ACNIS: Hrant Dink's mission continues and his spirit lives on
The Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS) issued a statement today commemorating the third anniversary of the death of noted Turkish-Armenian intellectual Hrant Dink.
The statement reads:
"Hrant Dink's brutal murder on this day three years ago in Istanbul endowed his death with a special meaning. But even more significantly, it was his life that endowed his death with such a special meaning. Sometimes in history, some men attain a higher meaning, in a sacrifice of the ultimate. Hrant Dink was just such a man. He was brave, in so strongly and passionately advocating Turkish-Armenian reconciliation, but also as an outspoken defender of minority and human rights in Turkey. He was also innocent, in facing the persecution and prosecution of the Turkish state, which had specifically targeted him for the "crime" of "insulting Turkishness."
But Hrant Dink was much more than a symbol of change. He was an inspiration to many and his mission was a motivation to even more. Hrant Dink was also a loving father of three, Delal, Ararat and Sera; a devoted husband of one special woman, Rakel; a friend to many, and an inspiration to all.
The man may be gone, but his mission continues and his spirit lives on."
Hrant Dink (September 15, 1954 - January 19, 2007) was a Turkish-Armenian journalist and columnist and editor-in-chief of Akos bilingual newspaper. Dink was best known for advocating Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and human and minority rights in Turkey. Charged under the notorious article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code, Dink stood a trial for insulting Turkishness. After numerous death threats, Hrant Dink was assassinated in Istanbul in January 2007, by Ogun Samast, a 17-year old Turkish nationalist.
The statement reads:
"Hrant Dink's brutal murder on this day three years ago in Istanbul endowed his death with a special meaning. But even more significantly, it was his life that endowed his death with such a special meaning. Sometimes in history, some men attain a higher meaning, in a sacrifice of the ultimate. Hrant Dink was just such a man. He was brave, in so strongly and passionately advocating Turkish-Armenian reconciliation, but also as an outspoken defender of minority and human rights in Turkey. He was also innocent, in facing the persecution and prosecution of the Turkish state, which had specifically targeted him for the "crime" of "insulting Turkishness."
But Hrant Dink was much more than a symbol of change. He was an inspiration to many and his mission was a motivation to even more. Hrant Dink was also a loving father of three, Delal, Ararat and Sera; a devoted husband of one special woman, Rakel; a friend to many, and an inspiration to all.
The man may be gone, but his mission continues and his spirit lives on."
Hrant Dink (September 15, 1954 - January 19, 2007) was a Turkish-Armenian journalist and columnist and editor-in-chief of Akos bilingual newspaper. Dink was best known for advocating Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and human and minority rights in Turkey. Charged under the notorious article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code, Dink stood a trial for insulting Turkishness. After numerous death threats, Hrant Dink was assassinated in Istanbul in January 2007, by Ogun Samast, a 17-year old Turkish nationalist.
