The Istanbul Chamber of Doctors has decided to give its Peace Prize to Rakel Dink, widow of the murdered journalist Hrant Dink. The prizegiving ceremony will take place in Istanbul this evening.

A call for peace

In a eulogy she called "Letter to my Beloved", Rakel Dink had addressed the huge crowd of mourners who had gathered to accompany Hrant Dink's coffin to his burial place on 23 January 2007. She awakened great admiration for her forgiving words, when she talked about the young triggerman: "Whoever the assassin may be, whether he was 17 or 27 years old, I know that he was once a baby. My brothers and sisters, one cannot accomplish anything without first questioning the darkness that creates an assassin from such a baby"

Peace Prize Remembers Murdered Doctor

The Peace Prize of the Chamber of Doctors is given every year in memory of dentist Dr. Sevinc Özgüner who was murdered in 1980. Her daughter's lawyer says that previously she had been receiving threats, her car had been damaged, and the door to her house had been broken. She applied to the governor for protection, but two days later she was killed. Although two suspects were arrested, they were acquitted and her daughter was not informed about the trial. Because 20 years have passed, a new trial is impossible now. (TK/AG)