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Turkey: Post-Murder Trial, Thousands Remember Hrant Dink

Onnik Krikorian — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:46:41 +0000

Thousands have marched in Turkey to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist and Agos newspaper editor Hrant Dink. Angering Turkish nationalists with his outspoken position that the 1915 massacre and deportation of as many as 1.5 million ethnic Armenians as the Ottoman Empire collapsed constituted genocide, Dink was shot dead outside his office in Istanbul on 19 January 2007.

His killer, Ogun Samast, was sentenced last year, but the end this week of the trial of others involved continues to leave many questions relating to official involvement in the assassination unanswered. Writing on Critical Legal Thinking, Basak Ertür provides a comprehensive background to the case as well as the events leading up to Dink's death.

Hrant Dink’s murder was the culminating point of a persecution campaign that can be traced back to February 2004, when he published claims to the effect that Sabiha Gökçen, the adopted daughter of Atatürk and the first woman war pilot of the Turkish Republic, was of Armenian descent. Dink’s claim provoked a public statement from the Chief of Staff, the highest echelon of the Turkish army. A few days later he was summoned to the Istanbul Governor’s Office and “warned” by two people who were introduced to him as “friends” of the then Deputy Governor. Three and a half years after the assassination, the Intelligence Service admitted that these two people were its operatives.

[…]

[…] The deep state lurks menacingly behind the innumerable assassinations, disappearances, provocations, threats, disinformation campaigns, psychological operations and dirty deals of the past few decades. Though providing much fodder for what can be dismissed as conspiracy theorising, the very style and structure of deep state plots render them almost immediately recognisable to a public that has become all too familiar with them. Hrant Dink’s assassination was instantly widely recognised as one such plot.

Certain pieces of information that surfaced during the trial corroborated this view. One of the defendants testified that in his capacity as a police informant, he had repeatedly warned the security forces of the plan to assassinate Dink in the months leading to his death. Some documentary evidence supported the claim that the police was informed of the plan as early as eleven months before the assassination. Key defendants were remarkably smug during the hearings, occasionally signalling, though never disclosing their deeper connections.

[…]

This is what Fethiye Çetin, the lawyer representing the Dink family, meant when she spoke after the decision, referring to the case as a comedy: “They’ve been mocking us all along. And today, we saw that they saved the punch-line for the end.”

Nevertheless, if Dink was loathed by Turkish nationalists, he was also disliked by their counterparts in Armenia and its large Diaspora. Also calling for reconciliation and brotherhood between Armenians and Turks, it's therefore perhaps no wonder that most of those protesting the outcome of the trial as well as commemorating yesterday's anniversary were Turks, Kurds and Armenians living in Turkey.

@UtkuCakir: İnsanlık ölmemiş… Agos'un önünde görmüşler - Fotoğraf: Tolga Bozoğlu #kardesimsinhrant - Hrant Dink pic.twitter.com/ojlyXWoD

Humanity has not died… In front of Agos #you'remybrotherhrant

@BerxwedanYARUK: Ankara da Hrant Dink anması pic.twitter.com/KdA1Px1m

Hrant Dink commemoration in Ankara

Erkan Saka, a Turkish academic and blogger, posts some of the many updates and photos sent out on Twitter in Turkish. However, there were also updates, with some translation into English, from commemorative marches throughout Turkey.

@umitalan: Taksim'le Agos arasında müthiş bır kalabalık var. Devlete, yargıya ve tüm katillerine en ıyi cevap bu. Bu dava burada bitmeyecek.

There is a huge crowd between Taksim and Agos. This is the best answer to the state, prosecution and all criminals. This struggle will not end here.

@449981: CNNTurk 30 bin kişi oldugunu soyledi şimdi.yayını taksimden yapıyorlardı galiba,grubun en arkası gözüküyordu roportaj yaptıkları yerden.

CNNTurk just reported that there are 30,000 people. Looks like they're showing footage from Taksim. […]

@pinarinfanta: Belki de içimi en çok burkan ayakkabısının altındaki delikti,sessizce kaldırımda yatıyordu..suçu sadece ‘Ermeni' olmaktı #kardesimsinhrant

Perhaps the most heart wrenching [image] was the hole in his shoe. He was silently lying there on the ground… His only guilt was that he was “Armenian”. #you'remybrotherhrant

@ETemelkuran: 2nd march in Istanbul today for #hrantdink case.1st one gathered thousands, ppl r gathering again. http://pic.twitter.com/FG1XEgSd via@efkanbolac

@ETemelkuran: One of the most prominent writers Vedat Türkali joined the protests for #hrantdink today. via @mungan_murathan http://pic.twitter.com/BenLfLQo”

@ETemelkuran: The protest in Bodrum tdy.In several cities ppl protested the unjust verdict in #hrantdink case via @beynigezmelerde http://pic.twitter.com/vmtJpkvo”

@ETemelkuran: Ppl of Istanbul r gathering to protest the unjust closure of #hrantdink case for the 2nd time today. The morning march was thousands.

@ETemelkuran: The march is begining inIstanbul.Ppl chanting:”Long live the brotherhood of the peoples!” #hrantdink http://pic.twitter.com/d3ok5oQ4 via@efkanbolac

@ETemelkuran: The streets of İstanbul city centre is shaking with slogans for #hrantdink! http://pic.twitter.com/4XMF4Duh via @efkanbolac

@ETemelkuran: The march in Ankara. After thousands gathered in Istanbul for #hrantdink now it is Ankara's turn. twitpic.com/896b80 via @matakanfoca

@techsoc: I keep thinking: This huge march symbolizes everything Hrant was. Such a shame that it was only his death that brought it about.

@techsoc: Here's a photo of Hrant's dead body. My grandma said: “I cried for days. Who could kill a man with holes in his shoes?” http://bit.ly/yqDn2N

@ETemelkuran: There was a whole under his shoe when #hrantdink was shot.pic shows”the crack in the justice system” pic.twitter.com/jgE3CjYn via@denizmistepe

Başka simply posted the statement in Turkish by ethnic Armenian journalist and writer Karin Karakaşlı made at the commemoration.

19 Ocak bir anma günü değil. Hiçbir zaman da olmadı. Zaten bu topraklarda ayrı ayrı yaşatılmış ne kadar acı varsa, hiçbirinin anma günü olmadı. Herkes acısının yaşatıldığı o tarih geldiğinde, kendince, bir başına kahroldu.

[…]

Dosya kapandı diyorlar bize. Kapandı mı bu dosya? Hrant Dink dosya değil ki kapatasın, o bir yara… Artık köprüden önceki son çıkıştayız. Oradan hakkıyla geçmeden tamamlanacak ödeşme, kurulacak düş, inanılacak adalet, yaşanacak memleket yok. Öbür türlüsü sadece yalan olur ve bir gün başımıza yıkılır. Altında kalırız hep birlikte.

O yüzden gün, sadece söz söylemek değil söz vermek zamanı.

Söz verelim mi birbirimize? Bu dava daha bitmedi.

Söz verelim mi birbirimize? İnsanlık daha ölmedi.

Söz verelim mi birbirimize? Devlet daha hesabını vermedi.

Sözümüz söz olsun. Bu adaletsizlikle yaşamak hepimize haramdır. Aksi için uğraşan hepimize helal olsun.

19 January is not a comemmoration day. It has never been. There has never been a comemmoration day for every other single pain caused in these lands. Everyone lived the pain alone in the period when it was caused, everyone suffered by themselves.

[…]

The dossier has been closed, we are told. Is this dossier closed? Hrant Dink is not a dossier to be closed. He is a wound. We are in the one but last exit before the bridge. There is no score to settle, no hope to harbour, no justice to believe in, no country to live in until you cross it properly. Any other way would be a lie and one day will come upon us. We will stay under the heaviness of it.

This is why it is time to make a promise, not to simply say we will.

Shall we make a promise to each other that this struggle has not ended.

Shall we make a promise to each other that the humanity has not died.

Shall we make a promise to each other that the state is yet to account.

We promise. Living with this injustice is forbidden for all of us. Be blessed all who struggle otherwise.

Judging from the commemorations in Istanbul and elsewhere, as well as from prominent figures and online commentary in Turkey, many appear to agree.

Global Voices Azerbaijan author Pervin Muradli provided the translations from Turkish into English for this post.

Turkey: Hrant Dink Murder Trial Closes

Nigar Hacizade — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:32:32 +0000

Five years and 25 hearings later, the trial to convict those responsible for the murder of Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist, has come to a close. The gunman, 17-year-old Ogün Samast, as well as over a dozen others accused of involvement in the gunning down of Dink in Istanbul in January 2007, were caught almost immediately afterwards.

However, according to Dink's family, friends and lawyers, the case is linked to Turkey's so-called deep state structures and the real perpetrators, meaning those who masterminded the crime, have not been brought to justice.

While Samast was sentenced to 22 years in prison last year, yesterday's verdict, which ruled that three other defendants acted as individuals rather than as part of a criminal organization, was a disappointment many had seen coming. From the pre-hearing statement of the group “Hrant's Friends” to the lawyer's statement after the verdict, and throughout a procession from the Beşiktaş Court House to Agos, the newspaper Dink edited, one sentiment stood out.

Journalist Yavuz Baydar summed up that feeling.

@yavuzbaydar: Dink davasına doğru, yolda. Karar çıkacak herhalde, ama bu dava bitmeyecek.

On my way to the court. Seems like a verdict will be issued today, but this trial will not end here.

Indeed, the same sentiment was also echoed in chants and placards. Çiğdem Mater tweeted a photo:

@cigdemmater: Mahkemeye yuruyoruz: oldur diyenler yargilansin #hrantdink http://twitpic.com/85jf4s

We are walking to the court: (the chant is) indict those who ordered the murder.

Mehmet Demir also tweeted a photo from in front of the court where Hrant Dink's widow Rakel Dink was among those standing behind the banner:

@memediko: 5. Yılında, 25. duruşmasında Hrant için, adalet için Beşiktaş Adliyesindeyiz… http://twitpic.com/88bgwi

On the 5th year and 25th hearing, we are at the Beşiktaş Court House for Hrant and for justice.

Another person for who seemed to anticipate the verdict was lawyer Efkan Bolaç.

@efkanbolac: Hrant icin Beşiktaş adliyesine gelinsin ancak adalet icin Beşiktaş adliyesine gelinmesin. Bugün adalet tam tecelli etmeyecek.

Come to the court today for Hrant, but not for justice. Justice will not be fulfilled today.

The group calling themselves “Hrant's Friends” made a statement before the hearing began. The video segment above contains footage of crowds walking towards the court house and chanting several slogans. The statement at 2:19 reads:

We know how they will decide. This is the state's decision, including its security forces, gendarmerie, intelligence, judiciary, media, government, opposition, those who decided to take Hrant away from us 5 years ago will make another decision today saying this was the work of a few hoods. They will try to hide in their dark world. How can they do this? We know who they are. There is something they don't know: before we say it is over, this trial is not over.

Some attending the trial also tweeted from inside the court. Özlem Dalkıran of the Hrant Dink Foundation, for example, quoted the lawyers for the prosecution.

@OzlemDalkiran: Kamu görevlilerinin kapsamlı soruşturmaya tabi tutulmasını defalarca talep etmemize rağmen bu talebimiz karşılanmadı #HrantDink

Our continuous demands for a comprehensive investigation of public officials as part of this case have not been met.

Efkan Bolaç also tweeted a part of their statement mentioning other similar cases in Turkey:

@efkanbolac: Rahip santaro ve zirve yayıncı cinayetinde bu örgütün eylemleri arasındadır. Devlet görevlileri bu davada dosyaya eklenememistir

Priest Santaro and Zirve Publishing House murders are among the actions of this organization. Public officials have not been included in this trial's file.

Bolaç also considered that the question of whether the crime was organized or not would have an impact on the sentence of the killer.

@efkanbolac: Eğer htant dink cinayeti örgütlü halde işlenmişse bu durum agirlastirici sebep olacaktır.

If the Hrant Dink murder was perpetrated by an organized group it will mean aggravated circumstance.

@efkanbolac: davada eğer suc örgütünün varlığı kabul edilip sanıklar örgüt üyeliğinden ceza alırsa karar cocuk Mah.De yargılanan samast'i da etkileyecek

If the existence of a criminal organization is affirmed in this case and the accused are sentenced under that crime, this will affect (the shooter) Ogün Samast, who is being tried at a children's court.

With journalist Yavuz Baydar tweeting that it would be a surprise if no verdict was announced, the Friends of Hrant then announced that whatever the outcome they would organize a procession to where Dink was shot.

@hrantinarkdslri: Bir saat ara verildi. Ardindan karar aciklanacak. Karardan sonra Besiktas'tan Agos'a yuruyoruz!

An hour long break, then the verdict will be announced. After the verdict we will be walking from Beşiktaş to Agos.

There has also been online and offline mobilization for a protest-walk from Istanbul's Taksim Square to the Agos newspaper on Thursday 19 January, the 5th anniversary of Dink's murder, as columnist Hilal Kaplan tweeted.

@hilal_kaplan: Hrant Dink suikasti davasından ne karar çıkarsa çıksın, adalet çıkmayacağını biliyoruz. Perşembe günü 13′te Taksim'den Agos'a yürüyoruz.

Whatever comes out of the Hrant Dink murder trial, we know it won't be justice. We will be walking from Taksim to Agos on Friday at 13.00

Waiting for the verdict in what was reported to be a packed courtroom, Özlem Dalkıran agreed:

@OzlemDalkiran: Bekliyoruz. Verilecek karar devletin kararı olacak, bizim degil. Biz #HrantDink in gercek katillerini buluncaya kadar pesindeyiz davamızın.

We are waiting. It will be the state's verdict, not ours. We will be chasing this case until Hrant Dink's real murderers are found.

Finally the verdict was read aloud and simultaneously tweeted.

@_chiquitita_: Osman Hayal beraat. Erhan Tuncel orgut lliderliiginden beraat. #hrantdink

Both Osman Hayal and Erhan Tuncel have been acquitted on the counts of membership of criminal organization, Tuncel having been accused of being the leader.

@cigdemmater: Tutuksuz yargılananlar da terör örgütüne yardımdan beraatine

Defendants who were being tried without detention have been acquitted on the count of aiding a terrorist organization.

@cigdemmater: Salih hacisalihoglu ruhsatsız silahdan 2 ay 15 gün

Salih Hacısalihoğlu is convicted to 2 months 15 days on possession of unlicenced gun.

@cigdemmater: Ahmet İskender ruhsatsız silahdan 10 ay

Ahmet İskender is sentenced to 10 months on the possession of an unlicensed gun.

@cigdemmater: Yasin hayalin Orhan pamuğu tehditten 3ay hapsine

Yasin Hayal is sentenced to 3 months on the count of threatening Orhan Pamuk.

@cigdemmater: Yasin hayal tasarlanmış adam öldürmeye azmettirmekten agirlastirilmis muebbetine

Yasin Hayal is sentenced to life sentence in solitary confinement with no possiblity of parole on the count of soliciting voluntary manslaughter.

@cigdemmater: Erhan Tuncel Mcdonakdsa dahilinden 10 yıl altı ay hapsine

Erhan Tuncel is sentenced to 10 years and 6 months on being involved in the bombing of the McDonald's in Trabzon.

Journalist Şirin Payzin offered their own interpretation of the verdict:

@siring: Örgüt yok demekle aslında sanık avukatlarının savunmaları kabul edilmiş oldu. Yani cinayeti bu isimler kendi kafalarına göre işlediler.

By denying the existence of organized crime, in a way the defense of the accused was affirmed. So it is as if these people committed the murder out of their own whim.

A press statement outside of the court from the Dink family lawyer Fethiye Çetin immediately followed.

Five years have passed since the murder. (His son) Arat had said they are making fun of us. They've saved the best for last, and we learned that today. It appears Hrant Dink was killed not by planned action but by a few hoodlums. Apparently there is no organization here. We did not expect this much, truly. What does this verdict mean? It means a deep tradition is not broken, and it is not allowed to be broken. This is the state's tradition of political murders, excluding its minorities and making enemies out of them - today's verdict affirms this tradition once again. Those who are extremely disturbed by the state becoming synonymous with adjectives such as the bomber of its own people, the perpetrator of massacres, arsonists, did not make any effort to get rid of these adjectives and turned down the opportunity. This trial was a chance to confront a history full of blood and pain, to cleanse, to say “never again” to murders like this, to democratize, but they did not use this chance. Those who were the “others” and the targets of the state, meaning the politicians and the ruling government of today, seem to have forged an alliance with the tradition that used to marginalize them. But they should know that unless the state is transformed, this alliance is temporary. […] Today, here, this verdict has closed the first phase where the murderers were tried, but this trial is not over. This is a farce, and for us this trial is only starting now. In this process of trying assassins a torch has been held to the darkness that has created killers out of babies. And the real culprits that had been trying to hide in that darkness have emerged. That is why this trial is only beginning now. There are many ways we can go and many areas we can use. We will use all of them with great determination, until the darkness is questioned, the culprits are convicted and we decide this trial has ended.

The crowd then started walking to Agos.

Hrant icin, adalet icin! #hrantdink http://pic.twitter.com/IO9sSZOD

For Hrant, For justice.

Meanwhile, journalist Hanım Büşra Erdal summed up the outcome of the trial.

@busra_erdal: dink cinayetinde sadece yasin hayal ve ogün samast tutuklu kaldı. erhan tuncel tekirdağ cezaevinden tahliye ediliyor #hrantdink

Only Yasin Hayal and Ogün Samast are now in prison in the Dink murder case. Erhan Tuncel has been released from the Tekirdağ Prison, where he was during his trial for the past 5 years.

As of the evening of 17 January, the first reaction from the government side was from Ertuğrul Günay, Minister of Culture and Tourism. According to various news sources, Günay called the verdict “grave,” believing that it will now go to the Supreme Court of Appeals. The verdict, as well as the five-year long judicial process, will also likely remain on Turkey's agenda, but for now all eyes are on a march to mark the fifth anniversary of Dink's murder to be held on Thursday 19th January.

Attendance, which has been significant in the past, is likely to be an indicator of public support for any continuation of the case.

Macedonia, Greece, Turkey: Bridging the Divides Through Multilingual Reporting

Filip Stojanovski — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 01:21:51 +0000

Two recent initiatives by civic-minded journalists added value to the e-content in local languages from Macedonia and nearby countries: Diversity Media is offering news analysis through text and audio podcasts in Macedonian and Albanian, and Balkon3.com is enabling “peeking over the neighbors' fence” in Macedonian, Turkish, Greek, and English. The former also started a competition for news bloggers [mk, sq], ending Jan. 31.

Turkey: Online Relief Efforts for Van's Earthquake Victims

Kubra — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 09:11:09 +0000

Eastern Turkey was hit by a large earthquake of magnitude 7.2 yesterday. The earthquake, whose epicentre was about 16 km north of Van province, devastated the area where many buildings were demolished with many people buried under the ruins.

As the government of Turkey started the official relief efforts, many Turkish citizens both in the country and abroad showed interest in helping those effected on the ground. As a result, within a couple of hours after the earthquake several different campaigns were launched on social networks to help with rescue and relief operations.

One interesting campaign that quickly grabbed the attention of many on social media networks was “EvimEvindir”. The campaign was started by Turkish journalist Ahmet Tezcan when he declared on Twitter [tr] that he was ready to welcome a family which was left homeless due to the quake to his home:

Vanlı bir aileye evimi açmaya hazirim. Kamu kuruluşları bunu da organize etmeli!

I am ready to open my [door and] home to a family from Van. Public institutions should organise this as well!

Ahmet Tezcan continued to promote the idea and soon another Turkish journalist Erhan Çelik started promoting the campaign strongly. In a couple of hours, hundreds of tweets and thousands of e-mails were received by the two journalists regarding the campaign and Erhan Çelik mentioned his thanks for the attention [tr]:

Mail kutumda 17 bin mail var. Bunlardan ilgili olanları İstanbul Valiliğine iletiyorum. İlginize depremzedeler adına çok teşekkürler!

There are 17,000 e-mails in my inbox. I am transferring interested parties to Governorship of Istanbul. On behalf of earthquake victims; thanks a lot for your interest!

Soon two new hashtags “#EvimEvindir” [“#MyHouseIsYourHouse” in Turkish] and “#EvimEvindirVan” spread in Turkey and a new website for the campaign was set up at www.evimevindir.com. Ahmet Tezcan reported that Governorship of Istanbul had stepped in to help the campaign:

İstanbul Valimiz H.Avni Mutlu #EvimEvindirVan kampanyasindan haberdar edildi. Çok sevindi. Gerekenin yapilmasi icin talimat verecektir!

The Governor of Istanbul H. Avi Mutlu has been informed of #EvimEvindirVan campaign. He was very happy. He will be giving instructions to carry out what’s necessary.

According to the campaign's website, the Governorship of Istanbul is now the coordinator of the campaign to locate and connect families from Istanbul to families in the earthquake zone.

Another campaign that was launched on Twitter and gained support via the hashtag “#HaydiGsmciler” [“#ComeOnGsmOps” in Turkish] called on the three leading GSM operators in Turkey, namely Turkcell, Vodafone Turkey, and Avea, to provide free minutes to its customers in the earthquake zone, as it is expected that many victims who were buried alive under the rubble would attempt to use their cell phones to contact for help. Journalist Erhan Çelik avidly promoted this campaign, posting [tr]:

GSM şirketleri de üzerine düşeni yapsın! Deprem bölgesinde kontörlü hatlar ücretsiz olsun, mağdurlar rahatça konuşsun! #HaydiGsmciler

GSM Operators should do their part as well! Prepaid lines in earthquake zone should be free [of any charge for transactions], so that victims can talk freely! #HaydiGsmciler

Soon after the hashtag was launched, all three leading GSM operators declared that they would be providing free minutes to their customers in Van, which had suffered losses due to earthquake. Both Turkcell and Avea reported [tr] this news through their official Twitter accounts respectively as follows:

Van'da bulunan ön ödemeli müşterilerimize her yönü arayabilecekleri 100 dk. ücretsiz konuşma süresi ve 100 kısa mesaj (SMS) yüklenecektir

Our prepaid customers in Van will be provided with 100 free minutes and 100 short messages (SMS) available to use for all calls.

Van'da yaşanan felaket nedeniyle bölgede bulunan tüm Avealı'lara her yöne kullanabilecekleri 100dk konuşma ve 100 sms tanımlanmıştır #van

Due to the disaster that occurred in Van, all Avea customers in the regions are given 100 free minutes and 100 SMS available to use for all calls. #van

A few hours after the earthquake, several activist bloggers created a blog, named “Yalnız Değilsin Van” [“You are not Alone Van” in Turkish], to provide information on contact and coordination points for relief efforts in the earthquake zone. Heavily promoted in the blogosphere and Twitter, the blog describes itself as:

This page has been created to keep track of, gather and post updates on the relief efforts towards the 2011 Van Earthquake, including transportation of aid, coordination numbers and a continuously updated list of goods and equipment in demand

The blog contains information in both Turkish and English and also has a Facebook page called: “Van’la Dayanışma” [“Solidarity with Van” in Turkish].

One last addition to web-based help to relief efforts for the victims of the Van earthquake came from Google in the form of Google Person Finder which was activated in Turkish. Zeynep Tüfekçi reported this as:

Google Person Finder now up in Turkish for the Van earthquake: http://turkey-2011.googlepersonfinder.appspot.com/

Thumbnail image is a screenshot from yalnizdegilsinvan.wordpress.com.

Syria: World Cities Rally Against and For Bashar

Thalia Rahme — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 22:23:19 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.

As the death toll in Syria increases, the International Community is running out of patience and hardening its tone against Syrian president Bashar Al Assad demanding for change and reforms. Abroad the diaspora has also been involved actively since the beginning of the protests in March 2011. Almost all cities around the world have witnessed rallies and demonstrations, some asking Assad to leave, and others declaring their dying love for him.

From San Francisco (11 June, 2011) and Chicago (July 3), to Washington DC ( 23 July), the US capital, where people chanted: ‘‘Leave Leave Bashar” in front of the White House; almost all big cities in the US witnessed opposition gatherings manifesting their solidarity with the people of Daraa, Homs and Deir el Zor among others.

Here is video uploaded by AhmedIbnAlsham on August 6, where protesters where carrying a poster representing Hafez and Bashar Al Assad and written on it: ”Like father, like son”:

Assad also has his supporters in the US like in California (April 3). Chicago too, held another pro-regime rally on April 3 and June 10 while defenders of the regime met in front of the United Nations Headquarters in New York (May 1) to assert their love to their leader.

Wave of rallies hit Latin America as well. On June 26, Syrians in Santiago, Chile, chanted “El Pueblo Quiere Bashar el Assad” or ”The People Want Bashar Al Assad”, as we can see in this footage by Zaizuni:

We move to Europe and start with London (June 18) where Syrians called Assad an assassin, to Brussels (July 23), the headquarters of the European Parliament, to Milano in Italy (12 and 17 July). There, potesters, it seems, are no longer satisfied with reforms or even the call for the toppling of the regime. They want to bring it to trial.

Here's a video by Hazem Daoudi, taken in Geneva on August 6, Switzerland, facing the UN Headquarters:

France which is home to a large Syrian community has been witnessing continuous demonstrations, like in Strasbourg on 2 and 16 July, and this two-week sit-in, facing Place du Châtelet in Paris. YouTube user Mesudh75, posts this video showing a peaceful protest in front of the Syrian consulate and the Syrian Cultural Center in Paris:

In Germany, people took to the streets in Leipzig (July 7), Berlin (July 23) and Bonn on August 6 and August 8, not to forget Munich where on that same day, where this video from HutaafElhurriyyeh shows Germans showing solidarity with Syrians and singing the Syrian National Anthem:

Close to Munich, in Vienna, Austria, another protest took place, where this footage was taken and posted by AhmadSouri during a demo on August 9, in front of the Syrian Embassy:

Anti-Bashar protests also took place in Ukraine (April 22) Romania (June 30), Russia (July 31) and Greece (August 2), calling for the end of fascism:

In Turkey, protesters gathered in front of the Iranian embassy in Istanbul on August 5, denouncing the Islamic Republic stance towards the protest. They were joined on August 7, by members of the Felicity or Saadet party in front of the Syrian Consulate as we can see in this video by khaled111h:

But Assad can also rely on his supporters in Europe, who consider him as the only guarantee for stability and security in Syria. The streets of Paris, France, witnessed severaldemonstrations on June 11 and July 3 , 4 11 and 12 .

Diaspora in Odessa, Ukraine, flew balloons with the Syrian flag on June 4 for Assad. Others marched on June 6 in Kazan City in Russia for the same reason.

Syrians in Armenia also portrayed their support to their president on March 2011:

Despite the turmoil and unrest in the Arab world, and its own inner revolution, its capitals were keen on showing their solidarity and compassion with the Syrians.

This is Tunis on August 6, in a video by wadoodfreesyrian where people were chanting:” Syria is Free! Bashar get out!”:

In Egypt on August 1, OmawiTV shows angry people following the Hama Massacre and calling for the expulsion of the Syrian Ambassador:

In Lebanon, the situation is a bit delicate due to the complex relation between both countries. Quite often, opponents and loyalists of the Damascus regime clashed and the army had to intervene to separate both parties. The latest rally in solidarity with the Syrian people was held on Monday, August 8 in Martyrs Square in Beirut. This was a gathering which was attended by a lot of intellectuals, journalists and activists among which we note the presence of prominent Lebanese composer and singer Marcel Khalife. You can check Mahmoud Ghazayel's photos of the event, on Facebook.

Participants were chanting “This a shout from Lebanon - Calling for Human Rights”:

Jordanians conducted Taraweeh, the nightly Ramadan prayers, on August 2 in front of the Syrian Embassy as we can see in this video taken directly from the scene of events by Basemaggad. Bassem recorded another video in August 8 too.

Similar rallies took places in the Gulf monarchies cities, like in Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, on August 8, where we can hear people shouting “Syria is for us and not for the Assad Family”:

Here is another video from Jeddah at night on the same day by hama19822011:

In Kuwait (August 5 and 7) and Bahrain (August 5, 8 and 9, protesters are demanding the expulsion of Syrian Ambassador from both respective countries and the freezing of the bilateral ties with Damascus. Protests were attended by several political figures and members of both parliaments.

This video by daraahoran shows people in Kuwait in front of Syrian Embassy, calling for the overthrow of the Baath party.

Syrians and Bahrainis rallied in Manama on August 9, chanting“Daraa, we're with you, till death !”

We conclude our round up in the Australian continent, where seems the Assad opponents and partisans also voiced their support and vice versa.

In Auckland, New Zealand, approximately 200 people gathered in protest against the regime for killing innocent Syrian civilians on July 30.

Demonstrations were also held in Sydney, Australia, on August 2 against the regime:

In another demonstration in Sydney on April 3, protested to say that ”Bashar is the best president in the whole Middle East and the world there will be no one like him”.

Protests against the Syrian regime, are penciled in for London, Paris and Tunis tomorrow (August 13).

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.

Thumbnail and featured image ‘Protest to support Syrian opposition at State Department - Berlin', by Thorsten Strasas, copyright Demotix (06/08/11).

Turkey: Ethnic Tension Rises Further as Street Clashes Erupt in Istanbul

Kubra — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 21:37:45 +0000

In the aftermath of a clash between army and separatist Kurdish PKK militants which claimed the lives of over a dozen from both sides earlier this month, ethnic tension in Turkey continues to grow. Marches in the already tense Zeytinburnu district of Istanbul broke out into larger scale street fighting on the night of 21st July 2011, when ultra-nationalist Turkish groups marched to the pro-PKK BDP party office and attempted to attack it. Police were deployed and after a few hours of clashes, were able take control of the area. Social media played a large role both in the making and in the reporting of the incident as many of the marchers organised themselves through social networks, such as Facebook.

One of the Facebook pages used to gather more people on the way for the march to BDP office in the night of 21st July was 58 bulvar zeytinburnu. A Youtube video showing the ultra-nationalist marchers shouting “Martyrs can be Never Dead! Homeland can Never be Divided!” in the streets of Zeytinburnu was posted earlier on the page:

This particular video garnered over a hundred “like”s and comments; some supporting, some denouncing.

After the incident, another Facebook page “Zeytinburnu Mehmetçikleri” (i.e. “Zeytinburnu Soldiers”) was created and garnered over 6000 “like”s within a day. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s saying, “Ne Mutlu Türküm diyene” (“How happy is the one who says ‘I am Turk’”) was used in many of the comments on the page.

Despite some news agencies later reporting that the ultra-nationalist march was spontaneous, videos of the march captured by eyewitnesses show an organised march, with large Turkish flags and music; such as the following by ozanisildar:

Nevertheless, İclal Turan who was present at the clashes stated [tr] that the march didn’t look spontaneous to her:

haberlerde genellikle “bdp'lilere tepki gösteren mahalleli” diyor ama bnm sokaklarda gördüğüm organize olmuş ülkücü bir grup

“in news they have generally stated that [marchers were] ‘town folk reacting to BDP supporters’, but what I saw in the streets was an organised Ülkücü [ultra-nationalist] group.”

She also mentioned [tr] the events in Zeytinburnu having started three days ago and has been on-going since then:

zeytinburnu'ndaki olaylar 3 gün önce bdp'lilerin mahalede çöpleri yakıp evleri taşlaması ile başladı, sonra ülkücüler ayaklandı hala sürüor.

Events in Zeytinburnu started 3 days ago with BDP supporters burning trash [cans] and stoning houses, then Ülkücü’s rose up [and] it is still going on.

Photographs of the events, shot by Ferdi Türk, show that most in the ultra-nationalist crowd had sticks:

Ultra-nationalist crowd with sticks, Istanbul, Turkey. Image by Twitpic user @ferditurk

Ultra-nationalist crowd marching, Istanbul, Turkey. Image by Twitpic user @ferditurk

Apparently the crowd also attacked private property around the area in which they had gathered:

Stores, cars, and many other kinds of private property, around the area of the clashes, were damaged. Istanbul, Turkey. Image by Twitpic user @ferditurk

Alper Budka, a journalist who was at the scene of the incidents reported on Twitter [tr] that police were deployed to prevent clashes and the attacks:

Polis, kalabalığa biber gazıyla karşılık verdi. Bu sırada caddeye doğru bi havai fişek patladı. Vatandaşlar dükkanlara kaçıştı

Police responded to the crowd with pepper spray. At this moment a firework was thrown towards the [main] street. [Ordinary] Citizens ran away to stores.

He also mentioned [tr] that riot police were deployed:

Ardından 70-80 kişilik takviye çevik kuvvet ekibi geldi. Kalabalık dağılmıştı fakat biraz sonra yeniden aynı yerde toplandlar. Hala ordalar

Later on an additional 70-80 riot police arrived. Crowd were dispersed but they gathered again in the same spot shortly after. They are still there.

İclal Turan reported [tr] the use of pepper spray:

her şey bir yana polisin biber gazı kullandığı yer insanların akşam gezdiği, yürüdüğü bi yer. küçücük çocuklar gaza maruz kaldı, ağladılar!

In spite of everything, the place where police used pepper spray was somewhere people walk around, chill out at evenings. Small children were exposed to the gas, they cried!

A resident of Zeytinburnu, gregorumsamsam reported [tr] that police helicopters were patrolling the area once the crowds were dispersed:

Zeytinburnu'nda olaylar nihayet duruldu galiba. sadece devriye gezen helikopterlerin sesi var şu an.

Events in Zeytinburnu are finally over, [I] guess. There is only the sound of patrolling helicopters right now.

hty96, a Youtube user, posted a video of the clashes between some people from the crowd and the police:

As the clashes between pro-PKK Kurdish groups and ultra-nationalist Turkish groups have been going on in Zeytinburnu for days since the incident on the night of 21st July, some have blamed both sides for being manipulated to order to increase the ethnic tension in the country. Sinan Dirlik commented [tr]:

zeytinburnundan günlerdir içsavaş provası uğraşındaki türk ve kürt sersemler. yangın her yeri sardığında mı rahatlayacaksınız?

Turkish and Kurdish fools attempting a rehearsal for civil war in Zeytinburnu for days. Will you be relieved when fire has spread everywhere?

Some have claimed that regarding both sides equally liable is not fair in this situation. kafa_radyo said [tr], for example:

iki tarafa da esit mesafeli olalim demek erki elinde bulunduran ezileni yok etmesine zimnen ortak olmak anlamina geliyor.

saying “let’s be equidistant to both sides”, implicitly means complicity in destruction of the oppressed by the powerful.

Gülçin Avşar, criticising the general use of violence by different parties in Zeytinburnu, commented [tr]:

Zeytinburnu savaş alanına dönmüş.. Hâlâ yakıp yıkarak o çok mukaddes amaçlarına ulaşacaklarını düşünenlerin olması ne hazin…

Zeytinburnu was turned into a battlefield. How sad is that there are still some who believe they can achieve their oh so holy goals by vandalising, destroying…

There is still fear of more violence in Zeytinburnu and a lot of rumours, a resident gregorumsamsam commented [tr]:

bu arada söylentiler doğru ise bugün Zeytinburnu'da olaylar daha da büyüyecekmiş. bu sefer diğer ilçelerden bdp'liler geliyormuş.

If rumours are right, affairs in Zeytinburnu will grow even more. it is said that BDP supporters from other districts will be coming this time.

He also mentioned [tr] how many residents of the district are going away temporarily:

çoğu kişi diğer ilçelerdeki akrabalarına gidiyor. bir mal benim ya ben evde bekliyicem inadına. annemler bile gidiyor be.

Many people are going to their relatives in other districts. Being the only stupid I will stay at home, stubbornly. Even my mother [and family] are going.

Turkey: Protest Against Kurdish Singer Prompts Strong Social Media Response

Kubra — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 03:56:48 +0000

Aynur Doğan, a Kurdish-Turkish singer, was jeered by part of the audience during an open air concert in the Istanbul Jazz Festival because she sang a song in Kurdish. Part of the audience sang the Turkish National Anthem in protest, while others in the audience supported the singer.

Eventually, she left the stage as the response from the audience got louder. The incident, according to some, was partly due to yesterday’s clashes between the Turkish army and Kurdish militants which claimed in total the lives of over a dozen men from both sides.

Macedonian minimalist musical concept band Baklava and the famous Turkish singer Aynur, opened the 9th Offest, Worldwide Music Festival. Skopje, Macedonia. Photo by by Mite Kuzevski, copyright Demotix (01/06/10)

Beyhan Demirci, who was in the audience, captured and posted the video of the singer leaving the stage and summarized the issue as [tr]:

‘Türkce soyle' dediler, ‘şehitler ölmez' dediler, ‘yuh' dediler. Ve Aynur Doğan'ı sahneden indirdiler..

They said ‘Sing in Turkish', they said ‘Martyrs are never dead', they said ‘boo'. And [finally they] made Aynur Doğan leave the stage…

Meltem Gürler, who was also in the audience, reported the incident [tr]:

Acikhavada yerin dibine girdik, Aynur'u Kurtce sarkilarindan dolayi sahnede protesto ettiler. Aynur sahneyi terk etti.Burasi vahim durumda.

We are gravely embarrassed at the Open Air [Concert], [some] protested Aynur [while she was] at the stage because of her Kurdish songs. The situation was desperate.

Aslı Tunç, who was also attending the concert, reported [tr] that some of the protesters in the audience later left the concert after quarreling with others who supported the musician:

Izleyicilerin bir bolumu acik havayi terketti, tartismalar suruyor!

Some of the audience left the Open Air [Concert], dispute continues!

She also mentioned [tr] how some in the audience later on sang the national anthem as a protest:

Acik Hava'da rezalet suruyor! Bir kisim seyirci istiklal marsi soyleyip konseri sabote ediyor!

Disgrace continues at the Open Air [Concert]! Some [in] the audience are singing İstiklal anthem [Turkish National Anthem] to disrupt the concert!

The news spread quickly within social media networks before the traditional media sources could even get a hold of it. A lengthy discussion of intolerance and racism in Turkey began. Some however were more optimist despite the incident, @glcnavsar wrote [tr]:

Aynur Doğan'ı protesto edenler bu ülkedeki gelişimin öyle gerisinde ki umutsuzluk yaratamazlar artık; ancak utanç vesilesi olurlar.

Those who protest Aynur Doğan are way beyond the development within this country, to the point that they cannot cause despair; [and rather] become only a reason for shame.

Another well known Turkish singer, Yasemin Göksu, stated [tr] that she phoned and had a small chat with Aynur Doğan right after she heard about the incident:

… ben şimdi konuştm Aynur Doğan'la. Olayı anlattı, birkaç kişi provoke etmş ama dinleyici Aynur'u sahiplenmiş. Tabi morali bozulmuş ama iyi

I just talked with Aynur Doğan. She explained the incident, [apparently] a couple of people were provoked but the audience supported Aynur. Of course her morale is down but she is fine.

According to those who stayed until the end of the concert, Aynur Doğan received a standing ovation from the audience, shouting slogans for solidarity with Doğan and against racism, when she came to stage a second time with other musicians.

@degendary, who attended the concert, described [tr] the ending as:

Konser sona eriyor Aynur sahneye geldi herkes ayakta Aynur U alkışladı, yasasın halkların kardeşliği sloganları atıldı

Concert is ending, Aynur came to the stage, everybody is standing, applauding Aynur, shouting the slogan “long live the fellowship of [all] peoples”

Görgün Taner [tr], the head of IKSV, the foundation that organizes the Istanbul Jazz Festival, announced that:

Çok kulturlu seslerin yer aldığı konserler yapmaya devam edecegiz

We will continue organizing concerts where multi-cultural voices are present.

After the incident, a Facebook page declaring solidarity with Aynur Doğan and denouncing the attack was created.

Turkey: Election Results, Reactions and Hopes

Kubra — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 22:36:56 +0000

Turkey held its general elections on June 12, 2011. The campaign period for the elections had seen a change in rhetoric in many of the key parties and leaders of Turkish politics.

Election results showed a land-slide victory of 50 per cent of the votes for the Justice and Development Party (“AK Party” or “AKP”) in its third term and a quite different parliamentary distribution that blocks AKP from unilaterally changing the constitution.

Supporters of Turkey's ruling AKP party celebrate with party flags after the first results of the parliamentary election, in Istanbul, Turkey. Image by keremyucel, copyright Demotix (12/06/11).

Peace and Democracy Party (“BDP”), a Social Democrat party well known for its focus on Kurdish minority interests won over 30 seats in the parliament, a large success in the history of the party.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (“CHP”) stayed at approximately about 26pc and Nationalist Movement Party (“MHP”) gained approximately about 13pc of the seats. There was a large variety of responses and reactions, to all parties and aspects in social media.

@jamilabayraktar tweeted [tr] about how AKP had managed its third term victory quoting a Turkish analyst, Taha Akyol:

Taha Akyol: “AKP'nin hizmet siyaseti tutmuştur & BDP beklendiği kadar devrim yaratmadı & bundan sonrası için AKP şımarmamalıdır”

Taha Akyol: “AKP’s politics [based] on public service has been popular & BDP has not made a revolution & AKP should not be spoiled for the future to come.”

@lubeayar sharing the “public service” emphasis, tweeted [tr]:

ve.. doğusuyla, batısıyla türkiye halkı 'siyasi görüşü'nü şöyle ilan etmiştir: mevzubahis ‘hizmet' ise gerisi teferruattır..

and.. from the East, from the West people of Turkey has declared its ‘political view’ as: if the topic is ‘public service’ the rest is [just] detail..

@nibenka, critically emphasising AKP’s stance of not appointing any hijabi MP candidates, tweeted [tr]:

Hizmet kazandi, is kazandi dogru ama 'sus otur sirani bekle' de kazandi; bunu gormezden gelemiyorum maalesef

Public service won, [public] work won but ‘stay silent and wait for your turn’ also won; I cannot ignore this unfortunately.

@berxwedaan emphasises about the success of BDP, tweeting [tr]:

akp/rte %50 oy almıs olması aslında kesin bir başarı olarak degerlendirilmeli ama seçimin mutlak galibinn bdp/blok oldugu gözardı edilmemeli

akp/rte [i.e. Recep Tayyip Erdogan] receiving 50% vote should be taken as a certain success but it should not be ignored that the absolute winner is bdp/blok [i.e. BDP and its independent ‘Bloc’ candidates]

@oemoral also stresses the roles of the new MPs from the Social Democrat BDP, tweeting:

In brief: #Turkey shall benefit greatly with 36 socialist/democratic MP's in parliament. Freedom will occupy some seats there finally

Blogger Aengus Collins analysed the election results focusing critically on CHP and partly on AKP, writing:

Securing 26 per cent does not feel like the result of a party that the electorate will trust with power any time soon. Moreover, the additional votes that the CHP won were cheap votes taken from smaller parties that faded in significance in this election. The CHP needed to begin the process of eating away at the AKP’s vote. It didn’t.
…
While a vocal, substantial and growing minority in Turkey worry deeply about the direction in which the AKP wants to take the country, this election proves once again that a greater number of Turks do not share these fears. That is the reality of political life in Turkey, and much though it may pain them, it is a reality to which the opposition parties will need to reconcile themselves if they are to get back into the business of winning elections.

ErhanErkut on the other hand found CHP's results successful and commented in general as:

CHP +%5 basari. 35 Bagimsiz iyi bir sonuc. Diger partiler silindi. Daha birkac secim 4 partili parlamento cikar herhalde. Baraj dusmeli.

CHP +5% success. 35 Independents is a good result. Other parties are erased. Next few elections there will be a parliament of 4 parties probably. [Parliamentary inclusion vote] threshold should fall.

@yavuzbaydar comments on how AKP should consider the results:

The voters send a clever message again: They told AK to go on alone as a single engine, as they asked it to seek consensus in parliament.

Other topics discussed a lot in the social media were the question of a new constitution based on the election results, new MPs and speeches made by main opposition leader Kılıçdaroğlu of CHP and current Prime Minister Erdogan of AKP.

@CorrodaDynamite mentions the first Syriac MP of the Turkish Parliament:

#Turkey's 1st #Syriac MP Erol Dora from #Mardin (#BDPcandidate): “it is important for co-existence of people together”

@cigdemmater comments [tr] about the youngest MP:

meclisin en genc vekili 1984 dogumlu, istanbulda akp vekiliymis, bilalmacit, 27 yasinda, sahane.

the youngest MP of the parliament was born in 1984, is an AKP MP from Istanbul, Bilal Macit, 27 years old, amazing.

@nhacizade summarises the speech of main opposition leader Kılıçdaroğlu of CHP in her tweet:

Turkey's main opposition leader: CHP still successful/3.5 m new voters + will go on reforming itself + will follow up w/new constitution.

@cemilertem summarises [tr] the speech of AKP’s Erdogan, tweeting:

Başbakan'ın söylediklernin özeti:Yeni Anayasa olacak;ama buanayasa aynı zamanda bölgdeki tüm ülkelere de yol gösterecek;biz bölge lideriyiz

Summary of Prime Minister’s comments: New Constitution will be there; but this constitution will also guide all countries in the region; we are the regional leader

@dalalmawad tweets about drafting of the new constitution:

#AKP will now need the help of other parties to amend constitution in #turkey including pro-kurdish MPs

@kaplanfat also comments [tr] on the prospect of a new constitution based on election results:

AKP ve BDP,bu ülke halklarının mutluluğu için uzlaşmak,barışmak,yeni anayasa yapmak zorundalar,üzerlerinde vebal var,ona göre davransınlar

AKP and BDP, for the happiness of peoples of this country, for reconciliation, making peace, must draft a new constitution, they have a responsibility, they should act accordingly

Turkey: Protests Against Internet Censorship

Veronica Khokhlova — Mon, 16 May 2011 09:17:10 +0000

Vimeo user Firat Yıldız posted a short video of the May 15 rally in Istanbul's Taksim Square and Istiklal Avenue, where thousands of people gathered to protest the new internet filtering system, to be introduced in Turkey on Aug. 22. A Turkish-language site with the “Stop Censorship” movement's info and banners is here; Facebook user Zeynep Kaytancı notes on the Stop Internet Censorship in Turkey! Facebook Causes page (13,116 members so far) that the site will soon be translated into English. A Nomadic View offers a roundup of the Anglophone media coverage of the protest.

Japan: Earthquake, “how to protect yourself” in 30 languages

Scilla Alecci — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:43:59 +0000

TUFS students launched a website with advices on risk management translated in more than 30 languages.
The website provides “a basic guide in several languages to what to do when you have to evacuate because of the earthquake.”

Azerbaijan: Bloggers remember Hrant Dink four years on

Aygun Janmammadova — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:48:13 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Caucasus Conflict Voices.

Wednesday 19 January 2011 marked the fourth anniversary of the murder in Istanbul of Hrant Dink, the renowned Turkish-Armenian journalist, editor of the Turkish-Armenian Agos newspaper, and human rights activist who consistently advocated for reconciliation and friendship between nations, and especially estranged neighbors Armenia and Turkey. This year, however, and quite unexpectedly, the anniversary was also marked by many bloggers from Azerbaijan.

Despite a still unresolved conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, quite a few Azerbaijani Facebook users updated their status lines while Twitter updates were dedicated to the memory of the slain ethnic Armenian journalist. On Facebook, an entry posted on the Önər Blog [AZ] was shared extensively.

Hrant Dink həm Ermənistan üçün, həm Türkiyə üçün mühüm tarixi əhəmiyyəti olan jurnalist idi. Onun ölümünü bütün dünyada azad jurnalistikanin aldığı ən ağır zərbələrdən hesab edirəm.

[…]

Mən bir bloq yazarı kimi, Hrant Dinkin ölümünü Türkiyə dövlətinin azad sözə qarşı cinayəti hesab edir və şiddətlə qınayıram. Həmçinin “hepimiz Hrant Dinkiz, hepimiz ermeniyiz” də demirəm, “hepimiz özgürüz” deyirəm.

Hrant Dink was a historically important journalist for both Armenia and Turkey. I consider his death to be one of the biggest blows to free press in the world.

[…]

Speaking as a blogger, I find that the murder of Hrant Dink is a crime that the Turkish government has committed against free speech in Turkey, and strongly condemn it.

And I don’t say, “We are all Hrant Dink, we are all Armenians” [the chant used by protesters at Hrant Dink’s funeral]. I say, “We are all free.”

When translated into Armenian, Unzipped re-posted it. The Armenian blog noted that it was this post that caught his eye more than any other and agreed with the sentiments expressed. Meanwhile, another Azerbaijani blog, Viva El Revolucion! Viva El Libertat! [AZ], remarked that politics should not get in the way of remembrance.

Azərbaycanlılardan kim nə deyir desin, amma millətçilik etməyin mənası yoxdur. Hansısa Robertlərə və Serjlərə görə bu insanı sırf erməni olduğuna görə təqsirkar bilib, onu hər addımda alçaltmaq və onu öldürənləri qəhrəman kimi qələmə vermələri həqiqətəndə ifrat millətçilikdən o tərəfə deyil […]. Hrant Dink heç kəsin tərəfin tutmurdu. Onun peşəsi jurnalistika idi […]. Ən sonda isə yaxşı bir erməni, həmdə yaxşı bir solçu idi. […]

Whoever says whatever in Azerbaijan, there is no point in being nationalist. Because of the Roberts and Serjs [former and current presidents in Armenia] accusing this person of being an Armenian, belittling him, and considering his murderers to be heroes is nothing but extreme nationalism […]. Hrant Dink did not take the side of anyone. His profession was journalism […]. In the end, he was a good Armenian, and a good leftist. […]

Four years without Hrant

SIMASIZ QULDURLAR BLOGU… [AZ] also contemplated the issue of nationality, concluding that speaking the truth is all that matters.

Hrant Dink milliyətcə erməni ola bilər. Həqiqətin isə heç bir milliyəti yoxdur. Həqiqətin milliyəti həqiqətdir. Həqiqəti erməni də, əfqan da, türk də dilə gətirə bilər! Buna görə də insanı öldürməzlər. Hrant Dink də həqiqət axtarışında idi… Amma öldürüldü.

Hrant Dink may be Armenian by ethnicity, but the truth has no nationality. The nationality of truth is truth itself. The truth can be brought to life by an Armenian, an Afghan, or a Turk! For this reason, a person must not be killed. Hrant Dink was in search of the truth… But he was murdered.

1+1=3 [AZ] agreed.

BəLi , o erməni idi …
BəLi , o bunu etiraf edir, təkzib etmir, hər zamanda fəxrlə bunu deyərdi….
O juranlist idi …
O insan idi…

Yes, he was an Armenian…
Yes, he admitted it, never denied it, and always said it proudly…
He was a journalist…
He was human…

Other Azerbaijani bloggers writing in English also commented on the anniversary, with Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines shares not only its thoughts, but also a link to a video. Its writer and director, Ümit Kıvanç, has since given Global Voices the necessary permissions to enable embedding for this post.

[…] He was a man with ideas and dreams. He was a fighter. But what happened to things that Hrant Dink was fighting for so passionately- looking at relations between Armenia and Turkey, the two are more distant than ever and prospects for reconciliation are stuck somewhere between Turkey's and Armenia's weak foreign policy, Nagorno Karabakh and the rest of the world that talks so much […] but does too little to have any effect if any on the process.

From 19 January to 19 January from ümit kıvanç on Vimeo.

Another Azerbaijani, writing in English on Fuck Yeah, The Caucasus!, simply posted lyrics from a traditional folk song with a brief commentary.

Hrant Dink wasn’t Caucasian, he was truly and utterly Anatolian, but he is relevant to the ongoing conflicts in the Caucasus in terms of what he put forward during his life and what came out of his death. […] Hatred is taught everywhere, it makes people blind, and in their blindness people shed their reason and their conscience, their humanity. I want to think that hatred can be unlearned, not as easily but just as well.

Allah rəhmət eləsin. May he rest in peace.

Although there were likely many more posts from Turkish bloggers, what was interesting about this year's remembrance was that it was Azerbaijani blog posts, and specifically in Azerbaijani with the exception of the Armenian translation on the Önər Blog, that were shared more widely than in English, Armenian or Russian.

Meanwhile, in Turkey itself, thousands of people gathered in front of the Agos newspaper demanding justice for Hrant Dink and exclaiming “Hepimiz Hrantiniz, Hepimiz Ermeniyiz” (All of us are Hrants, All of us are Armenians).

This post is part of our special coverage Caucasus Conflict Voices.

Turkey: The Turkish of Dr. Oz

Deborah Ann Dilley — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:24:23 +0000

Talk Turkey commends Dr. Oz (of Oprah fame) for his ability to speak perfect Turkish while lecturing to Turkish medical students. “Sure he has an accent. Sure he sounds like a ‘foreigner' when he speaks Turkish. But the reality is; for a man born and raised in the U.S., he is to be commended. Let it be a lesson to transplanted Turks who insist on speaking English at all costs at home with their kids, and intentionally deprive them of growing up mastering a second language.”

Turkey: Prime Minister Storms out of Davos Hearing

Deborah Ann Dilley — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 23:41:56 +0000

A funny thing happened at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last week, Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan stormed off the stage after a verbal scuffle with Israeli President Shimon Peres. The initial incident stemmed from Prime Minister Erdogan not being allowed enough time to respond to Peres' comments on the current war in Gaza. Reactions from the Turkish blogosphere have been varied: some gave the Prime Minister a “hero's welcome” when he returned to the country, some wonder how this will effect Turkey's foreign and domestic policies, and some just think that it was bad behavior.

A Hero's Welcome
Many Turkish bloggers posted photos of Turkish citizens celebrating the reaction of Prime Minister Erdogan at the Davos Forum, and crowds of people went to the airport to herald the his return. Erkan's Field Diary notes the euphoria best:

As of tonight, Erdoğan becomes a political legend….
Whatever the diplomatic consequences of Erdoğan's reaction (or whether it is right or wrong) in the Davos panel, he becomes a legend for masses.
Thousands are driving to Atatürk Airport to welcome PM Erdoğan's arrival at the moment…. Now I hear that subway services are extended to 3 am so that people can go to airport…
Apart from hard core anti-AKP citizens, and retired diplomats whose minds belong to Cold War era, who immediately reacted negatively, we try to understand the situation.
* at one level, it is a matter of pride. Turkey's PM stood against disrespect.

Foreign/Domestic Policy Implications
The Republic of Turkey has always had good relations with Israel, and still does even after the diplomatic outburst, but the situation has lead many to wonder whether this means a major divergence from former foreign policy positions, and what this means for domestic policy. The White Path weighs in:

The last time I saw such a tense public sentiment was the early 1990s, when Bosnians were subjected to “ethnic cleansing” by Serbian nationalists. The situation in Gaza was more complex, to be sure, but it was perceived in Turkey as something similar to the slaughter of Muslims in the Balkans.
Therefore, it wasn't a surprise to see the Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan say harsh words against Israel. He was just mirroring the public sentiment. And this was more than populism, as some could ascribe to a politician who is on the eve of local elections. Mr. Erdoğan was sincere in his feelings. When he visited a group of wounded Palestinians that were brought to an Ankara hospital, people noticed tears in his eyes.
….
But while strong emotions are worthy of respect, diplomacy more so needs nuance and deliberation. And those are not the highest qualities of Mr. Erdoğan. He is rather known to be a man who minces no words and, as he put himself, who thinks “anger is a rhetorical art.” So, as he has done many times before on many other issues, including domestic ones, he sounded unbalanced — and even pro-Hamas. As Sedat Ergin, the editor-in-chief of daily Milliyet, put it in these pages yesterday, his whole Gaza rhetoric was “problematic.”

Talk Turkey, while encouraging others to watch the proceedings to see the whole context of the argument leading to the walkout, did point out how comments made by the Prime Minister of Turkey in response to the current war in Gaza show some hypocrisy in Turkey's current policies:

But the real issue was the criticism of Israel's killing of children recently. Israel, on the other hand, claims that if terrorists are targeting you on a daily basis, it leaves you with no choice but to hit back.

Isn't Turkey being hypocritical as it fights its own war on terror with the PKK, the militant faction of the Kurdish independence movement?

Then again, there's a big difference when it comes to indifference of killing innocent civilians versus killing innocent civilians who happen to be children.

Narrator discusses the silver lining for Turkey in this diplomatic situation:

The only silver lining regarding what happened in Davos last week is that President Obama may now start seriously considering Turkey as the country that he will pick to make a major speech addressing the Islamic world. The reason is simple. After the drama in Davos, Turkey has won the hearts and minds of 1.3 billion Muslims. Erdoğan's behavior made him an instant global hero in the eyes of all Muslims, who were bitterly frustrated with the Israeli onslaught against Gaza that ended up killing 1,300 people, half of them innocent civilians. As of last week, the Palestinian cause and Turkey became one — and all of this is thanks to the larger than life personality of Prime Minister Erdoğan. Whether the pro-Israel lobby likes it or not, President Obama is sophisticated enough to recognize these dynamics in selecting the country where he will make his speech to the Islamic world.

Bad Behavior
While many Turks celebrated the Prime Minister's actions, others condemned him for what they saw as bad behavior. From Internations Musings:

Turkish PM Erdogan doesn’t like critical journalists. People know that in Turkey and some European countries - especially after Erdogan’s bargaining and blackmailing last week in Brussels regarding the EU accession talks. But yesterday, while talking at a forum in Davos, people around the world could observe a statesman who lost his temper again when he left the stage, full of anger, after he was denied more time to speak about the crisis in Gaza. The moderator was David Ignatius of the Washington Post. Witty, smart and provocative. And he, Erdogan, has to deal with that. Nit-picking journalists are everywhere. How does he think to survive when Turkey joins the EU? There is nothing wrong with showing your emotions but there is definitely something wrong with insulting countries and presidents of countries that are supporting you. And of course he showed the same old rhetoric all over again: ‘they didn’t show respect for me’ and ‘I defend Turkish honour’…in my opinion you don't defend your honour by putting someone else down.

Carpetblogger comments on how the Prime Minister's behavior was a disservice to Turkey and the role that it could have had in negotiating peace in the Middle East:

A Turk gesturing on behalf of oppressed Palestinians is about as politically courageous as an American advocating for a “democratic transition” in Belarus: There's absolutely nothing at stake and everyone gets to feel good about themselves. Turkey has no aggrieved Palestinians occupying valuable political real estate. There's no chance of instability on its borders. And, it has a population (definitely not a tribe) that needs no excuse to wave flags and express outrage at perceived slights. We don't see any downsides to Erdoğan's outburst except, oh, perhaps a missed opportunity for Turkey to serve as a levelheaded mediator in the conflict, something that could actually help the Palestinians! Maalasef.

Did Prime Minister Erdogan react in a way that will benefit Turkey and its role in the Middle East? It is a good question, and one that might be answered in the next few months, or it just might be a situation that becomes an interesting anecdote in the annals of diplomatic disagreements.

More on Global Voices Online:

Egypt: Erdoğan, Leader of the World

The Balkans: “Whose Is This Song?”

Elena Ignatova — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 22:47:56 +0000

Recently several Macedonian bloggers published the documentary “Whose Is This Song?” by a Bulgarian director Adela Peeva on their blogs and started discussing the story. The documentary was filmed as an idea that the director got during a dinner in Istanbul with several friends (a Macedonian, a Serb, a Greek and a Turk), when all of them said that the song playing in the background was from their country.

First to publish [mkd] a short review of the documentary was Arheo Blog:

[…] Although the documentary doesn’t have any political tendency, the search for an identity of a song shows the search for the identity and national impatience for the nations from the Balkans. Instead of connecting them, not knowing the situation, in some moments Peeva has to deal with emotional reaction of the interviewed people thinking that she is offending them. Trying to connect the cultural heritage for the Balkans, this time through music, Adela Peeva at the end will conclude that it’s almost unbelievable how only one song with unknown background can create hatred in people. This is shown in the end of the movie, in the scene where one Fiesta is transformed into a field that is on fire and its save by “people from different ethnicities”. This is happening at the border between Bulgaria and Turkey.

Although it’s a great documentary, I was intrigued by the two facts said in the movie – “That this is a war song and that the rhythms are from North Europe, because they are not typical for the Balkans”. It’s up to you to determine which song it is.

When the post of Arheo Blog was shared [mkd] on Kajmak.ot there were several reactions:

Arwena:

I don’t know why there is always a tendency to look for argument and reasons for national tendencies. That is always the case for the Balkans, because politics is unavoidably connected with history. I stand by: “that the documentary doesn’t have any political tendencies”, because it’s made with another purpose. Probably it didn’t have that motive at the beginning, but the results show something completely different. This is something that we have seen several times when there is mixture between cultural heritage and achievements of different ethnicities and civilizations. Everything artistic that includes more sides, by the nature of this region will lead to nationalism and it will be considered as motive with political tendencies.

Zlochko:

Yes, yes. It’s made by completely naive reasons to find the true origin of the song. That’s why she says to the Bosnians that the Serbs have the original (although she still hasn’t been in Serbia), she plays the Bosnian version to the Serbs, and to the Bulgarians she says that the Turks claim that the song is theirs.

There is nothing naive in the documentary… and if it’s full with something it’s politics. But it’s good that it’s made in that way – it shows the nations here in the best way :).

The blogger Razvigor also published the video and wrote [mkd]:

[…] The author of the film in the part for Albania said that she would return, and that really happened with her last movie “Divorce Albanian Style” [mkd]. Is that movie available on the internet also?

These are the things I was talking about when I was searching for the Macedonian Michael Moore [mkd].

There are two version of the song in Macedonia: from the town of Prilep “Oj ti Paco Drenovchanke” and from the town of Tetovo “Oj devojche, ti Tetovsko jabolche.”

Turkey: Armenian “Martin Luther King Jr.” Commemorated

Simon Maghakyan — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:05:27 +0000

Hrant Dink Commemoration, Istanbul, 19 January 2009
Uploaded by mondoDesperado

The second anniversary of a murdered journalist once again had the power to move mountains in strained relations between Armenia and Turkey, two states separated by the biblical mount Ararat and an unholy history. When ethnic Armenian Hrant Dink was assassinated in front of the Istanbul office of the Agos Armenian weekly newspaper he edited on 19 January 2007, thousands of Turkish citizens attended his funeral chanting, “We are all Hrant Dink. We are all Armenians.”

Yesterday's commemoration might not have been on such a large scale, but newspaper articles, editorials, and reaction from bloggers show that the murder of a prominent member of Turkey’s dwindling Christian Armenian minority by a Turkish ultra-nationalist continues to shock the world. Moreover, hopes remain alive that Dink's legacy as a symbol of peace and reconciliation between the two nations. The Pasha and the Gypsy comments.

Today is not only Martin Luther King Day, and the day before Barack Obama's inauguration. It is also the second anniversary of another murder.

Rasti, a Kurdish blog, also remembers the day that Dink was killed.

I remember where I was and what I was doing two years ago today. I remember how I felt. I remember opening a page of news and seeing the photo of Hrant Dink covered with paper, yellow crime scene tape holding back onlookers, and the police standing nearby. I remember how I felt. I was shocked, horrified, dismayed, disgusted. I wanted what I was seeing not to be true. But I knew it was true…

With commemorations held around the world, Turkey hosted the majority. Among them, as listed on Blog Kurdistan, one stood out.

18 Ocak’ta saat 15.00’te Galatasaray Meydanı’nda ‘O gün Biz de vurulduk’ temalı bir flashmob etkinliği yapılacak.

There will be a flash mob demonstration with the theme “On that day we were also shot” at 3 p.m. on January 18 in [Istanbul’s] Galatasaray square. (translated by Amy Grupp).

Photos from the flash mob demonstration are already available on a Turkish site. Other Turkish blogs have marked the occasion, and KISA KES UZUN OLSUN… posts photographs from the gathering at the location of the journalist's murder. Online commemorations were also held, with over 1,800 members of my Facebook group changing their profile picture to display of a photograph of Hrant Dink and their status lines to read “We are all Hrant Dink.”

Armenian journalist-blogger Mark Grigorian [RU] also remembers Hrant Dink.

Он был одним из тех, кто пытался найти пути и способы примирить армян и турок…”Армяне — врачи турок, — продолжал он, — а турки — врачи армян. Нет других докторов. Диалог — вот единственный рецепт”.

He tried to find ways of reconciling Armenians and Turks… “Armenians are Turks’ doctors,” he continued, “and Turks, Armenians’ doctors. There are no other doctors. Dialogue is the only recipe.”

With the historic first visit of the Turkish president to Armenia last year, and an online apology for what most historians consider to be the Armenian Genocide, Grigorian notes the unparalleled progress in Armenian-Turkish relations since Dink's death.

…проблема так велика, а пропасть между двумя народами так глубока, что сдвиги в сторону сближения вызывают у националистов негативную реакцию, а то и отторжение. Примером этого можно считать опубликованную в одной из турецких газет фотографию, на которой группа мужчин держит плакаты с надписями: “Собакам вход разрешен, евреям и армянам вход воспрещен “.

…the problem is so great, and the division between the two nations so deep, that steps toward coming closer [to each other] bring about negative reactions among nationalists. One example is a [recent] photo published in a Turkish newspaper showing a group of men holding signs reading, “Dogs are allowed; Jews and Armenians are not allowed.”

And while nationalism in Turkey remains a significant problem, one Turk made another unprecedented step toward reconciliation. His letter, posted on my Blogian, explains his actions.

When I found out that the properties that I and my brothers inherited from our father wasn’t our own, but properties taken from the murdered Assyrians in 1915 I felt an indescribable feeling of guilt and shame… I have personally apologized to every Assyrian and Armenian I’ve met. But this does not get rid of the crime our ancestors committed. Even if I am personally not responsible for what happened in 1915, I felt as I had to do more than just to apologize. Finally, I came to the decision to give back all properties that I inherited from my forefathers to [an Assyrian organization].

Dink's reputation for promoting human rights and fighting for minority rights has also opened Armenian eyes. Armenian-American blog This Side of Fifty, for example, ponders not only Dink and Armenian-Turkish relations, but also how his message was much wider.

…It strikes me very odd that many Armenians I knew growing up had a dislike for blacks. When I look back at both the Armenian Genocide and the life work of Martin Luther King, I am struck with one thing. Armenians for the most part focus on our own tragedy, almost exclusively. We can live in this great country and see little irony that we as disposed people live on the lands of disposed American Indians….

Incidentally, the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday in the United States in 2009, celebrated the second Monday of January, coincides with Dink’s second anniversary. Two years ago, immediately after Dink’s murder, Canada-based Armenian blog Hyelog compared the two.

On April 4, 1968 Martin Luther King was shot… In 1986, Martin Luther King Day was established as a United States holiday.

Hrant Dink’s story still remains to be written in Turkey…his unwavering trust that we all would manage to live together in peace one day.

It is now Turkey’s turn to demonstrate its greatness by making Hrant Dink Turkey’s Martin Luther King.