19 01 2008 - Street In French Lyon To Be Named After Hrant Dink

Il 19 gennaio 2007 veniva barbaramente assassinato HRANT DINK riconosciuto "UN EROE MONDIALE DELLA LIBERTA' DI STAMPA" dall'Istituto Mondiale della Stampa.
Era un assiduo diffensore della libertà di stampa, un esplicito sostenitore dei diritti umani, delle riforme democratiche, della tolleranza e
della pacifica convivenza ...
Aveva fondato il settimanale bilingue Agos nel 1996 per promuovere il dialogo e la compressione tra gli armeni e i turchi ...

Sono previste messe di suffraggio e manifestazioni commemorative in numerose città europee.
Apprendiamo che a Lione (Francia ) 2a città più importante della Francia, una via porterà il nome di HRANT DINK.....

Street In French Lyon To Be Named After Hrant Dink
Yerevan, January 17, Armenpress: A street in France's second largest city of Lyon will be named after Hrant Dink, a prominent Turkish Armenian journalist killed a year ago outside the office of his bilingual Agos weekly in Istanbul.

Ms. Hilda Choboyan, chairwoman of the European Armenian Federation for Justice, said to Armenpress the ceremony will be attended by Lyon mayor.

She said commemorative events will be held also in many European cities on January 19, which will mark the first anniversary of Dink's murder. One of the events will be held in the Dutch city of Assen's De Boskampe cemetery near a monument to the victims of the Armenian genocide.

In a related event the International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, criticized in an open letter the ongoing failure of the Turkish government to reform the internationally denounced article 301 of the Turkish penal code.

IPI recognized Hrant Dink last year as World Press Freedom Hero.

"Article 301, which criminalizes 'insults to Turkishness', has serious ramifications for freedom of speech in Turkey," said David Dadge, IPI Director.

"By silencing speech on certain issues, the article risks fuelling hatred and violence in Turkish society. Bearing in mind that Dink was murdered by a Turkish nationalist, it is possible that his murderer felt in some way justified by the fact that Dink had broken this pernicious law. Indeed, it is likely that he may have become a target in the first place due to the high profile nature of the trial."

"For this reason, article 301 may encourage a vicious cycle of violence, leaving those brave enough to speak out on taboo subjects in Turkey isolated and possibly in grave danger."

The IPI strongly urged the government of Turkey to ensure that article 301 is repealed, along with other articles in the Turkish penal code which inhibit freedom of expression and which do not conform to the standards expected of a modern democracy.

S.Martayan