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New Zealand soldiers witness and rescued victims of Armenian Genocide

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SCCZEN_220416SPLARMENIAN2_620x310These moving stories show that New Zealand soldiers were not just pawns in a game of empires, and nor were ordinary citizens isolated from traumas elsewhere. They rescued victims of the first genocide in modern history, the horror of which would move Raphael Lemkin to coin the term genocide in 1943 and begin building an international legal framework to outlaw crimes against humanity.

The powerful links between New Zealanders and victims of the Armenian Genocide are, however, cast in a different light because, despite the wealth of evidence presented in newspapers, diplomatic cables, trials, governmental archives, and the words of the victims themselves, the Turkish state – from 1918 to now – denies that a genocide took place.

This forgotten past, now uncovered, brings into question the special relationship that exists between Australia, New Zealand, and Turkey. Can New Zealand state officials stand on a platform with Turkish officials at Gallipoli knowing that they actively refuse to acknowledge the truth of what happened to the Armenians? Knowing now that New Zealanders risked their lives for the survivors?

ISTANBUL: Hitman in Dink murder testifies to prosecutor as witness

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198679_newsdetailOgün Samast, who was convicted in 2011 of killing Hrant Dink, the editor-in-chief of the Agos newspaper, is escorted to court by gendarmes. (Photo: Cihan)

TODAYSZAMAN.COM / ISTANBUL

Ogün Samast, who was sentenced to 21 years, six months in prison in 2011 for assassinating Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, is testifying as a witness in the ongoing investigation into the murder.

Dink was assassinated in broad daylight outside the office of his Agos newspaper on Jan. 17, 2007.

The convicted hitman was taken from Kandıra Prison and brought to the Çağlayan Courthouse on Friday morning to testify as a witness. The police have taken strict security measures on the seventh floor of the courthouse where Samast is delivering his testimony to Prosecutor Yusuf Hakkı Doğan.

Samast had sent a letter to Doğan saying that he wanted to speak about the murder. The prosecutor decided to listen to Samast as a witness in the investigation.

As part of the same investigation, two former heads of the intelligence unit of the National Police Department — Sabri Uzun and Ramazan Akyürek — and a former police chief, Ali Fuat Yılmazer, testified as suspects. Other high-profile figures have been called to testify as suspects, including former İstanbul Police Chief Celalettin Cerrah, former İstanbul Deputy Governor Ergun Güngör and former İstanbul Police Department Intelligence Unit Chief Ahmet İlhan Güler.

Dink was shot and killed by an ultranationalist teenager seven years ago. The hitman, Samast, and 18 others were brought to trial. During the process, the lawyers for the Dink family and the co-plaintiffs in the case presented evidence indicating that Samast did not act alone. Another suspect, Yasin Hayal, was given life in prison for inciting Samast to murder. However, Erhan Tuncel, who worked as an informant for the Trabzon Police Department and was the man accused of initiating the effort to have Dink murdered, was found not guilty.