The murder led to a massive outcry in Turkey and abroad, with many calling on authorities to cast a bright light on the vicious killing and reveal who was behind it. Despite three years having passed, the individuals or groups who planned the murder and the authorities whose negligence paved the way for the murder have not been brought to justice. Dink’s family wants the murder to be assessed in the frame of a military action plan titled the Cage Operation Action Plan, which was uncovered last year. The plan allegedly aimed to kill non-Muslim figures in society and to place the blame for the killings on the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government. It seems that there needs to be more attention and support from politicians and the public for there to be progress in the Dink murder case and for those behind the murder to be revealed.Complaining about the lack of any progress in the Dink murder case, Vatan’s Ruşen Çakır calls on the government and the opposition parties to be actively involved in this case, which he says has very serious political consequences for the country. “We are faced with a political case. The politicians do not have the luxury of saying the case is in the court’s hands now, hence remain silent,” he says. In his view, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal, whose party claims to be a social democratic one, does not show sufficient interest in the Dink case, which is something that needs to be severely criticized. “I personally would like to see Baykal attend at least one hearing of the Dink case,” he says. Regarding the government, he says it failed to keep up with the promises it made following the assassination and cast a light on the murder. “From the very first days, we see that the Dink case is not among the priorities of the government. The government was very reserved about clarifying the Dink case,” complains Çakır.
Haber Türk’s Soli Özel says all the information gathered regarding the Dink murder shows he was killed as a result of a systematic plan because he did not “know his place” -- he was an Armenian journalist and a patriot with a conscience. In his view, what is worse than the murder itself, the identity of those behind the murder, the scandals emerging after the murder and the many ways found to prevent justice is the public insensitivity about the murder of an innocent person who never offended anybody throughout his life. “This is a finding free from the ideas, political leaning and identity of Dink. This case is a test of what kind of a society we are and what kind we would like to be. Every day that passes without resolution in the Dink case should embarrass the state and the government,” he says.
