Turkey remembers Madımak massacre

Hürriyet Daily News with wires

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On that day, a crowd of furious fundamentalists laid siege to the hotel where those participating in the Pir Sultan Abdal Culture Festival were staying. Guests in the hotel, mainly Alevi intellectuals and artists, reportedly could not escape the fury of the crowd outside. A 1,000-strong crowd left two local mosques after Friday prayers that day and marched to the hotel. By the time it reached the hotel, the crowd had grown to almost 16,000.  

Some of the demonstrators set the hotel on fire, along with parked cars. Arriving on the scene, security forces succeeded in pushing the crowd back by firing guns into the air. Of the 150 people who were at the hotel, some escaped out the exits and others were helped out by the fire brigade or by jumping to the building next door. By the time the fire was extinguished, 37 people had died. There have been debates over converting the hotel into a memorial for those who died that day but nothing has come out of it as yet.

Alevism is a liberal sect of Islam, separate from Turkey’s Sunni majority. The Alevi house of worship is called a cemevi, while the Sunni house of worship is a mosque. The fasting and prayer rules of the two sects differ.

The Sivas Police Department installed surveillance equipment along the route to be followed today by the mourners, who include members of nongovernmental organizations and political parties. More than 2,000 police officers will be in charge of ensuring there are no unwanted incidents.

Photo is an archive image.