Hrant Dink Site of Memory

Agos newspaper office had from the very first day of its establishment, represented a site of transformation and hope. The mission of the Agos includes the goals of rendering the problems of minorities and Armenians so that they are visible and awareness is raised; informing society about the culture of Armenians and minorities; shedding light on the past, and contributing to the democratisation of Turkey. Agos was a turning point for the Armenians and minorities of Turkey as it was the first newspaper to be published in Turkish and English during the Turkish Republican era.

Hrant Dink was assassinated in front of the Sebat Apartment Building on January 19th, 2007. The assassination evoked people’s conscience and sparked mass protests. On January 19th, the Sebat Apartment Building became a crime scene. At the same time it also began to turn into a site of conscience. Over the course of the following years due to the memory and the truth that the Sebat Apartment Building possesses, the venue has turned into a site of memory. In addition, the site has gained an important meaning in the conscience and collective memory of society since 2007.

It is a site of conscience and memory as the venue possesses a memory, a truth, and a spirit. New dimensions are being added to the old office which housed the Agos and Hrant Dink Foundation in order to turn it into a site of memory, dialogue, debate, and, also, a site of hope. As Simon Wiesenthal once said, “Hope lives when people remember.” Sites of memory and conscience, first and foremost, enable people to remember and provide an opportunity to discover the truth.They also allow access to information that people have been deprived of, encourage acknowledgment of pain, foster mutual understanding and dialogue with their robust education and audience programs, and promote dealing with the past, handling encounters with politics of oblivion, and combating social amnesia.