OIA Sayin Hrant Dink'i konuk etti / OIA Hosts Hrant Dink


OIA, 21 Mart 2003 Cuma gecesi, Istanbul'da yayin yapan haftalik AGOS Gazetesi kurucu uyesi ve bas yazari Sayin Hrant Dink'i konuk etti. Cok sayida uyenin katildigi gece, OIA Ana Yonetim Kurulu Baskani, Sayin Simon Acilacoglu'nun acilis konusmasi ile basladi. Sn. Acilacoglu once Dink Ciftine ve uyelere hos geldiniz mesajindan sonra, OIA ve etkinlikleri hakkinda bilgi verdi. AGOS gazetesi ve Sn. Hrant Dink'in surdurdugu calismalari taktir etti. OIA/HYETIES yeni baskani Sn. jbit Cepkinyan'in "Hayots Zankagner" ve "Abrir" adli siirleri okumasindan sonra, Sn. Acilacoglu, S. Dink'in biografisini okudu ve Sn. Dink'i Los Angeles'a davet eden Zaralilar Dernegi Yonetim Kuruluna tesekkur ederek, Konugu sahneye davet etti.

Sn. Hrant Dink, konusmasinda, AGOS'un dogusu ve gecen 7 yillarda, Istanbul Ermeni Basini ve Cemaati icindeki yeri, amaclari, yayin hayatindaki sorunlari ve gelecekle ilgili calismalar hakkinda genis ve ilginc bilgiler sundu. Uyeler tarafindan sorulan, Azinliklar ve Sorunlari hakkindaki sorulara, verdigi ilginc cevaplar ile dikkati cekti.

Gece, OIA Ana Yonetim Kurulu Baskan Yardimcisi, Av. Edvin Minasyan'in, Sn. Dink'e sundugu hediye ile son buldu. OIA Onur Defterini imzaladiktan sonra, cok sayida eski dostlari ile karsilasan Sn. Dink saatlerce ayakta sohbet etti ve cok sayida fotograf cekildi. Dink Cifti ve uyeler, geceden memnun OIA'den ayrildilar.

Garbis Sarafian


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On Friday night, March 21, 2003, OIA hosted a lecture by Hrant Dink, founding member and chief writer for Istanbul's Armenian weekly newspaper AGOS. OIA president Simon Acilacoglu kicked off the evening by addressing a packed crowd at OIA Hall. After extending a warm welcome to the Dink couple and the members in attendance, Mr. Acilacoglu briefly described the OIA and its current activities. He also prasied the work done by Hrant Dink and the entire AGOS staff. Following a reading of two poems, "Hayots Zankagner" and "Abrir", by new OIA/HyeTies president Jbit Cepkinyan, Mr. Acilacoglu read a biography of Mr. Hrant Dink, and thanked the Zarali Organization for inviting the distinguished journalist to Los Angeles.

During his lecture, Mr. Hrant Dink spoke of the establishment of AGOS, the newspaper's role in the Istanbul Armenian community and press for the past seven years, the issues it has faced, its current purpose, and its plans for the future. Of special interest to the audience were his informative responses to their questions regarding minority issues.

The evening concluded with a presentation of a gift to Mr. Dink by OIA Vice President Edvin Minasyan. After signing the OIA guestbook and greeting many old friends, Mr. Dink spent hours conversing and taking photographs with the audience. The Dink couple and OIA members all departed quite satisfied by the evening's activites.

Translated by Murat Kazanci