A group of fascists in Ankara have prevented a funeral ceremony for Hatun Tuğluk, the mother of jailed HDP Deputy Co-Chair Aysel Tuğluk, on the grounds that she is a ‘terrorist’ and an ‘Armenian’
A group of fascists in Ankara have prevented a funeral ceremony for Hatun Tuğluk, the mother of jailed HDP Deputy Co-Chair Aysel Tuğluk, on the grounds that she is a ‘terrorist’ and an ‘Armenian.’ Authorities are to blame for the incident after refusing to halt the assault, according to HDP representatives
A group of Turkish fascists attacked a funeral ceremony for the mother of a jailed deputy co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) on 13 September, vowing to “tear apart” the body of the elderly woman if she were buried in a cemetery in Ankara.
“There are martyrs’ graves here, we won’t allow anyone to bury a terrorist’s body here,” a group of around 50 fascists shouted while attacking the ceremony for Hatun Tuğluk, the mother of Aysel Tuğluk, a jailed deputy co-chair of the HDP who received special permission to attend the funeral for her mother.
Fascists typically equate the HDP with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey has declared a terrorist organization.
“If you bury her, we’ll take her out and tear her to pieces,” HDP Agirî (Ağrı) Mayor Sırrı Sakık quoted the attackers as saying.
“This isn’t an Armenian cemetery,” the group also shouted. Fascists in Turkey frequently invoke the term of Armenian to denigrate someone who is deemed to be beyond the pale due to their association or perceived association with political groupings that are deemed to be “anti-national,” such as Kurdish groups.
Forced to abandon plans to bury Tuğluk in the cemetery in Ankara, the family said they would now lay her to rest in Dersim, her hometown.
Although MPs and others attending the funeral informed security services about the attack, no measures were taken for at least an hour.
“I called the Ankara governor immediately on his cellphone. His bodyguard answered. I said there was an attack on a funeral at İncek [in Ankara] and that measures needed to be taken immediately. The bodyguard said ‘I’ll tell him immediately,’ but the governor only got back to me 40 minutes later. ‘We’ll ensure she gets buried,’ he said. ‘Where have you been until now?’ Where are you? Why isn’t backup being sent?” said HDP MP Mithat Sancar.
“The police knew about this but watched it happen. All of us called the governor, the police chief and anyone we would reach. They didn’t answer our calls. This is a terrible event. This kind of humiliation is impossible. This was an organized attack. The ones that are really responsible for this are the government, the governor’s office and the police,” Sancar said.
Sakık also drew attention to the backdrop of the country’s deepening social polarization and the culpability of government politicians in creating such an atmosphere.
“If we can’t even meet under the ground, don’t the politicians that have created this climate have some sin in this? This is what needs to be discussed,” he said. “‘We won’t let Kurds, Alevis or Armenians be buried here. If you bury her, we’ll take her out and tear her to pieces,’” they shouted. Can you believe it?”
Sakık said they were at risk of being lynched for a number of hours. “A mob attacked and all the security forces just watched. It’s horrifying! I can’t even make a sentence – I’m speechless.”
Writing in Gazete Duvar, Ali Duran Topuz said, “The place we have arrived at is clear: A person’s right to be buried and the right of loved ones to mourn has been destroyed … If you criminalize mourning, and if you punish those who object instead of those who insult the living and the dying, it means you’ve already awarded a medal to those who would attack people in mourning. The street of the state that rules by emergency decree is also going to declare its own emergency decrees.”
Sendika.Org, Gazete Duvar
