Fallen soldier’s family rejects military burial

DİYARBAKIR - Doğan News Agency

The family of Kurdish-origin Hakan Köçer hold his funeral in his hometown Diyarbakır where they also refused to allow Köçer’s coffin to be covered with a Turkish flag. DHA photo

The family of one of the four soldiers killed in a clash with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the southeastern province of Siirt yesterday morning has rejected the attendance of Turkish officials to the soldier’s funeral ceremony.

The family of Kurdish-origin Hakan Köçer held his funeral in Diyarbakır where they also refused to allow Köçer’s coffin to be covered with a Turkish flag.

Köçer’s uncle, Abit Köçer, said the killed members of the PKK were “the same for them.”

 “This death is suspicious. In the 30 year process where Kurdish guerillas and soldiers have been killed, guerilla or soldier, it’s the same for us,” he said.

Mesut Günay, Mehmet Yıldız and Mehmet Kıran also were killed during yesterday’s clash with suspected members of PKK in Siirt. Their bodies were sent to their hometowns Ağrı, Kayseri and Sakarya.

Clashes with the PKK

A clash broke out in Siirt’s Eruh neighborhood when security forces came into contact with PKK militants in a rural area.

PKK militants attacked military personnel with heavy weapons causing Turkish forces to fire back.
Four soldiers were killed in the clash.

Added security forces were being sent to the area as clashes continued, reports said.

The PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.