GLENDALE — Dressed comfortably in a corduroy jacket and exuding a relaxed disposition, Hrant Dink does not appear to be an outspoken publisher facing political turmoil in Turkey. But he is.
Dink, the publisher of Armenian-Turkish newspaper Agos, met Glendale officials Thursday at the Glendale Police Department to find out more about the lives of Armenians in America.
“The life of Armenians in Glendale is a popular topic abroad,” said Dink through a translator. “We call it the ‘Armenian Glendale.’”
Police Chief Randy Adams, Public Information Officer Agent John Balian and council members Ara Najarian and Rafi Manoukian discussed crime and politics with Dink. Senior Assistant City Atty. Lucy Varpetian attended and translated for Dink, an ethnic Armenian who lives in Turkey.
“There are myths that get circulated,” said Dink through the translator. “I want to know what the relation of Armenians is with their host country.”
The myths that Dink referred to are the perceptions in the United States and abroad about organized crime in the Armenian community, Varpetian said.
The officials assured Dink that Glendale is one of the county’s safest communities.
“It’s true that there is crime in Glendale,” Manoukian said. “But it’s not as prevalent as other communities.”
Immigrant communities, regardless of origin, go through phases, Manoukian said.
“One of our goals is to make the world a small place for criminals,” Adams said. “We don’t want people coming here to commit crime and think they can go back to Armenia.”
Dink exchanged ideas with City Clerk Ardy Kassakhian after the meeting.
“I’m hoping that he doesn’t stop speaking out,” Kassakhian said. “The press’s job is to speak the truth no matter how painful or uncomfortable.”
Dink publicly opposed new legislation proposed in France that would outlaw the denial of the Armenian genocide.
“Until today, the world has held Armenians in high esteem because they were victims of genocide,” he said. “Now the Turkish people are the victims because their right to free speech is being denied and the Turks will use that against Armenians.”
Dink first rose to the international stage in October 2005 when Turkey’s government prosecuted and convicted him on charges of inciting racial hatred and insulting Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, in an article about the Armenian genocide.
A Turkish court sentenced him to six months in jail, but the court postponed the sentence, ordering him to serve the time only if he was found guilty on the charge a second time.
Dink was charged again and is awaiting trial in March.
Many Armenian organizations in America have invited Dink to speak with them privately on his experiences in raising awareness of the Armenian genocide.
“He is in the forefront of genocide recognition from the government of Turkey,” Varpetian said.
Dink has visited Armenian groups in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., this month.
He will speak at 5 p.m. on Sunday at Burbank’s Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of America. The event is sponsored by the Organization of Istanbul Armenians and is free and open to the public.