The Permanent Representative of Armenia to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Ambassador Arman Kirakossian, on Thursday delivered remarks at the 1086th Meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council, in the Austrian capital city of Vienna,

Kirakossian spoke on the occasion of the ninth anniversary of the assassination of renowned Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, the founder and chief editor of Agos Armenian bilingual weekly of Istanbul, who was gunned down on  January 19, 2007 in front of Agos’ then-office in Istanbul.  

First, the Armenian ambassador shared OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović’s expectation that, “exposing the masterminds of this assassination would also demonstrate to the entire society the importance of freedom of expression, and the continued need to fight violence against journalists.”

Ambassador Kirakossian noted that Armenia consistently supports freedom of the press, and the safety of journalists and human rights activists. 

In this connection, the Armenian side pointed to the Turkish authorities’ recent negative reaction toward numerous renowned Turkish intellectuals, who had dared to raise a voice in support of a large cross-section of the Turkish society.

Also, the Permanent Representative of Armenia to the OSCE lauded the fact that a considerable segment of the Turkish society had staged demonstrations on the ninth anniversary of Dink’s assassination, urging that all masterminds of this crime be brought to account.

In addition, Arman Kirakossian urged the Turkish authorities to appropriately respond to those calls.