Death of the Journalist

Just four hours after his death last Friday, ten thousand people gathered in Taksim -another symbolic place banned from public protests by the military coup after witnessing several unprecedented demonstrations during the 70's- and marched towards the humble apartment in Şişli, where Dink's newspaper Agos is situated.

"We're all Hrant. We're all Armenians", shouted the angry crowd. "Down with fascism", they said. No one knew what to do when they reached the scene, where Dink lied breathless just hours ago.

Since then there're candles and a mountain of flowers guarding his memory, still very alive on everybody's minds. Numerous people host the street at all times.

Armenians without a voice

A public figure passes by the newspaper's offices now and then, to express his/her condolences. Orhan Pamuk was there yesterday. Before him, members of the Armenian community passed by following their Sunday ceremonies. They look more fragile than ever, unable to comprehend how atrocious can it get for them in this country.

Dink murder suspect, a 17-year-old from the infamous Black Sea city of Trabzon was identified and taken under custody in less than 48 hours after the incident. A third of the population in this city was Armenians in the beginning of last century.

Today the Armenian community all around the country doesn't even add up to 15 thousand. The torrent and destructive change on their ancient homeland brought by the harsh nation building policies is inconceivable for these people. Hrant Dink set out to voice their stories but silenced soon after. Now they remain withdrawn as ever.

Hypocrisy at its worst

For the last two days newspapers and televisions were packed with pictures and testimonies and grieving. The very people who refused to relate to Dink's thoughts when he was alive heave words of praise from their columns.

"He was a real patriot", they say. "This incident will harm Turkey's image", "Those bullets aimed for Turkey", are phrases commonplace. Politicians, who paved the way that led to his brutal end, express their sentiments of solidarity.

PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ministry of Justice Cemil Cicek who defended the preposterous articles in the new Penal Code or the so-called social democrat opposition leader Deniz Baykal who couldn't bear to hear a word about the Armenian issue now try their hardest to convince everybody of their sorrow even without a tickle in their faces.

The list continues: The governor of Trabzon who sympathized with the nationalist offenders when they lynched protesters on the streets back in 2005 or the high court judge who condemned Dink of "insulting Turkishness", ripping every principle of law to bits on the way.

End of the myth

Ervin Goffman said that prejudices are real in their consequences. The establishment in the 84-year-old Turkish republic entwined a cult of homogenous identity, which led to the extermination of all agents exterior to this constructed myth, with elaborate precision.

They were Armenians, Kurds, Jews, Greeks, socialists and communists and atheists and others who dared to be different.

Hrant Dink was a Turkish citizen of Armenian descent but he was denied of his civic rights. He was a socialist, demanding justice. A humble man, he dared to voice the evident.

The establishment rendered it probable and a boy with nothing to loose realized the unthinkable. Once again, the myth of tolerance is crushed with Hrant Dink's death. Nobody tolerates others anymore on this land.(EÜ)