On the 18th Anniversary of His Martyrdom
BY REV. DR. VAHAN H. TOOTIKIAN
On January 19, 2007, a 17-year-old self-proclaimed Turkish nationalist killed Hrant Dink, the editor of Istanbul’s bilingual Turkish and Armenian weekly newspaper, “Agos,” outside his office. News of his murder stunned people in and outside of Turkey.
The 53-year-old Dink was guilty of nothing more than having the courage to defend freedom of the press and to promote human rights and tolerance in Turkey. Turkish leaders harassed him and took him to court repeatedly on trumped up charges of “insulting Turkishness.”
In 2005, Dink was indicted under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code and was given a six-month suspended sentence, after which he received threats from Turkish nationalists who viewed him as a traitor and one who was “stabbing the Turkish Nation in the back.”
Through Agos, Dink played an important role by promoting freedom of speech, democracy and human rights. He was also an advocate for Turkey’s small Armenian community. Without compromising the truth, but with great tact and consideration, Dink expressed his views and bore his own witness to the truth as he saw it, and for that reason he became one of the prominent Armenian voices in Turkey.
For more than a century, successive Turkish governments have denied the fact of the Armenian Genocide and have vilified those who dared to speak about it. Dink tried to convince the Turkish society of the necessity of an honest and critical encounter with the past. The government prosecution and nationalist elements tried to silence him. They could not. He had the moral courage to stand for his principles. He became the Istanbul version of Martin Luther King Jr.,—and thus—a champion of a nonviolent movement for freedom of expression in Turkey.
Finally, the Turks resorted to brute and fatal force. They used a teenage agent of the so-called “Deep State” to silence him.
Years have elapsed since Dink’s tragic death, and I am left to ponder a few things. What made Dink the unusual person that he was? What was the core of his inner strength? What impact did his death have on others?
I have come to believe that what made Dink an unusual being was his sterling character. Character is the greatest ingredient in the human life. Wealth, prestige and intellect are admirable qualities, but without good character they are like the spokes of a wheel with no hub to tie them together. Dink was a public-spirited, upright and a good man who sought first not his own interest but the common good. He was endowed with courage born of loyalty to all that is noble.
Dink’s character was not built automatically and overnight. It was built through Christian education. He received a solid Christian education at Badanegan Doon, (boarding home) of the Armenian Evangelical Church of Gedik Pasha. This boarding home, where Dink spent eight years, was run by a young visionary and devout Christian leader by the name of Hrant Guzelian. This relatively older Guzelian had a tremendous impact on the younger Dink, as well as on the other borders, including his future wife, Rakel Dink. The core of Hrant’s and Rakel’s inner strength was their Christian faith, their personal experience with Jesus Christ. They both became humble and loyal disciples of Christ at an early age and together endured numerous hardships and challenges.
As for the impact of Dink’s life, I must say that as a result of his heroic stance, he was able to put a decisive crack in the armor of that infamous Turkish law, and in his death forced the Turkish government to reconsider changing it. Hence, his greatest legacy became the creation of a movement of intellectuals in Turkey to follow in his footsteps and to become advocates of freedom of expression. Dink’s death will not be in vain if the Turkish people continue their demand and their search for justice.
Alas, to this date the failure of the Turkish state to fully prosecute the organized extremists, who planned and carried out Dink’s murder, continues to threaten other intellectuals. This is a sad commentary on a country, which claims to be a democratic society and aspires to be a member of the European Union.
One final observation. Dink’s death made many people in Turkey face the Turkish denial of the Armenian Genocide. Unfortunately, that denial is still a continuing crime against the Armenian people. Let us hope that the day will come when Turkey will acknowledge its crime against the Armenian people, as well as against humanity, and will make the proper restitution.
May Hrant Dink’s courage, sense of justice, his dedication to the Armenian Cause and his faith in God inspire us and abide with us. May we resolve that his memory and legacy endure in our midst as an everlasting benediction.
Rev. Dr. Vahan H. Tootikian is the Minister Emeritus of the Armenian Congregational Church of Greater Detroit and the Executive Director of the Armenian Evangelical World Council.
