January 24, 2007

While Istanbul came to a standstill for the murdered Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was shot by a fascist-nationalist plot, the nation’s capital Ankara also saw a large demonstration by those who condemned the assassination.

The participants in Ankara were Chamber of Physicians, DISK (Confederation of Progressive Labor Unions), Chamber of Engineers and Architects, KESK (Confederation of Public Workers’ Union), Human Rights Association and many other associations and progressive institutions. The crowd gathered at 5:00PM in the busiest intersection in Ankara, Sakarya Street. The crowd sang folk songs depicting historical massacres. This was followed by speeches given by the presidents of Genel İş, the Union of Local Government workers and Genel Maden İş, the Union of Mine Workers.

When the president of the Ankara Chamber of Physicians came to the stage, he read Hrant Dink’s last article, “My mood: The fear of a dove.” He ended his speech saying, “Loved ones, they scared the dove, they shot the dove!”

Music group Kibele sang songs in Armenian and Turkish to the crowd.

At 6:00PM, the crowd, more than 3,000 in size marched to the headquarters of the daily newpaper Birgun where Hrant Dink used to write. There, the president of the Education Workers Union read a press release and later, representatives of the participating organizations entered the offices of the Birgun paper to share their grief over the fascist murder.