Tahir Elçi Laid to Rest

Diyarbakır Bar President Tahir Elçi who was killed on November 28 has been sent off in Turkey’s southeastern Diyarbakır province.

CLICK - DİYARBAKIR BAR PRESIDENTS TAHİR ELÇİ KILLED

Ekin’s body was taken out of morgue on the shoulders of his colleagues. Diyarbakır Bar pennant was spread on his coffin, and the pennant was covered in yellow, green, and red colors.

Even though initially it was agreed to not march, thousands gathering marched with banner with Elçi's photo on it written "Em te ji bîr nakin (We will not forget you)". 

The group involving Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputies, Vice-Chair of People’s Republican Party (CHP) Sezgin Tanrıkulu, President of Bars Association Metin Feyzioğlu marched towards Koşuyolu Park Human Rights Monument. 

Vice President of Diyarbakır Bar, Ahmet Özmen said Tahir Elçi struggled to illuminate extrajudicial executions and unidentified murders, and he was targeted by dark forces. 

Türkan Elçi: "The unidentified murders will host him"

In the ceremony, Tahir Elçi’s wife Türkan Elçi too made a speech. Elçi, in her speech drawing attention to Tahir Elçi’s legal struggle for those who fell victim to unidentified murders said, “The unidentified murders will host him”.

Afterwards, Elçi’s older brother spoke and said that Tahir Elçi was slaughtered just like other intellectuals such as Hrant Dink and Musa Aydın.

Demirtaş: Statelessness killed Elçi

HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş in his speech said the following:

“A life dedicated to peace, fraternity, and democracy surely wouldn’t end up in a soft bed in this period.

“What matters is how you live. Elçi until the very last moment said nothing but peace.

“We’ve seen many sufferings on the streets, we hold funerals every day, we grow up at morgue doors but we haven’t seen this as destiny. Peace will eventually be achieved; we’ll see those days”.

“We’ve just wanted to live in our lands in peace. We didn’t want blood, nor war.

“Tahir Elçi knew speaking of truth would have a cost. We are putting our lives on the line for our children to be able to die peacefully in their beds. They are wrong if they think they can intimidate us like that.

“We have suspicions that this murder will be illuminated. This state has never been a state for all of us.

“What killed Tahir was not the state, but statelessness. There is a state in Ankara that doesn’t feel this pain.

“It is not east but these days will pass too. All these pains in these lands will come into flower by Newroz spirit”.

 Anlı: Wall of fear has been overcome

 Diyarbakır Co-Mayor expressed the following:

“Every death is the same for us. These people have been holding a funeral almost every day for the past six months.

“We are here for the funeral of a revolutionist man. From now on, the burden Is heavier for us.

“In this geography, no one can be blocked by wall of fear any more. This society has overcome fear of death, and now live freely.

“Elçi has left us a tradition of honored struggle. We will sway the flag of his struggle till the end”. (NV/EKN/TK)

Click here to read the article in Turkish