HALKWEBAuthorsThe first bullet fired at Hrant

The first bullet fired at Hrant

Atakan Sonmez
Atakan Sonmez
Human... Circassian Journalist

That is why those who fired the first bullet at Hrant were as much complicit in this crime as Ogün Samast and other accomplices who fired the last bullet. And what is even more painful is that today, the same system can suddenly step in to strangle the truth and declare anyone a 'traitor' and anyone a 'hero'.

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On January 19, 2007, they killed a timid dove in this country... As the poet said, “All colors were getting dirty at the same rate. They gave first place to white...”

At Rakel Dink's funeral  “Nothing can be done, brothers and sisters, without questioning the darkness that created a murderer from a baby”  The white beret on the head of the assassin Ogun Samast, which he pointed to by saying "Ogun Samast", became a symbol of innocence and cleanliness, which are the fastest to be contaminated.
And, of course, it is the symbol of some groups that feed on anger and hatred.

In fact, the bullet that was fired at Hrant in front of Sebat Apartment Building that day was the last bullet.
The first bullet came from the apparatus of the established order, whose pen is filled with hatred and tries to drown the truth with noise.

Hrant Dink's expression that peace could not be achieved due to a historical narrative in which Turks and Armenians are burdened with mutual hatred  “The clean blood that will replace the poisonous blood that will drain from the Turk is in the noble vein that the Armenian will establish with Armenia”  even the word is taken out of context, “He insulted Turkish blood” that he was a terrorist.

In fact, those who wrote those headlines and those articles knew exactly what he meant.

But the ‘conjuncture’ was favorable to those who insulted Hran and no one was really after what the truth was.

The attacks escalated after the news about Sabiha Gökçen became a headline in Hürriyet.

In fact, the bullets fired at Hrant from guns disguised as pencils made it even more difficult for him to make his point, which he was trying to make with the nervousness of a timid dove.

Because they chose to kill Hrant's word before they killed him. By poisoning the healing properties of the word, they managed to create a great noise to leave Hrant silent and wordless.

Hrant rebelled against this in an interview with Ahmet Hakan in the following days, “If I want to insult, why am I living in this country? If I want to insult, I can insult from afar and I won't get into these troubles. I have a stain on my forehead, I insulted Turkishness. If I insulted Ahmet Hakan, how can I live with you? It is immoral. I consider it a chance to live with a Turk.”  but the noise of darkness had already drowned out the voice of truth.

A group led by Istanbul Ülkü Ocakları was in front of Agos. “Love or leave” The police prevented the group from chanting slogans.

A few days later there was another demonstration in front of Agos. Then lawyer Kemal Kerinçsiz and his friends stepped in. They filed a criminal complaint against Dink with a big show and body show.

Campaigns yielded results and Hrant Dink “Publicly insulting and defaming Turkishness” (TCK301) with the signature of undersecretary Fahri Kasırga instead of Minister of Justice Cemil Çiçek. As a result of the case, Dink was sentenced to 6 months in prison. The Court of Cassation upheld this sentence.

Other cases followed, of course.

Kerinçsiz and his friends took their places in front of the courthouse and in the corridors during the hearings.

They demonstrated at almost every hearing, claiming that Dink was an ‘enemy of the Turks’.

In the face of these threats, the ‘state officials’ who did not think of protecting Hrant were calling him and implicitly telling him to ‘watch your step’. Because according to those statists, it was a greater shame for the truth to come out than the murder of a journalist defending peace in the middle of Istanbul.

Now all that was left was to find a hired child killer made out of a baby. That wasn't hard either.

If those who today ask ‘why children commit murder on the streets of this country’ were more concerned about how Ogün was made a murderer, perhaps this would not have happened.

The deceased ‘traitor’, and the killer ‘hero’ neither the truth nor the right to life of immaculate children has any validity in a country where it is declared.

That is why those who fired the first bullet at Hrant were as much complicit in this crime as Ogün Samast and his accomplices who fired the last bullet.

And what's even more painful is that today, the same system can suddenly step in to suffocate the truth and do whatever it wants. ‘traitor’ and whoever you wish ‘hero’ and declare.

For this very reason “We are all Hrant” with those who say, “We are all Ogün Samast” the struggle will never end.

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