Armenia-Turkey: Are We All Hrant Dink?

Following the second anniversary of the murder of Hrant Dink in Istanbul, Unzipped comments on a recent piece by Glendal News Press’ Patrick Azadian on the ethnic Armenian journalist who stood for peace, democracy and human rights in Turkey. The blog despairs the fact that nationalists are attempting to hijack the name of the man who stood for peace and reconciliation between Armenians and Turks for their own political purposes.

Highly recommend this excellent piece by Patrick Azadian. Very brave, and very honest. Sadly, many try to hijack Dink’s legacy for their nationalistic agenda, which is a complete opposite to what Dink’s legacy should be.

[…]

Monday marked the anniversary of the murder of Hrant Dink, the Turkish-Armenian author who championed freedom of speech and tolerance.

On the occasion, some chose the slogan “I am Hrant Dink” to express their support. On many of Internet’s social utility sites supporters swapped their personal images with that of Dink. […]

Are we Hrant Dink?

People like Dink do not come along very often. Indeed, he was not a man of “sides.” He wanted the Armenians to set themselves free of the “poison” they carry in their veins because of the act of genocide. He did not allow the act of genocide to be the main determinant of his identity. […]

Am I Hrant Dink?

Make no mistake, Dink did not forget the past. When referring to the genocide he once said: “Call it what you want. I know what happened to my people.”

His self-assured approach suggested that he cared intensely for the present and the future, not just the past. He exuded confidence reserved for individuals free of victim mentality.

And he did this in a hostile environment. Not from Glendale or Montreal. Not from Washington, D.C. or Paris.

[…]

Are we really Hrant Dink?

Dink is still not fully understood in Turkey nor the Diaspora. So forgive me for feeling that the slogan “We are all Hrant Dink” can ring hollow at times.

I leave you with a few simple thoughts:

To my Armenian brothers and sisters: “Are we willing to free ourselves of our genocide-centric identity? How long will we allow an outside entity to dictate our actions?”

To my Turkish cousins: “Is your collective conscience clear? Are you proud of what your ancestors did to mine?”

We are not Hrant Dink.

The full post where comments can be left is available on Unzipped.