Yesterday marked the first anniversary of the murder of ethnic Armenian newspaper editor and journalist Hrant Dink in Istanbul, Turkey. Dink was shot outside the office of the Agos newspaper on 19 January 2007. A prolific advocate for civil, human and minority rights in Turkey, Dink was killed by 17-year-old Ogun Samast. His murder shocked the world and marked one of few times when Armenian, Turkish and other bloggers spoke about an event making headline news across the world with one voice.

A year on and the conversation in the blogosphere might be less, but many people the world over — and not least in Armenia and Turkey — remember Dink. A rare voice calling for reconciliation between Armenians and Turks, Dink’s message and legacy is still remembered today. A week ago, Blogian posted information on Hrant Dink memorial events to be held the world over.

Internations Musings makes a short but to the point post consisting of just two photographs taken in Istanbul with the title “I believe darkness will one day reunite with light.” Rastî simply posts various quotes and photographs, including one from the Armenian Foreign Minister, Vartan Oskanian.

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.

The full post is available on Global Voices Online.

With 2008 less than a day away at time of writing, it seems only appropriate to take a look back at the blogging highlights in the Caucasus for 2007. Certainly, although blogging is still largely underdeveloped, the year has seen some major highlights, especially with regards to stories that also made headlines worldwide. In the past this has not been the case, but the signs for Armenian and Georgian blogging look very promising indeed, and not least because the first two months of 2008 will see crucial presidential elections take place in both republics.

Although the same might be true for Azerbaijan as its presidential election scheduled for late next year looms closer, the elections seem to have encouraged citizens, activists and journalists to blog. Other high profile events also seem to have pushed more bloggers to engage in online discussion on key issues, especially in the arguably more evolved Armenian blogging scene. Interestingly, however, the first major blogging event of the year came on 19 January 2007 when journalist and editor, Hrant Dink, was murdered in Istanbul, Turkey.

Although Dink was a Turkish citizen and resident in Armenia’s neighbor to the West, he was also an ethnic Armenian and prolific in his calls for reconciliation between Armenians and Turks. His views might have alienated himself from the larger Armenian Diaspora who consider that Genocide Recognition is the most important issue facing Armenians today, but the point was that his assassination shocked the world, including many Turks in Turkey itself as well as those with no links to Armenian circles at all.

The full post is available on Global Voices Online.

RFE/RL carries a report by AFP that Hrant Dink, the ethnic Armenian editor of the Agos newspaper in Turkey who was murdered in Istanbul, Turkey, earlier this year has been named as one of its World Press Freedom Heroes by the International Press Institute.

“Hrant Dink’s nomination as our 52nd World Press Freedom Hero is a tribute to his bravery, but also an acknowledgement of his significant contribution to freedom of expression and press freedom in Turkey,” IPI Director Johann P. Fritz said.

Dink, a well-known Turkish-Armenian editor and columnist, was murdered in Istanbul on 19 January 2007. He had received numerous death threats from Turkish nationalists who viewed his journalism as treacherous.

Dink was shot twice in the head and once in the neck by a Turkish nationalist outside the offices of the newspaper he founded in 1996. He had faced legal problems for denigrating “Turkishness” under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code in his articles about the massacre of Armenians during the First World War. In July 2006, he lost an appeal over a suspended six-month prison sentence handed down for violating Article 301. His prosecution stemmed from an article in 2004 about the 1915-17 massacres of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire. Aside from this criminal case, Dink was also facing prosecution for a second article condemning his conviction.

Born on 15 September 1954, Dink was best-known for reporting on human and minority rights in Turkey and for advocating Turkish-Armenian reconciliation. In a February 2006 interview, he said he hoped his reporting would pave the way for peace between the two peoples. “I want to write and ask how we can change this historical conflict into peace,” he said.

[…]

The IPI award was formally handed over to his widow, Rakel Dink, on 10 December in Vienna. “The murder of Hrant Dink deprived Turkey of one of its most courageous and independent voices and it was a terrible event for Turkish press freedom in general,” Fritz said. “Hrant Dink is one of at least 91 journalists murdered so far in 2007. In most cases, these murders occurred with impunity. We call on governments around the world to ensure that those responsible for these heinous crimes are brought to justice.”

Riot Police on sidelines of pro-human rights demonstration, Istanbul, Republic of Turkey © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 1997

A1 Plus carries news that the Head of the Istanbul Police has been dismissed from his position. Too little too late, some might say, but it’s worth remembering that these things should happen in such cases. Indeed, it is as much about how the authorities react after Dink’s murder that will determine whether there is the political will to truly democratize and address significant problems within Turkish society.

Theoretically, this should serve as an example and a warning to avoid similar incidents and tragedies in the future. Famous last words.

Ahmed Ilhan Gyuler, head of the Istanbul police department, was dismissed from work. He is accused of not preventing Hrant Dink’s assassination and not informing the officials about the warning.

To note, in 2006 the Istanbul police forces were warned about the upcoming attack on Dink’s life.

Of course, the real test is with regards to Article 301, but rather than amend it, I think it’s clear it has to be repealed. Cynics argue that another law or article will simple repace it, but something has to happen even if it means removing the gag on thousands of potential disidents on a whole range of issues raising from the Kurdish and Armenian Questions to the role of the National Security Council (MGK) in the governance of the country.

Incidently, just found the home page of the Turkish Police Academy here. Not directly related to this news, but interesting nonetheless. The English version is available here.

Demonstration in support of Zhirayr Sefilyan and Vardan Malkhasyan, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2007

I suppose I could have included this post in with the previous roundup of the Armenian and Turkish Blogosphere on the murder of Hrant Dink and a new Genocide Resolution before the U.S. Congress, but it was interesting enough to deserve a whole post on its own. Over at One Armenian World, N posts a fascinating entry that includes her impressions of Tbilisi. As she’s Armenian-American, it’s kind of refreshing to read such such an opinion.

Most locals would agree with her observations albeit sometimes reluctantly, but many Diasporans have a inherent dislike of Georgians just because. Therefore, this post is surprisingly open and very honest, touching upon many issues that few of the vocal minority that actually constitutes the Diaspora have the guts or inclination to admit or acknowledge. Of course, I’m probably biased because I like Tbilisi too, but anyway.

Don’t get me wrong, Georgia faces some very serious problems at this stage of its transition, just as Armenia does, but Tbilisi has some very postive sides that many of us enjoy when compared to Yerevan.

It was about an hour from the border to Tibilisi, where we found the metro, which looked remarkably like the Yerevan metro, only with more people, and the people were all speaking a different language, and the signs were in a different language, and the people and the language kind of looked Armenian but definitely weren’t. Even the fruit on the sidewalk looked similar, little mandarin oranges and wrinkled, roughed-up yellow apples. Borjomi bottled water came from a spring in a village, a tourist site in Georgia, the same way that Jermuk bottled came from a spring in a village, a tourist site in Armenia.

But over the next twenty four hours or so, I would decide that Tbilisi was much bigger, diverse and cosmopolitan than Yerevan. The people didn’t wear all the same clothes, the buildings weren’t made of all the same stone. There was no smog, fog, and you could see beautiful views across the river, over bridges, sheer rock walls and more ancient churches (and mosques and temples) than you could count. Old homes had been maintained, latticework balconies sprawling at streetlamp level, homemade layer cakes.

[…] Tbilisi has the feel of a big city, the influence and influx of various people and cultures. We wandered the streets the five days we were there, and encountered Chinese stores everywhere, which Arman was obsessed with. There were items in the grocery store from all over Europe, much cheaper and much more selection than in Yerevan, there was a street with an international array of restaurants — Irish pubs, Sushi joints, Indian, Chinese, Spanish, Italian, Turkish — and the satellite tv at the bed and breakfast showed channels from all over Europe and Russia.

I also noticed that unlike Yerevan, Tbilisi signs and posters are mostly only in the native language, hardly any in English and absolutely nothing printed in Russian. […]

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Hrant Dink Memorial, Liberty Square, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2007

Just when you thought media attention on Turkey in the aftermath of Hrant Dink’s murder in Istanbul might be dissipating, iArarat reports a new scandal brewing over the death of the ethnic Armenian journalist and newspaper editor. Quoting a Turkish newspaper report, Artyom highlights reports that members of Turkey’s police force posed for photographs with Ogün Samast, Dink’s murderer.

After Ogün Samast, the triggerman of the murder of Agos newspaper editor-in-chief Hrant Dink was arrested, his photograph in front of Turkish flag became the issue of debate. The photograph was discussed as much as the murder itself. The place where the photograph was taken was discussed for days and the ministry of internal affairs and gendarmerie assigned auditors, who could not detect the place in the photograph. Then the camera footage of the photograph revealed that it was taken at the gendarmerie police station in Samsun bus station. After Samast was arrested; checked and his hands were handcuffed, the officers beside him took the photograph and the camera footage instead of taking him to the police department.

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While the Diaspora and nationalist parties turn their attention to the rise of ultra-nationalism in Turkey, increasing racially motivated violence against Armenians and other nationalities in Russia continues to be ignored even by those parties that say they will protest the killing of Armenians anywhere.

“The Armenian youth can never put up with the terrorist acts against any Armenian in any country. The murders of Gourgen Margaryan and Hrant Dink tell us one thing: Turkey is still not ready for constructive dialogue with Armenia”, said Abraham Gasparyan, member of “Nikol Aghbalyan” youth union.

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The Armenian Tree Project (ATP) is planning to plant a forest of 53,000 trees in memory of Hrant Dink. The organization seems to like undertaking symbolic actions, but I would never have expected something like this.

Hrant Dink was a brave and principled man. He was killed by people who hated him for what he was and what he said. His death was a loss to the Armenian community in Istanbul and around the world. Perhaps this tragedy will serve as a catalyst for change in Turkey. Over one hundred thousand people marched in his funeral procession in Istanbul, many of them carrying signs saying, “We are all Hrant.”

All the Armenians I know are talking about how to pay tribute to Hrant. A group of donors called Jeff Masarjian at ATP last week and suggested that we plant a memorial forest of 53,000 trees–1,000 trees for each of Hrant’s fifty-three years. Because that’s what we do–plant trees in Armenia–we thought this was something we could offer in Hrant Dink’s memory. I am hoping that you will join us in creating this living tribute to a courageous and exemplary man.

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RFE/RL reports that a man has been arrested by Turkish police after hijacking a ferry and threatening to blow it up. The incident was apparently in response to “pro-Armenian” slogans displayed on placards at the funeral of Hrant Dink.

The man, claiming to have plastic explosives on him, seized the ferry as it was on its way from Gelibolu to Lapseki late Saturday, Gov. Yusuf Ziya Ince told NTV. He gave himself up to police after 2 1/2 hours, Ince said. The man was armed but was not carrying any explosives, Ince said.

Television footage showed the man shouting: “I did it for the country,” as he was being led away from the ferry to a police vehicle.

Ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who spoke out about the mass killings of Armenians in the early 20th century, was gunned down outside his newspaper a week ago. His funeral inspired a massive outpouring of support for reconciliation between Armenians and Turks.

Ince and ferry passengers said the man was angered by the pro-Armenian slogans chanted at the funeral.

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Global Voices has another roundup of posts from the Armenian and Turkish blogosphere detailing discussion in the aftermath of Hrant Dink’s murder, and the massive funeral that took place in Istanbul attended by 100,000 people. In contrast, a memorial for Dink held in Yerevan on the same day was attended by only 5,000.

Many questions were raised: is this the continuation of Turkish and Armenian animosity? Is Article 301 of the Turkish penal code to blame? Is it Turkish nationalism, ultra-nationalism? Or is it Muslim extremism? I personally doubt that an answer will ever be found, but I stand in awe of the healthy dialogue that this tragic event has given birth too.

Prior to his death, no one in the blogosphere was taking about Mr Dink. Now Technorati rates hundreds of blog posts devoted to this man.

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Because I wasn’t subscribed to the RSS feed for the new Blogian, I missed a few posts that Simon made as I was still looking at the old site. Anyway, last week Blogian posted the English translation of the eulogy given by Dink’s wife at his funeral. It’s worth reposting some excerpts here.

Today we send off half of my soul, my beloved, the father of my children. We are going to actualize a march without any slogans and without any disrespect. Today we are going to generate immense sound through our silence.

Whoever the assassin may be, either 17 or 27 years’ old, I know myself that he too was once a baby. One cannot accomplish anything without questioning first how an assassin was created from such a baby.

It was Hrant’s honesty, transparency and love that brought him here. They say “he was a great man.” I ask you, Was he born great? No, he too was born just like us. He did not come from the skies, he too came from soil [like us]. It was what he did, the style he chose, the love in his heart that made him great. He became a great man because he thought great things and pronounced great words.

And you too are great for being here today. But do not let this suffice, do not be content with this act alone! One cannot accomplish a great future through hatred, through offense, through holding one blood superior to another. One can only rise through respect for the other.

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