Friday 26 January 2007

Photo of Yasin Hayal"Orhan Pamuk, be smart, be smart!"

Shouting these words as he was led into an Istanbul courtroom, Yasin Hayal, the man alleged to have been behind the shooting of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, threw down the gauntlet to Turkish liberals. And to those who wish Turkey to become part of the European Union.

Hayal is "a nationalist militant" according to the story on page 12 of today's The Australian, who was "jailed for bombing a McDonald's restaurant in 2004".

Turkish police have said that Hayal had confessed to recommending the murder of Dink, who was shot last week outside the offices of Agos, the Turkish Armenian newspaper he edited.

I mentioned the story two days ago.

The pressure on the government to readjust its stance on the Armenian genocide is increasing daily. Pressure from figures like Dink and Pamuk will eventually cause a realignment of the official views of Turkey with those held by the rest of Europe. (The rest of Europe?) Thus I prophesy. It won't happen overnight, but there is overwhelming evidence pointing in this direction.

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