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Hrant Dink

The defendants in the Hrant Dink murder trial had connections to six suspects in the ongoing Ergenekon coup plot case, news agencies reported Monday.

In a statement sent by Istanbul police for Monday’s hearing of the Dink trial, authorities said infamous Ergenekon suspects Veli Küçük, Kemal Kerinçsiz, Mustafa Levent Göktaş, Muzaffer Tekin and Erbay Çolakoğlu spoke on the phone to the suspects in Dink’s murder. Dink was a Turkish journalist of Armenian origin.

Küçük and Kerinçsiz were closely linked to a case in which Dink was tried for insulting Turkishness in one of his articles; before his death, the journalist said he had felt threatened by the pair’s presence at the hearings.

Alleged members of the suspected Ergenekon gang are accused of plotting to overthrow Turkey’s government by sowing chaos in society.

Dink’s friends ask for justice

Prior to the start of Monday’s 13th hearing at the Beşiktaş courthouse, friends of the murdered journalist gathered to issue another demand for justice in the long-running case.

Dink was gunned down in broad daylight on Jan. 19, 2007, in front of the offices of his bilingual daily, Agos.

Roughly 200 people gathered Monday in Beşiktaş and held posters saying “For Hrant for Justice,” in Turkish and Armenian. Dink’s wife, Rakel Dink, and his brother, Hosrof Dink, were also present on Monday.

“This case has been taking place for three-and-a-half years now, and we will be here as long as it takes,” said Tülin Özen, reading a press statement on behalf of Dink’s friends. Read more…

CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON

Plenty has been in the news about the Ergenekon trials lately and plenty more will be said. Let’s exit from that aspect and look briefly at the literary side  the Ergenekon epic.

We usually think of roads leading us to somewhere — for many, it is a way of escape and safety. However, some may lose their way.
Throughout the history of civilization, roadways have been crucial: Their primary purpose was military; but gradually roads were developed and became of great commercial importance. Roads connected distant provinces with the empire’s capital.

I recently came across a lovely book of photographs about Turkey’s roads, published by Eczacıbaşı. Roadways in Turkey take on all kinds of shapes and forms.

Read more…