Mob attack on Kurdish funeral sparks outrage in Turkey
A mob attack on the funeral of a prominent Kurdish politician’s mother is seen as an indication of the high level of polarization Turkey has reached.
Aysel Tugluk, the deputy chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), is a well-known Kurdish politician in Turkey who is currently in jail on terrorism-related charges, like many other HDP members. But the reason her name made headlines this week was unprecedented.
On Sept. 13, Tugluk received special permission to attend the funeral of her mother, who died while her daughter remained behind bars. Hatun Tugluk had wished to be buried in Ankara's Incek Cemetery, which she could see from a window in her home.
Arriving at the cemetery in a prison vehicle, Tugluk could have hardly imagined that the painful experience of bidding farewell to her mother would turn into an even more harrowing ordeal. While the funeral, attended by this reporter, proceeded, about two dozen people descended on the cemetery, shouting nationalist slogans and swearing they would not allow “terrorists” to be buried there. The group quickly expanded to more than 100 people who tried to force their way into the burial ground. Some wielded sticks and shouted “Allahu akbar,” the Arabic phrase for God is great. They had even brought along a tractor — to remove the body after burial.
Riot police were already on duty around the cemetery since senior Kurdish figures were attending the funeral. Yet the police only issued verbal warnings, despite requests from HDP lawmakers in attendance to physically stop the group.
