that connected both his homelands would one day come to life. Unfortunately, that would be a day he would never get to see. A child should not wish to grow up to be a hero. A child should wish to grow up to be just like Hrant Dink.