Nationalism Comes to Soccer Match
AP via Yahoo. Turkish youths hold a banner that reads: ‘We are from Trabzon. We are Turkish. We are all Mustafa Kemal’ as a reaction of the killing of the ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in Trabzon, Turkey, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2007, during a Turkish Super League soccer match between Trabzonspor and Kayserispor.
First, the youths fantasized about killing. Then they carried out the crimes, emboldened by their violent imaginations. Eight suspects from Trabzon, including the alleged teenage triggerman, are under arrest in the Jan. 19 killing of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in Istanbul.
The slaying prompted international condemnation as well as debate within Turkey about free speech, and whether state institutions were tolerant of militant nationalists.
Mustafa Kemal, Ataturk, is the founder of modern Turkey. (AP Photo/Tekin Atay)
Hayk M. on 07 Feb 2007 at 11:44 pm #
If an equivalent of this happened in the Armenian community (i.e. inadequate, yet organized show of Armenian ultranationalism by youth), my first guess would be – Dashnaks are behind it. It may be a gross stereotype, but thats not the question here.
The question is, who is behind THESE kids? I bet they didnt do it all on their own.
aftab on 10 Feb 2007 at 1:00 am #
menk mer mej unenk bazum potencial mardaspan-turkaspanner, terevs der kun mtac. bayc karcem aveli lav klini unenank bazum Hrant Dinker.