SYDNEY: The Sydney-Armenian community will hold a rally on Wednesday January 24 outside the Turkish Consulate to add its voice to the international condemnation of the cold-blooded and racially-motivated murder of leading Armenian-Turkish journalist, Mr. Hrant Dink. The Agos newspaper editor, and outspoken critic of Turkey’s continued denial of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, was gunned down outside his Istanbul office on Friday amid a growing tide of official Turkish prosecutions and nationalist pressure to silence his writings. Sydney’s Armenian community, led by a conglomerate of its leading organisations, will hold a peaceful rally outside the Turkish Consulate at 66 Ocean Street Edgecliff from 11am to 12pm to express their condemnation of the country’s denialist regime that has created the cloud of racism against Armenians, which has evidently led to this heinous crime being committed against an activist for human rights and democracy in Turkey. Upon hearing the news, Armenian National Committee of Australia President, Dr. Tro Kortian, commented: “Hrant Dink's murder is tragic proof that the Turkish government – through its shameful campaign of denial, threats and intimidation against the recognition of the Armenian Genocide - continues to fuel the same hatred and intolerance that initially led to this crime against humanity more than 90 years ago.†Reflecting the community’s mood, Dr. Kortian added: “The continued denial by the Turkish State of the mass murder of 1.5 million Armenian men, women an children during World War I, and the criminalisation of open discussion of this taboo topic in Turkey, has given a green light to this racially motivated murder of a Armenian-Turkish citizen who dared to print the truth.†Buses have been organised to depart from central Sydney Armenian community locations in Ryde (Ryde Civic Centre – Devlin Street) and Willoughby (Armenian Cultural Centre – 259 Penshurst Street) at 10:00am on Wednesday to transport protestors to the Turkish Consulate. The buses will return to the aforementioned locations by 12:30pm. [end]
