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| Thousands gather in Ankara to pay respects to activists killed in bombings | Thousands gather in Ankara to pay respects to activists killed in bombings |
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| Men and women wept openly and clapped as a casket covered in red carnations made its way through the crowd of thousands that had gathered in Ankara to pay their respects to activists killed in twin bombings during a peace rally on Saturday. | Men and women wept openly and clapped as a casket covered in red carnations made its way through the crowd of thousands that had gathered in Ankara to pay their respects to activists killed in twin bombings during a peace rally on Saturday. |
| Related: Turkey bomb blasts: government blamed as thousands take to streets in Ankara | Related: Turkey bomb blasts: government blamed as thousands take to streets in Ankara |
| “We lost many beautiful people,” Ahmet said as tearful eulogies were given at a wake for labour activists in Ankara’s suburb of Batikent. | |
| “I could not cry yesterday, I was in too much shock,” Mustafa said, tears now streaming from his eyes as he embraced a friend whose brother died in the blast. | |
| At least 128 people were killed and more than 200 were wounded when two suspected suicide bombers targeted a peace rally organised by several leftist groups, including labour unions and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic party (HDP), to call for an end to the escalating violence between the Turkish government and the outlawed Kurdistan Worker’s party (PKK). | At least 128 people were killed and more than 200 were wounded when two suspected suicide bombers targeted a peace rally organised by several leftist groups, including labour unions and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic party (HDP), to call for an end to the escalating violence between the Turkish government and the outlawed Kurdistan Worker’s party (PKK). |
| The attack is the deadliest on Turkish soil in the country’s recent history and was labelled a terrorist act by the government, which declared three days of national mourning. | The attack is the deadliest on Turkish soil in the country’s recent history and was labelled a terrorist act by the government, which declared three days of national mourning. |
| Rain clouds darkened the sky, giving the city an even more subdued air, contrasting with the rising fury and indignation of the crowds that gathered in Ankara on Sunday. The target of that anger was clear. | Rain clouds darkened the sky, giving the city an even more subdued air, contrasting with the rising fury and indignation of the crowds that gathered in Ankara on Sunday. The target of that anger was clear. |
| “Chief and murderer, Erdogan,” chanted thousands of demonstrators gathered in Sihhiye Square in central Ankara at a midday rally. “Death to fascism.” | “Chief and murderer, Erdogan,” chanted thousands of demonstrators gathered in Sihhiye Square in central Ankara at a midday rally. “Death to fascism.” |
| Saturday’s twin bombings have brought to the fore divisions that have cleaved Turkey between supporters of the government of president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP), and supporters of the opposition movements that have gained significant ground in recent parliamentary elections. | |
| They exposed deep-seated anger at the government, which demonstrators and mourners directly blamed for failing to protect the rally and which they accused of instigating chaos in order to secure a majority at snap elections scheduled for November. | They exposed deep-seated anger at the government, which demonstrators and mourners directly blamed for failing to protect the rally and which they accused of instigating chaos in order to secure a majority at snap elections scheduled for November. |
| The protests also highlighted simmering frustration at what many see as long-lasting discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities in the country, such as Kurds and Alevis, who alongside leftist activists featured prominently in the targeted peace rally. | The protests also highlighted simmering frustration at what many see as long-lasting discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities in the country, such as Kurds and Alevis, who alongside leftist activists featured prominently in the targeted peace rally. |
| “We now have 128 more bodies,” said Hasan, a Kurdish man who lost a nephew in the bombing while another was severely wounded. He was speaking outside Numune Hospital in central Ankara, where many families of victims as well as volunteers gathered after the attack. | “We now have 128 more bodies,” said Hasan, a Kurdish man who lost a nephew in the bombing while another was severely wounded. He was speaking outside Numune Hospital in central Ankara, where many families of victims as well as volunteers gathered after the attack. |
| Demonstrators, witnesses, victims’ families and opposition leaders widely condemned the government and in almost all interviews ascribed direct responsibility for the deaths at the feet of Erdoğan, saying the police had failed to provide any security measures to protect the rally’s attendees and had even teargassed relatives of the victims as they arrived at the scene of the attack looking for their loved ones. They spoke under condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals by the government. | |
| Ahmet, who was at the funeral and survived the previous day’s blast, said security forces were completely absent in the lead-up to the rally. He said the police attacked those who arrived at the scene or tried to assist the victims with teargas, firing bullets into the air and sowing panic among the attendees. | Ahmet, who was at the funeral and survived the previous day’s blast, said security forces were completely absent in the lead-up to the rally. He said the police attacked those who arrived at the scene or tried to assist the victims with teargas, firing bullets into the air and sowing panic among the attendees. |
| He said AKP-sponsored rallies never suffered from attacks, while those organised by the opposition and the Kurds were not protected. | He said AKP-sponsored rallies never suffered from attacks, while those organised by the opposition and the Kurds were not protected. |
| “In addition to pointing at the ones who did this, looking over the past year the ones who are targeted are the opposition, those who want peace, defenders of human rights and the democratic struggle in Turkey,” he said. “The government is trying to create new chaos and war, to renew their power by starting new wars.” | “In addition to pointing at the ones who did this, looking over the past year the ones who are targeted are the opposition, those who want peace, defenders of human rights and the democratic struggle in Turkey,” he said. “The government is trying to create new chaos and war, to renew their power by starting new wars.” |
| No group immediately claimed responsibility and the government has denied any part in it. The prime minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, cited the political upheaval in both Turkey and Syria and said the attack could have been carried out by Islamic State, Kurdish militants or radical leftist groups. | No group immediately claimed responsibility and the government has denied any part in it. The prime minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, cited the political upheaval in both Turkey and Syria and said the attack could have been carried out by Islamic State, Kurdish militants or radical leftist groups. |
| The rally had been meant as a call for an end to the violence that has gripped the country for months after a suicide bombing in the border province of Suruç that also targeted mainly Kurdish activists. Erdoğan’s government, which blamed the attack on Isis, used the bombing and its aftermath of small-scale violence as a pretext for a major crackdown on the PKK, risking enflaming a civil conflict that had largely been quelled after a long insurgency. | |
| A brief scuffle had broken out earlier on Sunday as demonstrators were blocked by police from laying red carnations for the victims at the site of the attack, which had been cordoned off. | |
| At the midday rally, protesters carried placards with photos of the victims, and organisers patted down attendees to prevent a recurrence of the previous day’s attack. | At the midday rally, protesters carried placards with photos of the victims, and organisers patted down attendees to prevent a recurrence of the previous day’s attack. |
| Related: Turkey is in shock – but many will have seen this attack coming | Related: Turkey is in shock – but many will have seen this attack coming |
| “We are grieving, we are saddened, but we are also furious,” said the Kurdish opposition leader Selahattin Demirtas, addressing the thousands-strong crowd. “We will struggle, fight, and win back the democracy.” | “We are grieving, we are saddened, but we are also furious,” said the Kurdish opposition leader Selahattin Demirtas, addressing the thousands-strong crowd. “We will struggle, fight, and win back the democracy.” |
| As the families of the dead marched through the crowds, some weeping in agony, the condemnations grew more furious. | As the families of the dead marched through the crowds, some weeping in agony, the condemnations grew more furious. |
| “In the end, he [Erdoğan] will be handcuffed, judged and imprisoned,” said Musa Cam, a senior MP in the opposition party, the Republican People’s party. | |
| For others, the anger was far more muted. “We have had too much pain,” said Fatima, an artist who attended the rally condemning the government. | |
| “I came to leave flowers and to share in the pain of the families. We must do something. We are sick of normalising death. We want to unite the people of Turkey.” | “I came to leave flowers and to share in the pain of the families. We must do something. We are sick of normalising death. We want to unite the people of Turkey.” |
| Attendees at the wake, which was held by an Alevi mosque to symbolise Turkish unity, also widely blamed Erdoğan’s government for failing to protect the demonstrators, saying the country had become severely divided due to recent violence. | |
| “When this government falls, we will have sunlight,” said one mourner. “We lost a lot of good, beautiful people.” | “When this government falls, we will have sunlight,” said one mourner. “We lost a lot of good, beautiful people.” |
| But far from the roiling fury and politics, a lone man sat under the gathering clouds on the pavement in front of the hospital, his face resting on his palm and his voice a barely audible whisper, his eyes bearing a look of immense grief. He was there last night, he said, sleeping at the Numune hospital mosque after trekking from his home in the city of Siirt in south-eastern Turkey, once he received the news that his friend and neighbour had died in the bombing. | |
| “I’m waiting to get the body to take it back to be buried,” he said. “I cannot forget this. I feel too much pain.” | “I’m waiting to get the body to take it back to be buried,” he said. “I cannot forget this. I feel too much pain.” |
| Additional reporting by Murat Dal | Additional reporting by Murat Dal |