III 

Calendar No. 102 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 65 

Condemning the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist and human rights 

advocate Hrant Dink and urging the people of Turkey to honor his 

legacy of tolerance. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2007 

Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. DODD, Mr. 

MENENDEZ, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. REED, and Mr. 

WHITEHOUSE) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Relations 

MARCH 29, 2007 

Reported by Mr. BIDEN, with an amendment and an amendment to the 

preamble 

[Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic] 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist and 

human rights advocate Hrant Dink and urging the people of Turkey to honor his legacy of tolerance. 

Whereas Hrant Dink was a respected, eloquent advocate for 

press freedom, human rights, and reconciliation; 

Whereas, in 1996, Mr. Dink founded the weekly bilingual 

newspaper Agos and, as the paper’s editor in chief, used 


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•SRES 65 RS 

the paper to provide a voice for Turkey’s Armenian community; 

Whereas Mr. Dink was a strong proponent of rapprochement 

between Turks and Armenians and worked diligently to 

improve relations between those communities; 

Whereas Mr. Dink’s commitment to democratic values, nonviolence, and freedom in the media earned him widespread recognition and numerous international awards; 

Whereas Mr. Dink was prosecuted under Article 301 of the 

Turkish Penal Code for speaking about the Armenian 

Genocide; 

Whereas, notwithstanding hundreds of threats to Mr. Dink’s 

life and safety, he remained a steadfast proponent of pluralism and tolerance; 

Whereas Mr. Dink was assassinated outside the offices of 

Agos in Istanbul, Turkey, on January 19, 2007; 

Whereas tens of thousands of people in Turkey of many 

ethnicities protested Mr. Dink’s killing and took to the 

streets throughout the country to honor his memory; 

Whereas the Government of Turkey has pledged to undertake 

a full investigation into the murder of Mr. Dink; 

Whereas the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip 

Erdogan, has stated that when Mr. Dink was shot, ‘‘a 

bullet was fired at freedom of thought and democratic life 

in Turkey’’; 

Whereas the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Vartan Oskanian, 

stated that Mr. Dink ‘‘lived his life in the belief that 

there can be understanding, dialogue and peace amongst 

peoples’’; and 


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•SRES 65 RS 

Whereas Mr. Dink’s tragic death affirmed the importance of 

promoting the values that he championed in life: Now, 

therefore, be it 

Whereas Hrant Dink was a respected, eloquent advocate for 

press freedom, human rights, and reconciliation; 

Whereas, in 1996, Mr. Dink founded the weekly bilingual 

newspaper Agos and, as the paper’s editor in chief, used 

the paper to provide a voice for Turkey’s Armenian community; 

Whereas Mr. Dink was a strong proponent of rapprochement 

between Turks and Armenians and worked diligently to 

improve relations between those communities; 

Whereas Mr. Dink’s commitment to democratic values, nonviolence, and media freedom earned him widespread recognition and numerous international awards; 

Whereas Mr. Dink was subjected to legal action under Article 

301 of the Turkish Penal Code for referring to the 1915 

massacre of Armenians as genocide; 

Whereas, notwithstanding hundreds of threats to Mr. Dink’s 

life and safety, he remained a steadfast proponent of pluralism and tolerance; 

Whereas Mr. Dink was assassinated outside the offices of Agos 

in Istanbul, Turkey, on January 19, 2007; 

Whereas tens of thousands of people in Turkey of many 

ethnicities protested Mr. Dink’s killing and took to the 

streets throughout the country to honor his memory; 

Whereas the Government of Turkey has pledged to undertake 

a full investigation into the murder of Mr. Dink; 

Whereas the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip 

Erdogan, has stated that when Mr. Dink was shot, ‘‘a bulVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:11 Mar 31, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR65.RS SR65

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•SRES 65 RS 

let was fired at freedom of thought and democratic life in 

Turkey’’; 

Whereas the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Vartan Oskanian, 

stated that Mr. Dink ‘‘lived his life in the belief that there 

can be understanding, dialogue and peace amongst peoples’’; and 

Whereas Mr. Dink’s tragic death affirmed the importance of 

promoting the values that he championed in life: Now, 

therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the Senate— 

1 (1) condemns the murder of Hrant Dink as a 

2 shameful act of cowardice perpetrated with contempt 

3 for law, justice, and decency; 

4 (2) supports the pledge of the Government of 

5 Turkey to conduct an exhaustive investigation into 

6 the assassination of Mr. Dink and to prosecute those 

7 responsible; 

8 (3) urges the Government of Turkey to repeal 

9 Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code and work 

10 diligently to foster a more open intellectual environ11 ment in the country that is conducive to the free ex12 change of ideas; 

13 (4) recognizes the decision of the Government 

14 of Turkey to invite senior Armenian religious and 

15 political figures to participate in memorial services 

16 for Mr. Dink; 


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•SRES 65 RS 

1 (5) calls on the Government of Turkey to act in 

2 the interest of regional security and prosperity and 

3 reestablish full diplomatic, political, and economic 

4 relations with the Government of Armenia; and 

5 (6) urges the people of Turkey to honor Mr. 

6 Dink’s legacy of tolerance. 

7 That the Senate— 

8 (1) condemns the murder of Hrant Dink, which 

9 was perpetrated with contempt for law, justice, and 

10 decency; 

11 (2) supports the pledge of the Government of 

12 Turkey to conduct an exhaustive investigation into 

13 the assassination of Mr. Dink and acknowledges the 

14 prompt arrest of individuals allegedly responsible for 

15 the killing; 

16 (3) urges the Government of Turkey to repeal Ar17 ticle 301 of the Turkish Penal Code and work dili18 gently to foster a more open intellectual environment 

19 in the country that is conducive to the free exchange 

20 of ideas; 

21 (4) recognizes the decision of the Government of 

22 Turkey to invite senior Armenian religious and polit23 ical figures to participate in memorial services for 

24 Mr. Dink; 


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1 (5) calls on the Government of Turkey and the 

2 Government of Armenia to act in the interest of re3 gional security and prosperity and reestablish full 

4 diplomatic, political, and economic relations; 

5 (6) supports Mr. Dink’s wish that Turkey pursue 

6 further integration into Euro–Atlantic institutions 

7 and encourages the Government of Turkey to enact re8 forms conducive to such ends; and 

9 (7) urges the people of Turkey to honor Mr. 

10 Dink’s legacy of tolerance. 


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Calendar No. 102 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 65 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning the murder of Turkish-Armenian jouracy of tolerance. and urging the people of Turkey to honor his leg- nalist and human rights advocate Hrant Dink 

MARCH 29, 2007 

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the 

preamble 


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