The Funeral

This was it. The funeral of Hrant Dink, a kind and loving family man who stood taller amongst giants than most others in his profession, was attended by tens of thousands of people. And the Turkish leadership missed a true opportunity to show the world that politics can be put aside. Erdogan did not attend "due to his pre-determined program that included hosting Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi".... That's a bunch of bullshit. How about you take Prodi with you, who I'm sure would not have minded seeing you show your solidarity? Even an appearance of five minutes would have proven this, for God's sake.

Instead, Erdogan chose to court the ultra-nationalistic vote since his presidential bid depends on a continued majority. And that's where politicians, in general, lose. They can't seem to make a conscious selfless human decision anymore.

The religious zealots were also missing; what happened there? Was it during prayer times? In fact, can anyone find any information that anyone from the Turkish political/military/religious class was there? I can't seem to find anything.

Well, Metin from TalkTurkey summed it up very nicely, I think:

The President should have been there. The Prime Minister should have been there. The Religious Attaché famous for his recent photo-op with the Pope, and too quick to comment on a holy man's blunder, should have been there. The Chief of the Turkish General Staff should have been there. The Majority Opposition Leader should have been there. The 'so-called' forces of government and 'deep state' representation should have been there. Too bad they weren't there. But too bad for them 'the people' were there.

My thoughts go out to his family...

Comments

[metin]

Hey thanks for the honorable mention. Kudos for a well written post. Too bad for the politicians, but overall good for the image of Turkey as thousands lined the streets saying goodbye to one of their own regardless of his ethnicity and religious affiliation. This came as a big shocker to many around the world. Maybe it was best the leaders stayed out as the orderly silence would have turned into angry bashing of the politicians who are inept and impotent.

[Infidel]

No problem, Metin. I'm just pissed off that politicians can't show a human side anymore. It doesn't take much but just a few lines to state this at the funeral, and show your face for 5 minutes. No one has to agree with Hrant's opinions to express condolences at his funeral. It was great though that so many others showed up; that shows a lot of heart...

[Sean]

http://www.gazetem.net/ahmetaltan.asp

I hope that every Turk gets to read this article. While I can't read Turkish and have to assume that the translated version I got was accurate, it sounds like a very powerful article.

[Infidel]

Sean, can you please post the English version of the op-ed? It is an interesting piece and worth talking more about. Thx for the link..

[Bolsa Hye]

WOW! The things that I am reading from Turkish writers and journalists these days is making me speechless. At least once a day since Hrant was killed, I have to close my office door so nobody sees me weeping after reading the work of a Turkish writer on this topic. This is another one of those amazing works (I refuse to simply call it an "article" since that term would do it injustice) that really tells the truth in a way that few (if any) Armenians could even articulate about our situation.

That he sees us as "one being" is touching beyond words. And I think he's absolutely right about that!

[Sean]

Here is the translated version, from an Armenian Newspaper:

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=20824

[Infidel]

Thanks Sean....

Bolsa, a little too optimistic and rose colored if you ask me but some unity never hurts in the matter. There is a momentum we should take advantage of and I think very soon you'll see this materialize into something a bit more productive from both, Turkey and Armenia. Unfortunately, not from the diaspora's side though it seems. But they were always a bit different, I guess.

[Bolsa Hye]

Infidel, the Turkish nationalists aren't being too helpful either. Today I've been reading the filth coming out of that corner, so don't try to throw stones already. Let's just let the moderate/liberal Turks and the Istanbul and other moderate Armenians do their thing and hope that good things come out of it.

[Sean]

Infidel, I have to agree with Bolsa. The unfortunate thing is that in about 1 to 2 weeks, all this "cooperation" will end and the Turkish nationalists and their counterparts on the Armenian side will be going at it again. We'll be back to square one. Look at it as a 15 minute break for the 2 extreme sides.

[Sean]

According to an article I read today, Hrant Dink's murderer can only be charged as a juvenile. Can someone with knowledge of the Turkish Criminal system explain exactly what that means? I know what it would mean in US, but not Turkey. Also, according to the Turkish Penal Code (if there is such a thing), could they chose to charge him as an adult, like in the US?

Here is the article with a brief comment on this issue on the 2nd page:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01262007/postopinion/opedcolumnists/turkeys_suicide_opedcolumnists_ralph_peters.htm?page=2