HRANT DINK ASSASSINATED IN ISTANBUL!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have just heard the tragic news that Hrant Dink, an Armenian intellectual and writer in Turkey, was shot and killed outside the offices of AGOS , a newspaper he published in Istanbul.

Over the years Mr. Dink became the spokesperson for the 40,000 or so Armenian community in Turkey, often making statements on Turkish - Armenian relations that many found controversial on both sides of the divide.

Mr. Dink often ran afoul of the Turkish authorities for speaking out on the topic of the Armenian genocide and was charged several times with the crime of "insulting the Turkish nation".

For more news on this unfolding story please see the BBC and the International Herald Tribune.

For photos from the murder scene in Istanbul, see Yahoo.

The BBC has a short video clip of demonstrations in Istanbul condemning the murder.
_____________________________________________________________________

Below is the statement made by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding Hrant Dink's murder:

January 19, 2007(Unofficial Translation)We have learned with great sorrow that our citizen Hrant Dink, Editor in Chief of the Agos newspaper and a distinguished member of the Turkish Armenian Community lost his life today as a result of an armed attack at the entrance of the Agos newspaperÂ’s head office. We strongly deplore and condemn this heinous act. Our security forces have started the search to immediately arrest and bring to justice the perpetrator or perpetrators of this attack. The perpetrator or perpetrators of this attack shall be arrested in a short period of time and shall be brought before justice.
On the occasion of the loss of Mr. Hrant Dink who was also a well known public figure, an author and an intellectual, we extend our condolences to his family, loved ones, to the Agos newspaper, to our press and the Turkish people starting with the Turkish Armenian community. May his soul rest in peace.

Pokr Mher: We hope no one is naive enough to believe that the mastermind of this dastardly act was a lone teenaged gunman acting on his own. The Turkish state now sheds "crocodile tears" over Mr. Dink's murder but their actions and words for the past 90 years speaks volumes regarding just how sincere they are when it comes to telling the people of Turkey the historical truths regarding Turkish-Armenian relations and specifically the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Our thoughts are now with the tiny and beleaguered Armenian community of Istanbul who have lost a native son brave enough to speak his mind and thus participate in the wider struggle for truth and justice in Turkey.