Turkey can aid France in Paris killings case

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Bülent Arınç, DHA photo

Turkey is ready to supply any judicial aid necessary to French authorities to shed light on the slaying of three Kurdish women who were shot dead in Paris last week, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç said today.

When asked whether Turkey had any information on the Jan. 9 murders in downtown Paris, Arınç said they were not in a position to respond to such questions because the incident took place in France.

“Turkey is not involved in the probe of this incident. It’s the French authorities that launched a probe into this incident. Those who are responsible for this incident should be revealed and light should be shed over this incident; this is what Turkey demands. If France needs Turkey’s help with regards to the investigation into this incident, we will immediately supply any aid,” Arınç told reporters following a Cabinet meeting.

Arınç said the bodies of the three murdered women would be brought directly to Diyarbakır either Jan. 20 or Jan. 21. After the funeral ceremony, the three will be sent to their hometowns, namely Tunceli, Kahramanmaraş and Mersin, Arınç said.

When reminded of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli’s recent warning that the planned funerals in Diyarbakır should not resemble the controversial surrender of a group of outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants at the Habur border crossing in 2009 as part of the government’s Kurdish opening, Arınç said: “There may be marginal groups or criminal organizations attempting to turn these funeral ceremonies into a show-off or propaganda. Everybody should be aware of that and should not allow such attempts. Otherwise, our security forces will intervene. We hope the funeral ceremonies will take place without such incidents.”