The 10th commemoration ceremony of the murdered Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was held in Stockholm, Sweden. According to the release by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the memorial ceremony was held in ABF House, jointly arranged by the Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden, Swedish Support Committee for Human Rights in Turkey, ABF Stockholm, Swedish Journalist Association and Swedish PEN.
The event was attended by deputies, journalists, public figures as well as representatives of national minorities.
Armenian Ambassador to Sweden Artak Apitonyan addressed the commemoration ceremony saying Dink was one of the few figures who openly advocated in Turkey for a dialogue and cooperation between the two neighboring countries and was never afraid of speaking out the Armenian Genocide as a prerequisite for the Armenians and Turks to jointly overcome the consequences of the tragedy.
In the words of the Ambassador, a decade later of the journalists’ assassination, most people in Turkey follow the footsteps of Dink to struggle for democracy and equal rights for national minorities.
Swedish MP from the Christian Democratic Party Desire Petrus, Secretary General at PEN Association Anna Ingvarson, Head of Swedish branch of Amnesty International Andrea Bodekul, Deputy Chairman at “SvD” Daily Anders Björkman, Swedish social commentator and author of Kurdish descent Kurdo Baksi delivered speeches.
According to the release, number of Diaspora Armenians – Chairman of the Armenian National Committee of Sweden, Arshak Gavafyan, genocide expert Vahagn Avetyan, religious leader of the Armenian catholic community of Sweden Revd Yeghishe Avetisyan and others addressed the event.
