The defense statement submitted to the Strasbourg-based court drew the ire of many because it puts all the blame on Dink for causing his own murder. Dink was shot to death by an ultranationalist youth in 2007. His sensitivity to the issue has won Gül much praise at a time when there are many allegations of negligence on the part of the state, which many say led to the murder.Vatan’s Okay Gönensin says President Gül made a first in the name of the state by inviting Dink’s brother because this case will be recorded as the first apology by the state to those who lost their lives because the state failed to carry out its responsibilities properly.
“We have a state that bases its defense in the Dink murder at the ECtHR on the rudest, most racist and most fascist mentality, but the president has voiced regret in the name of the same state to the Dink family,” Gönensin says.
He thinks it is impossible to not feel heartbroken when reminded of the developments before and after Dink’s murder as well as attempts to cover up the negligence of officials in this murder. “The simplest question is this: Does the state exist to protect its citizens and make them feel comfortable, or to ignore murders and murder plots?”
Gönensin explains that fears about Turkey’s possible division or the coming of Shariah rule does not give anyone the right to kill others. “It took us a long time to think about this. When we take a look at the past 50 years, around 80,000 of our citizens have become victims of a mistaken mindset. Dink was one of them,” he says.
Gönensin adds that everyone with a conscience owes President Gül a thank you for his sensitivity.
Milliyet’s Hasan Cemal says that by inviting Dink’s brother, President Gül revealed his dissatisfaction with the content of the defense statement Turkey submitted to the ECtHR and sent a meaningful message to the state. He thinks Turkey’s defense statement was embarrassing and scandalous because the state, whose negligence played a role in the murder, is still able to make such a statement and put almost all the blame on Dink himself for the assassination. “How tragic and painful. The Dink murder came step by step. Dink was a victim of a collective murder because he was portrayed as a target by the media and the judiciary,” Cemal says.
