Not only is the Turkish state the first suspect in a well-planned and coordinated assassination of the head of Bar Association in Diyarbakir, it is now also trying to prevent any mourning or demonstrations exposing the involvement of the Turkish state in the murder. Earlier the masses of people gathering and demonstrating against the Kurdish […]
Not only is the Turkish state the first suspect in a well-planned and coordinated assassination of the head of Bar Association in Diyarbakir, it is now also trying to prevent any mourning or demonstrations exposing the involvement of the Turkish state in the murder.
Earlier the masses of people gathering and demonstrating against the Kurdish lawyer’s murder in Istanbul were attacked by the police. It has been the trend of the Turkish government to not allow an opposition demonstration. All opposition rallies or demonstrations are met with brutal police aggression.
When Tahir Elci, a prominent Kurdish human rights lawyer was murdered yesterday Kurds, leftists and human rights advocates gathered in central Istanbul only to be dispersed by police batons, water cannons and tear gas. Clashes continued late into the night.
The assassinated lawyer was a longtime advocate of human rights in Turkey where Kurds are treated as second class citizens. Mr. Elci had taken the cases of many Kurds and progressives especially the victims of the state terror in Turkey.
Few days ago, Elci had argued that the Kurdish Workers’ Party should not be considered a terrorist organization as the Turkish state classifies the leading Kurdish organization. He was arrested for saying this on live TV and was charged with terrorism propaganda. He was later released but his case was pending with the possibility of Elci being imprisoned for about 8 years for committing the crime of expressing his thoughts.
To prevent mourners reaching Diyarbakir where Mr. Elci was murdered the Turkish state is erecting road blocks and is engaging in other tactics to downplay the assassination.
Funerals in the Islam belief are held without much delay after the death. Tahir Elci’s funeral will be held in Diyarbakir tomorrow. However the police forces have blocked the roads leading to Diyarbakir and are preventing buses from reaching the city. A second set of road blocks have also been erected near Ergani for a second check of those who are able to pass the first. 7 buses full of Elci’s mourners are being held outside Ergani by Turkish police and military.
Dicle News Agency reported that after checking IDs military officers arrested two people in the buses without giving a reason.
In the second checkpoint at the town of Ergani the “special forces” checked the passengers again but this time they assaulted and tried to humiliate the mourners.
The passengers then walked out of the buses and started marching to the local HDP party’s offices. HDP is a pro-Kurdish party, very popular in the Kurdish towns in Turkey. It was the victim of state and racist Turkish terrorists in the last elections as more than 120 of its offices ransacked, burned and attacked. Passengers also went to the BDP’s, another Kurdish party, office.
The officers of both parties as well as the membership opened their homes to the stranded mourners and hosted the passengers that totaled around 350.
Turkish police and the military confiscated the buses in their attempt to prevent the human rights activists reaching Diyarbakir. However, the mourners are not giving up and have decided to march to Diyarbakir on foot to protest the state murder of Elci.
Planes leaving to Diyarbakir are also experiencing unexplained and strange delays of several hours from Ankara and Istanbul airports.
Sendika.Org News (Mehmet Bayram)
