“As birds fly away, they leave behind sorrows. January 19^th and November 28^th, one a winter day, the other three months away from winter. They both left behind sorrows with those who are faithful at heart. Our loss was the sorrow of a bird.

As I departed, I whispered to the basalt stones my warmest hustles and bustles, my worries and burdens that I thought were never-ending. The stones heard me, the trigger did not. I left the dignity of peace at the base of a minaret so that innocent children could pick it up. My only concern was the cause of innocent children and orphans. We did not have anyone else other than ourselves. Our annihilation was nothing but sentencing the aggrieved to isolation and alienation. As we were annihilated day by day, the aggrieved had to face the persecution of the cruel.

So as to understand the pain and sufferings of the aggrieved, one needs to be a human being, first and foremost. So as to wallow in the whirlpool of conscience, one needs to have conscience first. One who has his finger on the trigger cannot get his share of conscience. As the sins of the triggerman outweigh his own life, our curses take effect, our frustration comes to light.

After you bid farewell to me in Diyarbakır, off to eternity, my dearest friend Hrant Dink welcomed me. ‘You came over way too early, you hurried as always’, he said reproachfully. ‘When a true friend’s heart aches, he reproaches’, I responded.

I was supposed to stay a little longer to clean up the smoke of the war that penetrated into the pomegranate trees of Mount Judi; then I would breathe in the true scent of life, and see our reflection on the smiling trachea of leaves. Pomegranate leaves would make peace with us, and wipe away our tears. In Cizre, Silopi, Nusaybin, and Sur, heavy-hearted, barefoot children would not carry their lives, reduced down to a bed and blanket, in a wheel barrow. Yet, the children, at the spring of their lives, were orphaned and abandoned to desolation. Such things happen, they said, this is war. Those with eclipsed reason issued fatwas. We would make kites out of these fatwas and put them in the tiny palms of children. We would not let them taste the flavour of being an orphan. This was our only intention.

Hrant, my dearest brother, I told you about the people you left behind: those who are alive; those who are not; and those who are newly born, your grandchildren. I brought you greetings from your children. You have friends who always remember you and think of you. ‘I know,’ you said. ‘I watch them every day.’

‘You know what, from now on you will also see the ones that you had to leave behind.’ At that moment, the joy of seeing me disappeared from his face. A dark curtain fell onto his face, a dark curtain that dates back to many years ago, to his mortal life. For instance, I did see the trigger. It was the twin brother of the trigger that shot me. The triggermen look alike. Just as the slain ones look alike.

Both of our hearts sank. Do not dare to think that the hearts of the deceased would dry out. The heart does not decay, only the heartless rot in the ground. 

We were the waterlilies of this country, who consistently strived to remain clean and pure in the troubled waters of this country. Waterlilies symbolize compassion. Such compassion and purity did always bother the contaminated souls in this lake. These dirty lakes, where dark hands and faces keep lingering. Those who mistook the tears in our eyes for dew one by one plucked out the game-changing waterlilies that were embracing the sky. As the war kept constantly repeating the game over centuries, we have been the gamechangers. In honour of the destitute, we strived to find a harmony between life and peace.

As birds fly away, they do not only leave behind sorrow. They also leave behind women and children with bleeding and aching hearts. Then, and only then, all hell breaks loose and tears fail to describe the pain suffered.

Before I forget, let me pass you greetings from Hrant. He sent his regards to each and every one of you who are listening to me right now. All the blessed souls have sent their greetings for the sake of peace, hope, for the sake of the necessity and sublimity of fraternity. We know that we will not be forgotten. We shall not be worrying about what we had to leave behind.” 

Parev, dearest Hrant,

Parev, dear Dink family with whom we became sisters in suffering,

Greetings to all hearts that are united today, in this very scene where Hrant Dink was murdered, to all hearts having gathered here so that he is ‘not to be forgotten’. 

Greetings to the enlightened people of these lands.

Today marks the 9th anniversary of Hrant Dink’s assassination.

On this January 19th, we have once again gathered to make our appeal ‘‘For Hrant, For Justice!’’

Because, for the last 9 years, there have been constant attempts to obstruct justice for this murder perpetrated by the state. There have been attempts to prevent this assassination from being solved truly, in all aspects.

Because, in Turkey, there is no political will that take democracy, human rights, and rule of law as a fundamental basis. While the defendants are well protected in the case of crimes committed or orchestrated by security forces, the victims are repeatedly faced with all forms of judicial and administrative practices geared towards refutation of their claims.

Because, from the perspective of the state, Hrant Dink is still a dangerous enemy, since he advocated for an Armenian identity, used the therapeutic language of peace and brotherhood, and asked for a free, equal and just country.

The poisonous climate, which was set before Hrant Dink’s assasination, has been jointly created by the government, the judicial bodies and the mainstream media. Today, this poisonous climate continues to target anyone who makes efforts to resolve social problems through democratic and peaceful means. Today, those who do not obey the state policy of assimilation and imposition of a single identity are sentenced to live in a season of blood. 

We are in such a season of blood that we cannot even keep track of our dead. Bullets from the state hit babies in their eyes, small kids in their necks, killing them. Corpses are not allowed to be buried. The curfews imposed without any legal ground compel Kurds to watch and witness the bodies of the deceased rotting on the streets.  The society, which is already poisoned with lies, is expected to give consent to these unlawful, unscrupulous and inhuman practices.

 Hail to those who speak the truth in the face of lies of the rulers! Hail to those who declare ‘‘we will not be accomplices to this crime’’ in response to a government that is hostile to rights, truth and justice!

They are scared of us not only when we are alive, but also when we are dead. That’s why they want us to forget Hrant and all our murdered children. That’s why Saturday Mothers (Cumartesi Anneleri) are deprived of graves for their missing ones. That’s why they deny all the crimes against humanity they committed since 1915 to this very date. Since they are scared of the truth represented by our deceased, they want to enslave the society by subjecting them to a ‘constructed official discourse’.

They want to turn Turkey into a country of masses who are estranged from one another’s pain and suffering, who are alienated from rights and law, and who lost their quality of being a society. That’s why they are blocking our channels of claiming rights and making peace mainstream.

Those who shot our Hrant in his back on Halaskargazi Avenue, those who shot our Tahir in his neck and made him fall face-down right next to the historic minaret Dört Ayaklı Minare. They did not only target them; they also wanted to shoot at our struggle for rights. Yet, here is our pledge to them: We will continue their legacy of struggle for truth, justice and peace.

We will not concede to a single death, without any ifs or buts, without hesitation.  We will insist on the silencing of arms, and the settlement of all problems through dialogue. We will insist on peace, which is for us a state where human rights and liberties are recognized, protected and promoted.

We are fully aware that each crime that is ignored, denied or not confronted paves the way for the next one. That’s why we will keep the truth alive.

We are fully aware that remaining silent to persecution mechanisms targeting the dignity of people amounts to being an accomplice to the crime. That’s why we will not remain silent.

We are fully aware that oppressive regimes build all their power and strength upon fear. That’s why we will hold no fear!  

We will never give up calling on the ones who turned these lands into a safe haven for crimes against humanity, yet an unsafe hell for those who call for rights and liberties to account.

There is no doubt that those who attempt to hamper brotherhood and freedom in this country are doomed to fail. Our humanity, which has been tested so many times with pain and suffering, will win and prevail. Our dream of equality, freedom and peace for all will ultimately become true.

For our children who disappeared under custody and detention,

For our lawyer Tahir Elçi,

For Roboski,

For Gezi,

For Suruç,

For Ankara,

For Sur,

For Hrant,

For truth, for justice, for peace!