WIFE OF SLAIN HRANT DINK ACCEPTS HONARY AWARD FROM PRESIDENT KOCHARIAN ON BEHALF OF HER LATE HUSBAND

Yesterday in the Presidential palace in Yerevan awards were handed out by President Kocharian to those who have accomplished high levels of work in their professional fields.

One very emotional moment was when Rakael Dink accepted a posthumous award on behalf of her late husband Hrant Dink for his work in improving relations between Turks and Armenians in the spirit of mutual cooperation based on the acceptance of historical realities.

All in attendance rose to their feet and warmly applauded this brave woman. President Kocharian's words were equally evocative and he promised that the Republic of Armenia would always be a "home" for the Dink family and that Hrant's death was a irreplacable loss for the Armenian people.

Also presented an award for their work in the cultural field were the Taviani brothers for their film "Skylark Farm" based on the events of 1915. Only one of the two elderly brothers could make the trip to Armenia but he was deeply moved by the award.

On a personal note, I cannot fail to mention the award given to an old friend, Raymond (Harutiun) Kevorkian from Paris for his groundbreaking and scholarly reserach in the field of modern Armenian history, notably the Genocide. His recently published 1,000 page tome is the definitive work on the subject and he expressed hopes that the work would be translated into English in 2008. It is not a inexpensive undertaking and we can only hope that he finds a degree of financial assistance within the diaspora. The book entitled "Le Genocide de Les Armeniens" is available on Amazon.com.