Journalist remembered on 19th year of assassination
ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News
Around 2,000 people joined the anniversary ceremonies in Ankara, carrying Mumcu’s photograph and the simple message of ‘We will not forget.’ DAILY NEWS photo, Selahattin SÖNMEZ
A commemoration ceremony was held for journalist Uğur Mumcu yesterday to mark the 19th anniversary of his death in a bomb attack, as the main opposition leader urged for enhanced efforts to find the perpetrators.Around 2,000 people joined late Mumcu’s wife, Deputy Parliament Speaker Güldal Mumcu, and their son and daughter outside the family’s home in Ankara where the journalist perished in an explosion caused by a bomb planted in his car Jan. 24, 1993.
The crowd laid flowers and lit candles in the street before releasing white balloons into the sky that bore Mumcu’s photograph and the simple message of “We will not forget.”
Frustration
Speaking at the gathering, Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu voiced frustration that those responsible for the murder had yet to be caught.
“We are still waiting patiently. Nineteen years have passed and the murderers are yet to be caught. We want justice to prevail,” said Kılıçdaroğlu, who was joined by senior officials from his party.“Mumcu advocated a free and independent Turkey. We need not one but thousands of Uğur Mumcus,” he said.
An avowed secularist, Mumcu was a prominent writer for the daily Cumhuriyet and investigated controversial issues such as the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Islamist fundamentalism, for which he had received death threats.
An Islamist group with links to Iran was held responsible for the murder, but many still doubt rogue elements within the state organized the assassination to stop Mumcu progressing in research into alleged ties between the state and the PKK.
Meanwhile, on the 11th anniversary of his assasination, former Diyarbakır Chief of Police, Gaffar Okkan was commemorated both in his hometown Sakarya and in Diyarbakır. City officials as well as students from the police academy in Diyarbakır joined the ceremonies.
