Death of 4 People in Suruç Before Elections on Parliamentary Agenda

Click to read the article in Turkish

The Urfa MP of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Ömer Öcalan has submitted a proposal for parliamentary inquiry into the armed attack and conflict which erupted in the district of Suruç in Turkey's southeastern province of Urfa during the election works for the Presidential and Parliamentary elections on June 24 and claimed the lives of four people.

Urfa MP Öcalan has also submitted a parliamentary question to be responded by the Minister of Justice Abdülhamit Gül, asking him, "What does the word justice mean to you?".

Ömer Öcalan has asked 10 questions

In his parliamentary question, Öcalan has first described the course of events in Suruç and referred to the allegations that unregistered firearms and long barreled weapons were used in the attack; the wounded who were referred to hospitals were attacked by a large group of people with weapons and sharp objects, claiming the lives of the wounded; the footage of the surveillance cameras in the hospital providing evidence for the attacks were destroyed by the attackers; and the law enforcement officers in the hospital did not intervene in the attacks.

Ömer Öcalan has also emphasized that though it has been more than a month since the incident occured, it has not yet been brought to light and its perpetrators have not been arrested. He has also referred to the statements of Emine Şenyaşar, the wife of the late Hacı Esvet Şenyaşar, that no arrest warrants have been issued for any person from the family of Yıldız and they have had to empty their house and shop and leave the district on the ground that they do not feel safe due to impunity.

After sharing this information, Öcalan has directed 10 questions to the Minister of Justice Abdülhamit Gül. Asking Gül what kind of works and attempts the ministry has made so far for the enlightenment of the incident, Öcalan has ended his parliamentary question by asking, "What does the word justice mean to you?".

Ömer Öcalan has also submitted a proposal for parliamentary inquiry regarding the armed attack and conflict in Suruç.

What happened?

The dispute that erupted during the election works of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Urfa MP and MP candidate İbrahim Halil Yıldız in the district of Suruç in Turkey's southeastern province of Urfa turned into an armed attack and conflict on June 14, 2018.

The dispute began when the AKP Urfa MP İbrahim Halil Yıldız and those accompanying him started visiting the shops in the district of Suruç as part of their election campaign. After the shop owner Esvet Şenyaşar ordered the group out of his shop, a quarrel erupted between the two sides.

After the attacks and conflicts ended, three people from the family of Şenyaşar, namely the shop owner Esvet Şenyaşar and his sons Adil Şenyaşar and Celal Şenyaşar, and one person from the family of Yıldız, namely the brother of the AKP MP İbrahim Halil Yıldız, Mehmet Şah Yıldız, lost their lives. On June 17, the son of Esvet Şenyaşar, Fadıl Şenyaşar was arrested in relation with the death of Mehmet Şah Yıldız. (TP/SD)