Gov’t content with funeral in Diyarbakır ceremony
ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News
Government officials have expressed their contentment that the funeral ceremonies for three female members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) who were shot dead in Paris last week did not turn into violent protests, despite worries about possible provocations.“We witnessed that everybody demanded peace and serenity. Everybody hopes that this recent process will come to a smooth conclusion,” Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç said on Jan. 18. “The recent process” to which Arınç was referring is the recent talks with jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan being conducted by intelligence officials to find a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish conflict.
Arınç commended the people of Diyarbakır for their “mature” behavior during the funeral ceremonies of three Kurdish women. “I’m very glad. Everybody had concerns that a provocation or an assault could occur. But the people of Diyarbakır held a funeral ceremony maturely. I congratulate them,” he said. k HDN
Three Kurdish women, including one of the PKK’s founding members, were murdered in Paris on Jan. 9. A grand funeral ceremony for the three was held in Diyarbakır on Jan. 17 with the participation of tens of thousands of people. Many raised concerns that the funeral ceremony could halt the process if “provocations and sabotage” occurred, but the funeral did not cast a shadow over the process.
