Epress.am News from Armenia
Academics, intellectuals and journalists including Noam Chomsky and Richard Faulk met this weekend at Istanbul Bilgi University for the 7th annual “Gathering in Istanbul for Freedom of Expression.”
A large portion of Saturday’s morning session was devoted to remembering the life and fate of journalist Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist who was the editor of the bilingual weekly Agos until his assassination in 2007. Conference participants spoke on Dink’s role in establishing freedom of speech in Turkey.
Tuba Çandar, a journalist and close friend of Dink who has been writing a book about his life, told the audience how she has approached Dink’s life.
“I was there and saw his dead body in front of Agos. I called on him to get up from that sidewalk and talk to us,” Çandar said, referring to her approach to writing Dink’s story. “[Dink] contributed to all aspects of democracy.”
Journalists from other countries, including Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Russia, spoke at the conference on Saturday, expressing their pessimism regarding the ability of people to express, disseminate, exchange and debate ideas in their respective countries because of authoritarian governments.