Fourteen years ago, on January 19, 2007, Hrant Dink, an Istanbul-Armenian journalist, intellectual and editor of the Agos newspaper, was assassinated by a Turkish nationalist in front of his editorial office in Istanbul.

Today, on the anniversary of his murder, the Eastern Armenian edition of the novel Agos by French journalist and writer Valerie Manto, dedicated to Hrant Dink, was published in Yerevan. The author was present at the book presentation, which took place at the French Embassy in Armenia. 

Hrant Dink is at the core of Manto's work. Ten years after Dink's assassination, she left for Turkey and lived there for a year and a half. She’s in love with the country and its inhabitants but is upset by the political and public atmosphere in Turkey – the widespread fear, hatred and suspicion.

While discussing events in Turkey and the country with Turkish friends, the main character of the book, Manto herself, hears about Hrant Dink and his assassination. From that day on, Dink's story haunts her.

Living on the Asian shores of the Bosphorus, she began to read books and articles about the Armenian intellectual, to investigate his life, to walk around the places frequented by Dink.

In the book, she walks from one side of the straits to the other, walking past the prisons where 150 journalists are imprisoned for their views, following the ghost of Hrant Dink, who once promised to "turn this hell we live in into a paradise." Upon returning to France, Manto published the book entitled Agos, the name of Dink’s newspaper.

Valerie Manto skillfully intertwines several genres: fictional autobiography, reportage, political satire and romance.

Samvel Gasparyan, who translated the book into eastern Armenian, says the work of fiction will impart new life to Armenian translated literature.

Although Agos has not been translated into Turkish yet, the author says she’s started to tour Turkey and has held discussions about the book in 2019, at the French Institute in Istanbul and Ankara, at the Galatasaray Francophone University, and on the radio.

During a book discussion in Ankara, a Turkish woman expressed her indignation over the word “genocide” used in the book and the debate became heated. Despite this, Manto tries to be optimistic about Turkish society and says that, in any case, the book was read and discussed.

The author says if she were an Armenian it would be more difficult to have a discussion with a Turkish reader, but as a foreigner who loves Turkey she tries to talk about "the need for peace and mutual understanding."

From 2008-2013, Valerie Manton worked for Charlie Hebdo, the French weekly whose editorial office was attacked by extremist Islamists on January 7, 2015, killing 12 and injuring 10 people.

In the novel Agos, the reader will also experience these events. As French Ambassador to Armenia Jonathan Lacotte said at the presentation, this novel is a tribute not only to Hrant Dink, but also to freedom of speech.

This reporter asked Valerie Manto if she felt safe living and working in Turkey, where there are hundreds of arrested journalists and intellectuals and freedom of expression is restricted.

"As a foreigner, I felt responsible and obliged to say and do something for those journalists and intellectuals. You never know where the threat will stop in Turkey, but I felt protected in that extremely chaotic and dangerous environment. I could be at risk of deportation, like many of my colleagues. But as a writer, I was not very prominent, occasionally publishing small passages from my book so as not to draw too much attention to myself. As a foreigner, I was more protected, so I took the responsibility to speak and express myself instead of those who are silenced and to continue the words of those who, despite all that, have the courage to speak," Manto said at today's book launch.

A rally will be held today in Osmanbey, Istanbul where Hrant Dink was assassinated.

"It is psychologically difficult in a country where the concept of rights is on the verge of abolition, where political power attacks not only its population, but also   neighboring countries. You know very well from your experience what happened in Karabakh or has been happening in Greece for months. I try to modestly do what Dink and all those who struggle in modern Turkey once tried to do," the French writer says.

In 2018, the novel Agos won one of the highest awards in French literature - the "Renault" prize.

The publisher of the Armenian translation of the book is Newmag. The translation and publication of the book was supported by the French Embassy in Armenia.

On January 19, at 18:00, a round table dedicated to Hrant Dink և his journalistic legacy will be held in the hall of the Armenian General Benevolent Union. The scheduled speakers are Agos author Valerie Manto, Hrant Dink Foundation representative Armenuhie Nikoghosyan, and Civil Net journalist Tatul Hakobyan.