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Turkish Police ?Ignored Tip-Off On Dink?s Murder?

The Turkish police received information on the plot to murder the Turkish journalist of Armenian origin, Hrant Dink, who was murdered a week and a half ago in Istanbul, Turkish papers reported Tuesday. This report was accompanied by a report that the Turkish government dismissed both the governor and police commissioner of the Trabzon region on the coast of the Caspian Sea, from which the two suspects in the plot originated. Public outcry on the government`s handling of extremists has prompted Ankara to send two investigators to find out whether or not the local authorities and police have failed in stopping the murder.

"There has been a tip-off that a man called Yasin Hayal, who lives in Trabzon, has said he will come to Istanbul and kill Hrant Dink," the Turkish daily Sabah quoted from a letter received by the Ankara`s police intelligence from Trabzon. Yasin Hayal is a young Turk, who admitted he had incited Ogun Samast, 17 years of age, to commit the murder. Dink, 52-years-old, was shot, a week in a half ago, while exiting the newspaper, in which he worked in Istanbul. He was a controversial figure in Turkey, on the one hand he promoted reconciliation between Turks and Armenians, and on the other hand, he called for the acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide. Turkish nationals took this to be a insult to Turkish pride.

"I can`t say whether it is true or false. We are waiting for the report from two investigators sent to Trabzon. They are in full charge of this investigation," police spokesman Ismail Caliskan told reporters. The Turkish papers Sabah and Milliyet, both reported that one of the suspects charged in connection with the murder was an informer, who told the police another murder plot is being played out.