Funeral held for boy killed by Turkish police on balcony during protest

ŞIRNAK

Mourners carry the coffin of Musa Azma during his funeral. Azma was shot dead by police while observing protests in Silopi that had been called in response to three deaths last week in Cizre that followed alleged attacks by the Hizbullah on PKK sympathizers. DHA PHoto

Tens of thousands of people attended the funeral on Jan. 4 of a boy who was allegedly shot dead by police the day before in the southeastern district of Silopi while he was watching protests from his balcony.

Musa Azma was the latest person to die following tension between the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H), the youth wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and supporters of the outlawed Islamist Kurdish movement Hizbullah through its legal extension, the Free Cause Party (Hüda-Par), that began last week in the nearby district of Cizre in Şırnak province.

Azma was shot dead while observing protests in Silopi that had been called in response to three deaths last week in Cizre during fighting between the YDG-H and Hizbullah. Local politicians accused the state of using Hizbullah to attack supporters of the PKK.

“The state, which attempted to break the Kurdish people’s resistance in the 1990s, is today using the AKP’s [ruling Justice and Development Party] hand via [Hizbullah and contra-guerilla agents] to try and break the Kurdish people’s resistance,” Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Şırnak co-chair Salih Gülenç was quoted as saying by the Dicle News Agency (DİHA). “While attempting to prevent a massacre and while exercising their legitimate rights, the Kurdish people were attacked by police using live bullets, during which time Musa Azma was killed on his balcony.”

During the funeral, mourners shouted “The murderous state will render an account,” as well as “Martyrs are immortal.” Azma was subsequently buried next to fighters from the People’s Defense Forces (HPG), the military wing of the PKK.

Meanwhile, another youth that was also injured in last week’s clashes in Cizre succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır on Jan. 4. Zeki Alar was allegedly injured on Dec. 28 when police and special forces teams opened fire on protesters during the disturbances between the YDG-H and Hizbullah, DİHA reported.