Hrant Dink Lives, Will Live in Our Fight against Racism
18 January 2024
Let us put our finger on the murder of Hrant Dink in Turkey where the state has been intertwined with criminal organizations since 1915, where they have worked together, committed crimes, and continue to do so. This murder was committed by Turkish racism, by the Armenophobia of the Turkish masses, which has been incited by the authorities throughout the history of the Republic, and which is even larger than we think.
Hrant Dink defended the need for Turkey’s democratization instead of insisting on the demand for the recognition of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, which touches and activates the nerve endings of the state and those who think, feel, and reflect on the same wavelength as the state.
He, for the first time, told the Turkish society as an Armenian, explaining the historical and present existence of Armenians, their experiences, what it means to be an Armenian in Turkey, advocating for dialogue between two peoples and two countries, asking us to understand each other, constantly calling for such understanding. For the first time in Turkey, someone spoke as an Armenian on television screens and explained his problems with all frankness. What the dark foci of the state, working with the criminal foci, could not tolerate was not the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, but the call to understand each other, just this, yes, even this.
Agos, founded and managed by him, served as a lighthouse for us to reach the capillaries of the Armenian reality that we never knew, enlightened us, taught us, spoke to our souls, and fueled the fire within us to tell the truth.
Agos broke new ground. It told the history of Armenians in Turkey, the unimaginable realities of being an Armenian in Turkey. It did not only improve our knowledge, it did not only appeal to our minds, it also appealed to our hearts, matured our emotions, sharpened our ability to feel.
The discussion programs he participated in on TV channels made him visible. More people heard about the existence of Armenians and the discrimination they face for the first time. This visibility also played an important role in targeting him.
The real perpetrators of his murder, those who pushed the button, those who knew everything along the way, those who gave way, those who turned a blind eye were not prosecuted. They were and are protected by the armor of impunity, which has been a fixture of Turkey from the very beginning and still is. It should not be forgotten that Ogün Samast, who was used as the hitman in this massacre, was recently released.
Hrant Dink has a very special place for the Human Rights Association and its Committee against Racism and Discrimination. In 2000, 7 years before he was murdered, the committee went to him. We told him that we wanted to open an exhibition: the “Tuzla Armenian Camp – A Story of Confiscation” to make it known what happened to the Tuzla Armenian Children’s Camp (Kamp Armen). Camp Armen was not on the agenda at that time, it was not known, but during that busy period of Agos, he made time for us and opened his room.
He told our friends the story of the camp and allowed us to take notes. Most importantly, he sent us worlds worth of photographs from his personal archive and allowed us to use them. Our exhibition was opened thanks to him. The exhibition material was then published as a trilingual book in Turkish, Armenian, and English. 6 years later, we distributed the second edition of our book to the guests at the commemoration night organized on the first anniversary of his murder. Having his help to do this, working with him on the stories and photographs, was both the most precious memory and a great honor.
Hrant Dink has always been a natural advocate of the struggle for human rights and against racism and discrimination. He was the enemy of racism, hatred, and prejudice, and a friend of those who stood for truth, rights, and justice.
He was killed by the Turkist Armenophobia and racism, sometimes openly, sometimes covertly expressed by the authorities in Turkey, from the highest to the lowest levels, and embraced by a significant part of the public.
The Committee will feel Hrant Dink by our side in all its efforts and struggles in every case of racism, lynching attempt, discrimination and hatred, and it will struggle together with him.
Human Rights Association
Committee against Racism and Discrimination