February 27, 2006 The body of the guerilla, a member of the Kurdish resistance HPG group, who lost his life in the rural areas of Mardin’s Dargeçit village in clashes with the Turkish army, was laid to rest with the participation of thousands of supporters. After the prayer services, the crowd attempted to visit his […]
February 27, 2006
The body of the guerilla, a member of the Kurdish resistance HPG group, who lost his life in the rural areas of Mardin’s Dargeçit village in clashes with the Turkish army, was laid to rest with the participation of thousands of supporters.
After the prayer services, the crowd attempted to visit his home, a traditional ritual to pay respect, but were attacked by the Turkish police. 12 people were arrested and 10 people were wounded in the police attack with tear gas and batons.
The crowd marching for the funeral, under heavy security measures chanted, “Öcalan is our reason for war or peace” referring to the jailed Kurdish opposition leader who was caught with the collaboration of the US CIA, Israeli Mossad and the Turkish secret services. Other chants in the march were, “Respect Öcalan”, “HPG to the front! We want revenge!”, “Vengeance! Vengeance!” “Öcalan is our political determination!”, “Long live Apo!” Referring to Öcalan’s first name, which also means “uncle” in Kurdish.
A speaker from the DTP, the Party of Democratic Society, Ahmet Cengiz said if the attacks do not end, the death of the 7 guerilla today may mean the death of more police or soldiers tomorrow.
Ahmet Cengiz said the proposals of Öcalan to resolve the Kurdish issue should be taken seriously. He added, “I am expressing this very explicitly, Öcalan’s suggestions should be discussed. There is leader that the people are listening to. His demands should be listened; his views need to be opened for discussion. There are discussions taking place in many parts of the world, in Spain, Ireland the discussions continue. Why should Kurds be ignored? I am calling on everybody to take heed to this call.”
Cengiz demanded that the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan keep his promise and that the President, the Parliament and the PM should convene an urgent meeting to discuss the Kurdish question.
When the crowd at the funeral attempted to march to the home of the deceased guerilla to pay a respect visit the police attacked the mourners. More than 10 people were wounded and 12 people were arrested during the cops attack. The police also blocked all intersections and took heavy security measures around the cemetery.
M.B.
