EDITOR OF TURKISH NEWSPAPER SAYS FORCES WANT ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER TO OPEN
19/09/06
Panorama.am
“Turks are not enemies for us. They are our neighbors. We should not name our neighbors like that,” Hrant DINK, editor of Akos newspaper in Turkey, corrected a reporter today who said Turks are our enemies. Hrant Dink is in Armenia to participate in Armenia-Diaspora Forum. Armenian by nationality, Dink has been variously persecuted by Turkish authorities for his advocacy for recognition of Armenian Genocide.
Recently he has been sentenced to conditional imprisonment for 6 months with a groundless charge of “insulting the Turks.” If Turkish government continues persecution, Dink said he will leave Turkey. “I have never insulted any nation. Their attitude is an act of racism towards me,” Hrant Dink said.
Dink said there are some forces in Turkey which oppose European integration and the West. Asked if there is democracy in Turkey, Dink answered that Turkish government strives for democratization. “The country must change,” he said, also saying Turkish society mostly does not know about the Armenian genocide, “since the Turkish government has not talked about it for 90 years.” Dink also stated that there are very serious forces in Turkey which want the border to be free.”
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
Panorama.am
“Turks are not enemies for us. They are our neighbors. We should not name our neighbors like that,” Hrant DINK, editor of Akos newspaper in Turkey, corrected a reporter today who said Turks are our enemies. Hrant Dink is in Armenia to participate in Armenia-Diaspora Forum. Armenian by nationality, Dink has been variously persecuted by Turkish authorities for his advocacy for recognition of Armenian Genocide.
Recently he has been sentenced to conditional imprisonment for 6 months with a groundless charge of “insulting the Turks.” If Turkish government continues persecution, Dink said he will leave Turkey. “I have never insulted any nation. Their attitude is an act of racism towards me,” Hrant Dink said.
Dink said there are some forces in Turkey which oppose European integration and the West. Asked if there is democracy in Turkey, Dink answered that Turkish government strives for democratization. “The country must change,” he said, also saying Turkish society mostly does not know about the Armenian genocide, “since the Turkish government has not talked about it for 90 years.” Dink also stated that there are very serious forces in Turkey which want the border to be free.”
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 6:49 AM
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