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Tens of Thousands Attend Funeral of Slain Kurdish Activists

Thousands attend the funeral ceremony of the three Kurdish activists shot in Paris, in Diyarbakir, Turkey, January 17, 2013.

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Dorian Jones

January 17, 2013

ISTANBUL — A funeral ceremony for the three Kurdish activists killed in Paris took place in Diyarbakir, Turkey Thursday. The ceremony turned into a powerful show of force for the Kurdish nationalist movement.

Tens of thousands of people filled the streets of Diyarbakir, the regional capital of Turkey's predominantly Kurdish region, to pay their last respects to the slain activists.

Sabahat Tuncel, a parliamentary deputy for the pro Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, sent a defiant message.

"Those forces who shot these bullets should know that you will never achieve your goal," she said. "You will never achieve making us give up our struggle for peace."

Thousands attend the funeral ceremony of the three Kurdish activists shot in Paris, in Diyarbakir, Turkey, January 17, 2013.
People carry the coffins of the Kurdish activists who were shot in Paris, during a funeral ceremony in Diyarbakir, Turkey, January 17, 2013.
Thousands walk behind the vehicles carrying the coffins of the three Kurdish activists shot in Paris during their funeral ceremony in Diyarbakir, Turkey, January 17, 2013.
People accompany ambulances carrying the bodies of three Kurdish activists shot in Paris, in Diyarbakir, Turkey, January 16, 2013.
Kurds shout slogans to praise three women activists who were found shot dead in Paris, as ambulances, unseen, carry their coffins at an airport in Diyarbakir, Turkey, January 16, 2013.

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One of the women killed, Sakine Cansiz, was a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK, that has been fighting the Turkish state for decades for autonomy and greater minority rights.

Kurdish politicians charge that certain elements inside the Turkish security forces are behind the killings. While Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested the killings were the result of an internal dispute within the PKK.

But both sides agree the motive for the assassinations was to derail tentative government efforts to end the decades-long conflict with the PKK.

Addressing the funeral ceremony, the leader of the main pro Kurdish party said, despite the killings, his movement is committed to peace efforts. After the ceremony the bodies of the three women were driven in convoys of supporters to their hometowns where they will be buried Friday.

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by: Ako from: Iran

January 17, 2013 3:49 PM

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I just want to say that only God can help the Kurdish people and I also doubt that and I am very pessimistic about this peace process between the Turkish government and the Kurdish people and I dont know why the western governments that speak about human rights consider PKK as a terrorist group and be sure that more than 30 million Kurds support this group and are willing to die for the existence a Kurdish country where they can speak in their own language.

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by: curious from: istanbul

January 18, 2013 3:56 AM

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PKK killed about 30 thousand of innocent people last fifteen years in Turkey. Is that all for the "30 million Kurds want existence of a Kurdish country where they can speak in their own language.". What do you think about its justice? And they are now completely free to speak the which language they want. I'm writing this words as a circassian and have my own language.

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Tens of Thousands Attend Funeral of Slain Kurdish Activists

<h1>Tens of Thousands Attend Funeral of Slain Kurdish Activists</h1><img src="http://www.voanews.com/App_Themes/VOA_en-US/img/colorLogo.gif"/>A funeral ceremony for the three Kurdish activists killed in Paris took place in Diyarbakir, Turkey Thursday. The ceremony turned into a powerful show of force for the Kurdish nationalist movement.  <div>  </div> <div> Tens of thousands of people filled the streets of Diyarbakir, the regional capital of Turkey's predominantly Kurdish region,  to pay their last respects to the slain activists. </div> <div>  </div> <div> Sabahat Tuncel, a parliamentary deputy for the pro Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, sent a defiant message.</div> <div>  </div> <div> "Those forces who shot these bullets should know that you will never achieve your goal," she said. "You will never achieve making us give up our struggle for peace."<br /> <br /> <div class="tag_image tag_gallery_plain" mode="gallery|plain|1585618"> <img src="http://gdb.voanews.com/0F8C4564-37BC-479B-A3A1-9222DC7BF216_w512_h482.jpg?nocache=1" /></div> One of the women killed, Sakine Cansiz, was a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK, that has been fighting the Turkish state for decades for autonomy and greater minority rights.</div> <div>  </div> <div> Kurdish politicians charge that certain elements inside the Turkish security forces are behind the killings.  While Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested the killings were the result of an internal dispute within the PKK. </div> <div>  </div> <div> But both sides agree the motive for the assassinations was to derail tentative government efforts to end the decades-long conflict with the PKK.</div> <div>  </div> <div> Addressing the funeral ceremony, the leader of the main pro Kurdish party said, despite the killings, his movement is committed to peace efforts.  After the ceremony the bodies of the three women were driven in convoys of supporters to their hometowns where they will be buried Friday. </div><link rel="canonical" href="http://www.voanews.com/content/tens-of-thousands-attend-funeral-of-slain-kurdish-activists/1585855.html"/><meta name="syndication-source" content="http://www.voanews.com/content/tens-of-thousands-attend-funeral-of-slain-kurdish-activists/1585855.html"/><img src="http://livetracker.voanews.eu/counter.lt?PageType=256&RecordId=1585855&SiteId=415&r=1412317465&it=0&pd=20130117173231&url=ArticleID1585855" alt="" style="border:none;" height="1" width="1">

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