Remembering Hrant Dink. A senseless murder.

I am truly saddened that Turkey's most prominent citizen of Armenian heritage was assasinated in Istanbul by a culprit who appears to be a 17-year-old kid on Saturday. The BBC reported there was a tremendous outpouring in both communities during Dink's funeral. Unfortunately, there are MAJOR political divides between Turkish and Armenian people in all parts of the world. And, an event of this nature is one which simply adds bricks to the already extensive, invisible wall. The reasons for this divide are so contentious that I refuse to bring them up at a sensistive time like this. But, at the end of the day, the Dink family has needlessly lost a husband and a father. The tragedy was condemned by the leading Turkish-American Association, ATAA. The web site for the leading Armenian-American group, ANCA, features a tribute to the fallen journalist. Dink was able to bridge the gaps between our two sides in a remarkable manner which few will likely replicate anytime soon. As someone who is proud of his Turkish heritage, I want to assure every fellow American, especially those of Armenian heritage, that all of us who truly represent everything positive about my late father Mehmet Gokbudak's country would have never wanted this at any level_ subconciously or otherwise.