TURKEY: Bodies of slain PKK activists brought to Diyarbakir for funeral ceremonies
Record ID:
702579
TURKEY: Bodies of slain PKK activists brought to Diyarbakir for funeral ceremonies
- Title: TURKEY: Bodies of slain PKK activists brought to Diyarbakir for funeral ceremonies
- Date: 16th January 2013
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) RESIDENT OF DIYARBAKIR, FAYSAL SEVGILI, SAYING: "We are so sad right now because these three murders, it's giving a mark in our hearts. It makes a sign.''
- Embargoed: 31st January 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Turkey
- Country: Turkey
- Topics: Crime,Conflict,International Relations,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVACBMS13NGN1EUKN76VJZWF22MJ
- Story Text: The bodies of three Kurdish activists shot in Paris arrive in southeast Turkey for funeral ceremonies.
The bodies of three Kurdish activists shot dead in Paris arrived in Diyarbakir, the largest city in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey on Wednesday evening (January 16) as thousands gathered outside the airport.
The crowd chanted pro-PKK slogans and women carried posters of slain activists.
The execution-style killing of the three women, including a founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), has been seen by many as an attempt to sabotage fledgling peace moves between Turkey and the group's jailed leader.
''We are so sad right now because these three murders, it's giving a mark in our hearts. It makes a sign,'' said Faysal Sevgili, a local.
"Everybody in Diyarbakir, from children to the elderly, we are sharing the same feeling. We are all embracing these three people. While Diyarbakir embraces these three lives, it also embraces peace and hope,'' added the Mayor of Diyarbakir, Osman Baydemir.
Leaders from the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), which has 29 seats in parliament, said they were making white scarves to symbolise peace for people to wear at the funeral ceremony for the women.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and other political leaders called for calm ahead of the funerals and warned against efforts to provoke trouble.
The three, shot in the head, were found in the early hours of Thursday (January 10) at an institute in the French capital that has close links to the PKK.
ENDS - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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