Tribute to honor life of Armenian journalist

Friday, February 23, 2007
Daily Bruin UCLA
By Mai Hong

A month after his death, journalist Hrant Dink will be commemorated Sunday afternoon in Dodd Hall in a program called “Hrant Dink: His Legacy and His Challenge – A Tribute.”

Dink, founder and editor in chief of Agos, a Turkish-Armenian newspaper published in Turkey, was murdered by teenager Ogun Samsast in front of the Agos office on Jan. 19. Samsast’s motives remain unclear.

Richard Hovannisian, a history professor and chairman of modern Armenian history, said the event is intended to celebrate Dink’s life.

“He was an extraordinary individual, a courageous and outspoken intellectual,” Hovannisian said.

Speakers from Turkey and the U.S. plan to discuss Dink’s work as a journalist, as well as the challenges Dink experienced as an Armenian in Turkey.

Dink received threats after being convicted under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code for discussing the Armenian Genocide in several speeches.

Article 301 states that people will be prosecuted for publicly denigrating the Turkish government, according to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. It has led to the prosecution of journalists and authors who write about the Armenian Genocide, including Dink, Hovannisian said.

The article has been the subject of public debate since its establishment in 2005.

The Armenian Genocide is a subject of controversy because the Turkish government denies the deaths constitute genocide, instead maintaining they were the result of World War I.

Hovannisian said media coverage of Dink’s trials portrayed Dink in a negative light, as a man who criticized the Turkish people, causing the public to distrust him.

“He received a lot of hate mail. He had ultra-nationalistic obscenities being shouted at him,” said Hovannisian, who last saw Dink in November 2006 in Los Angeles where Dink spoke about the challenges of Turkish-Armenian relations.

But Dink was an outspoken Armenian voice and recognized that his life was in danger, Hovannisian said.

“He realized he was putting his own life on the line, ... but he didn’t want to live anywhere else. He was a part of Turkish culture along with his Armenian culture,” said Hovannisian, who knew Dink for several years.

Zeynep Turkyilmaz, a doctoral student in history, is also scheduled to give a speech reflecting on Dink’s life.

Turkyilmaz is a member of Initiative of Turkish Students to Commemorate “Our Hrant,” an informal group of students from Turkey.

Turkyilmaz also knew Dink from her days as a university student in Turkey.

“He has shaped so many different lives in so many different ways. Even if he had not touched my life personally, I think it is important to tell people what he believed in and to acknowledge and recognize what he did,” Turkyilmaz said.

David Myers, director of the UCLA Center for Jewish Studies, is also expected to speak at the event, though he did not know Dink personally.

“I think Dink was a heroic figure who knew to balance the impulses of particularism and universalism very well.

“That is, he was committed to preserving his particular identity as an Armenian in Turkey on one hand, and to upholding the rule of law and human rights on a global scale on the other,” Myers said.

Hovannisian said the event will also be a place to share Dink’s ideals.

“Everywhere he was a humanitarian and humane person. His loss has created a grieving among liberal Turkish intellectuals and among Armenians all around the world,” Hovannisian said.

“And at this event they will be coming together.”

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.