sevenTurkish soldiers killed

Thursday, 10 December 2009 03:37

The bodies of four of the seven soldiers killed in Monday’s attack on their patrol vehicle in the northern Anatolian city of Tokat were buried Wednesday in their hometowns.

The funerals of the three other soldiers were held Tuesday.

The body of 21-year-old Cengiz Sarıbaş was brought to Istanbul on Tuesday evening and was buried Wednesday. His funeral was held at the Ataköy 5th Segment Mosque where many the funerals of many other soldiers have been held in the past.

Many people gathered in the mosque’s garden to protest the attack. A young child, reported to be a family member of the slain soldier, carried a banner saying: “Don’t be upset. Many sons are on duty for this country,” the CNNTürk news site said.

Funeral participants also included Istanbul Gov. Muammer Güler, who was representing the government, and Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker.

Meanwhile, the funeral of Fatih Yonca was held in the southern province of Hatay. The name of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, written on the wreath he sent for the funeral, was torn down twice by people in rage.

Yonca was featured in the Turkish media after his death because he had been helping his mother make ends meet because the family’s economic situation was bad.

Bekbele, the location of the funeral, normally has a population of around 7,000 people, yet 10,000 people came to attend the funeral, including Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin, the Doğan news agency reported.

Funeral in eastern Muş

Soldier Ferit Demir, meanwhile, was buried in the eastern province of Muş. The province’s governor, Erdoğan Bektaş, attended the funeral, saying: “Everyone says, ‘Do not allow mothers to cry.’ But some go on making them cry. This is where words end.”

Sergeant Harun Arslanbay, who used to serve at İmralı Prison where Abdullah Öcalan, the convicted leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, is kept, was buried in the southern province of Adana