Locals hold vigil following attack on Atatürk statue

SAMSUN/EDİRNE

Locals have been holding a vigil following an attack on a statue of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the country, in the Black Sea province of Samsun where he began the Turkish War of Independence in 1919.

Hundreds of residents in Samsun have gathered in front of the Atatürk Statue located on a busy park in the city after two people tried to knock down the statue by tying ropes to its feet.

Local authorities offered people hot tea and also pastry rings as it was the Islamic Laylat al-Raghaib night by setting up tents in the park while police forces kept watch throughout the night.

Two suspects early on Feb. 3 tried to topple the Atatürk statue, known as the Honor Monument, by tying a rope to the feet, but they fled the scene by car after drawing reactions from some citizens.

The police detected the license plate of the vehicle with which the suspects fled after getting a tip-off, detaining them eventually a couple of hours later. The investigation into the incident is still ongoing.

The Samsun Governor’s Office reacted to the attack in a written statement.

“We never accept this disrespect towards the Atatürk Monument, which has become the symbol of our city, where Mustafa Kemal Atatürk took the first step towards the national struggle,” it said in the statement.

Meanwhile, the Justice Monument standing in front of a courthouse in the northwestern province of Edirne’s Uzunköprü district was also attacked, being set on fire by unidentified persons.