Victims of Suruç Massacre laid to rest

2015-07-23 11:03:08

NEWS DESK (DİHA) - On Monday, a bomb exploded at the Amara Culture Center in the town of Suruç, Turkey, across the border from Kobanê. The bomb, which killed 32, targeted members of the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations, who were planning to travel to Kobanê to aid in the city's reconstruction. Most of the victims of the bombing were buried across Kurdistan and Turkey yesterday.

VAN

In Van, bombing victim Yunus Emre Şen was buried yesterday morning. Marchers carried his coffin wrapped in red, yellow and green--the colors of the Kurdish flag--to the Yeni Mahalle martyrs' ceremony. Yunus' friend Emre Genç, a member of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), spoke at the funeral, saying that "we were carrying peace, justice and toys for children to Kobanê." He promised to continue Yunus' struggle.

DERSİM

"He wasn't my son; he was my comrade," said Fethi Aydın, the father of 27-year-old bombing victim Çağdaş Aydın, at a ceremony in Dersim attended by thousands. "Çağdaş isn't dead, comrades; there are thousands of Çağdaşes," he said. Hatip Dicle, the co-chair of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), also spoke at the ceremony.

"Çağdaş is walking toward immortality right now," cried Çağdaş' uncle Ali Ekber Uçar, picking up one of the toys brought to the ceremony, symbolizing the toys the youths were bringing to Kobanê. "We will ask for justice for this."

TRABZON

In the village of Yanıktaş, near the Black Sea city of Trabzon, 32-year-old bombing victim Koray Çapoğlu was buried in a ceremony yesterday morning. Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) representatives Ziya Pir and Emine Beyza Üstün and party members came to the airport to greet the body. Police and soldiers, who were present at the village with a barricade before the body arrived, turned away the funeral convoy accompanying Koray's body.

HATAY

In the southern Turkish city of Hatay, the friends of 18-year-old Okan Pirinç carried his body to his final resting place. A crowd of nearly a thousand, including CHP Parliamentary representatives, attended the ceremony. Signs in the crowd denounced the AKP's collaboration with Daesh.

ISTANBUL

Thousands arrived at the Gülsuyu Cemevi (Alevi place of worship) in Istanbul for the ceremony of Nazegül Boyraz. The body was then carried to her home in the Maltepe district of Istanbul. "No one should cry," said Yasemin Boyraz, one of the four children Nazegül left behind. "Our mother would have wanted this. Our mother wouldn't have wanted to die from sickness. She died taking a step towards freedom." As Nazegül's family collapsed at these words, HDP representative Hüda Kaya attempted to calm the grieving family. Finally, Nazegül's body was borne to the cemetery by a crowd of women. Thousands of marchers chanted slogans vowing to continue Nazegül's struggle and to demand justice for the Suruç martyrs as they marched to the cemetery.

Büşra Mete, an Istanbul University communications student killed in the bombing, was buried by her family on Tuesday night, ESP announced. Büşra's funeral had been planned for Wednesday. Pressure from police is thought to have influenced the family's decision.

(nt)