January 19, 2007

We are deeply shocked by the news of the assassination of Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, a man who lived his life in the belief that there can be understanding, dialogue
and peace amongst peoples.
We categorically condemn this act, regardless of the circumstances, and call
on the Turkish authorities indeed to do everything to identify those responsible.

We, the members of Yerevan Press Club, are shocked to the depth of our
hearts by the assassination of a well-known journalist, the Chief Editor of
“Agos” newspaper Hrant Dink. This abominable act is directed against freedom
of expression, democracy, the normalization of Armenian -Turkish relations.
It is yet another sign of numerous dark, regressive, cruel forces that do
not wish our region to advance in its development.

Hrant devoted his journalistic and public activities to fighting for the
human right to express ideas freely; to overcoming the traditional
stereotypes that hinder people from communicating, understanding and loving
each other. He found it equally unacceptable to hush down the crime of the
Turkish government against its Armenian population in 1915 and to introduce
criminal charges for denial of Armenian genocide, as in the draft approved
by the French parliament. Being one of the few people in Turkey who dared to
speak of genocide, Hrant Dink qualified the punishment of anyone holding
contrary views as a human rights infringement. He was one of the people seen
as the symbol of Turkey’s regeneration - a controversial process,
encountering powerful resistance to change and numerous internal and
external obstacles.

People like Hrant, who seek to overcome the fear and complexes in themselves
and those around, people who are open for everything new and good, are the
most defenseless. His murder, as well as his previous political and court
persecution by Turkish authorities, come to confirm this sad truth. Seeing
the unrivaled scale of outcry in the world and in Turkey itself to the
killing of our colleague, one cannot help to think of the paradox: the
society reacts most painfully and with a certain sense of guilt to the loss
of those its members, who, in their service to truth and justice, were most
vulnerable and did not receive the due empathy and support during their
lifetime. Let this be another lesson for all the countries, where
journalists are killed, abused and harassed.

Feeling tremendous sorrow, we cannot but express our regret over a number of
statements. Their authors are trying to use the Istanbul tragedy to
disseminate ideas, alien to Hrant Dink, thus being disrespectful to his
memory. The assassination of a journalist and a public figure is certainly a
consequence of political collisions in Turkish society, and we call to
oppose to using it for deepening incomprehension and hostility.

We want to believe that the values Hrant Dink stood for, the aims he strove
for will find more and more supporters in Turkey, Armenia, in whole of our
region. Yerevan Press Club has always been and will always be among them.

January 20, 2007

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Yerevan Press Club
9B, Ghazar Parpetsi str.
0002, Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+ 374 10) 53 00 67; 53 35 41; 53 76 62
Fax: (+374 10) 53 56 61
E-mail: pressclub@ypc.am
Web Site: www.ypc.am