Anti-Armenianism

The work of Armenian-origin Turkish journalistHrant Dink was as important as his death was tragic. As editor of the weekly newspaper Agos, Dink helped break new ground in the late 1990s and early 2000s before he was shot dead outside the Agos office by a young ultranationalist 10 years ago on Jan. 19.

Thousands flocked onto the streets of Şişli on Jan. 19 to commemorate Turkish-Armenian journalistHrant Dink on the 10th anniversary of his assassination amid little progress in shining a light on the alleged network behind the decade-old crime.

'Hrant Dink: An Armenian Voice of the Voiceless in Turkey' by Tuba Çandar, translated by Maureen Freely (Transaction, $30, 403 pages)

Ali Fuat Yılmazer, the former head of Turkey's police intelligence branch, has given his testimony in the 31st hearing into the 2007 killing of Armenian-origin Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, saying the killing was "deliberately not prevented" and security authorities in Istanbul and Trabzon were responsible. 

U.S. Ambassador to Ankara John Bass on Dec. 23 said he "categorically rejected" the allegations that his government was involved in the assassination of Russia's top envoy to Turkey, Andrey Karlov, who was shot dead on Dec. 19 by a Turkish police officer. 

One of the judges who is trying 35 suspects for the murder of Armenian-Turkish journalistHrant Dink in 2007 was detained on Dec. 2 on accusations that he is tied to the Gülenist organization. 

Osman Gülbel, a former deputy head of the Police Intelligence Department charged in the case on the killing of Armenian-origin Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, has told an Istanbul court that he "did what he was supposed to do" by sending a document containing information that Dink was to be targeted to the necessary offices. 

Turkey's top soldier and technology minister got engaged in a row with an Armenian lawmaker on Nov. 20 during the 62nd NATO Parliamentary Assembly Annual Session held in Istanbul.

Officials did not fail to prevent the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, as the problem actually stemmed from a coordination failure between the police intelligence department and police in Trabzon, where the plot was allegedly organized, former Istanbul police department head Celalettin Cerrah has said. 

New police chiefs have been assigned to 61 provinces across Turkey including İzmir, Adana and Konya, according to a decree published on Oct. 26 in the Official Gazette. The major reshuffle comes as part of sweeping state of emergency decrees just over three months after the failed July 15 military coup attempt.