SYDNEY: The Armenian Missionary Association of Australia (AMAA) and the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) have announced an event to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist, Hrant Dink, which will feature a keynote address by his widow, Rakel Dink.
Hrant Dink, the former Editor-In-Chief of Agos, was murdered on 19th January, 2007 in front of the Istanbul office of his Armenian-language newspaper after being singled out as "insulting Turkishness" by authorities. While charges for the murder have been laid, investigations into involvement by police officials and public authorities remains ongoing, with honourable testimonies existing that the killing was "deliberately not prevented".
Rakel Dink has dedicated her life to honouring her late husband's memory and continuing his legacy. She is the President of the
Hrant Dink Foundation,
which "carries out various programs dedicated to protecting human rights in Turkey, to preserving the culture of minorities in the country, to researching hate speech and to normalising Armenian-Turkish relations".
Rakel Dink will be the guest of the AMAA and ANC-AU in Sydney this March for a Commemoration Evening honouring Hrant Dink, 10 years after his assassination.
ANC-AU Managing Director, Vache Kahramanian said: "We all remember when the funeral of Hrant Dink saw many tens of thousands of Turkish people march in Istanbul, chanting 'We are all Hrant! We are all Armenian!'. This heralded hope in a country that has trouble dealing with its Armenian past, and proved that Hrant did not die in vain."
Kahramanian added: "Armenian-Australians will have the opportunity to share an audience in Sydney with Mrs. Rakel Dink, as we honour her husband's life. We as Armenians are very lucky to have the likes of Mrs Rakel Dink, Garo Paylan and others continuing the foundations set by Hrant Dink."
The event will take place THIS Sunday, 19th March 2017, 6pm at The Concourse Theatre in Chatswood.
