Turkish man held for threatening ferry

Saturday, January 27, 2007
Seattle Post Intelligencer, WA

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ANKARA, Turkey -- Police detained an armed man who briefly held up a ferry and threatened to blow it up in protest of pro-Armenian slogans chanted at a slain journalist's funeral, an official said Sunday.

The man, claiming to have plastic explosives on him, seized the ferry as it was on its way from Gelibolu to Lapseki late Saturday, Deputy Gov. Yusuf Ziya Ince said.

The man gave himself up to police after 2 1/2 hours and released all passengers unharmed, Ince said. He 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 angered nationalists by calling the mass killing of Armenians in the early 20th century genocide, was gunned down outside his newspaper a week ago.

His funeral inspired a massive outpouring of support for reconciliation between Armenians and Turks.

Ince said the man was angered by the pro-Armenia slogans chanted at Dink's funeral and unfurled a Turkish flag while aboard the ferry.

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