[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1937]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               CONDEMNING THE BRUTAL MURDER OF HRANT DINK

  (Mr. ROYCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. ROYCE. Madam Speaker, I rise to condemn the brutal murder of 
newspaper editor and leading figure in the Armenian genocide debate in 
Turkey, Hrant Dink.
  Last Friday freedom of speech suffered a setback as Dink was shot 
three times in the head in broad daylight outside of his office. As a 
Turkish citizen of Armenian descent, he had gained notoriety in Turkish 
society for the court cases brought against him, in which he faced jail 
time for simply talking of that genocide. Nationalists see such 
statements, they say, as insults to the honor of Turks.
  Well, Dink was mourned worldwide, and journalists like him and Nobel 
Laureate Orhan Pamuk continue to be persecuted by suppressive laws that 
seek to stifle discussion on matters that are claimed to be insulting 
to Turkish identity.
  It is my sincere hope that the Turkish Government uses this tragedy 
to revisit its laws and open up to free speech. The laws themselves are 
a catalyst for this type of intolerance.

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