Remembering the suicide attack that led Turkey to chaos: Suruç massacre of July 20th
In Suruç district of Urfa, 33 people were massacred in a suicide bomb attack last year today. More than 100 were wounded. This attack was actually the first ring of the chain of catastrophic incidents in Turkey. Suruç massacre was also a turning point that gave place to the questioning of the state’s lack of interference in preventing and presence of a security gap. A year after Suruç massacre, in spite of several other attacks in its aftermath, Turkey has not taken even a one step further.
However, the commemoration ceremony that the families, relatives of the victims, along with other citizens, wanted to hold today has been blocked by authorities, who showed the coup attempt as the reason. In his statement made the day before, governor of Şanlıurfa Güngör Azim Tuna, an AKP member, expressed that the ceremony were not to be allowed, adding that ‘Entering Suruç will absolutely not be allowed. We don’t see those wanting to attend this demonstration as good-willed.’
‘They will hold a commemoration ceremony; it’s not good-willed’
Warning those who might try entering Suruç despite the bans, Governor Tuna said, “Those who want to go there to hold demonstrations, with the excuse of ceremony, while the country is in such situation are not perceived by us as good-willed. And, we have already decided to prohibit it. So, we will not let something like this to happen. These are not approaches with good intentions. These are certainly efforts to lead this country to instability. We are definitely not going to allow that; this should be known. Everyone should just remain seated at where they are. We shall show effort together in order to maintain public order. And, let’s not give an opportunity to those trying to break that. If one wants commemorate, they can commemorate anywhere; and can have a press release. There is no need to go and make somewhere ‘idealized.’ Of course, those whom we have lost are this country’s loss. But trying to commemorate this every year as a tool of instability is not good-willed intentions.
Lawyers of the families expressed that they could not get any information with regards to the lawsuit they had filed against district’s former Police Chief Mehmet Yapalıal with claims of ‘malpractice and neglect of duty.’ Yapalıal, who got appointed to Muğla police station after the massacre, gave his testimony last week on July 14th, for the case filed at Suruç Criminal Court of First Instance. In the indictment, it is been stated that Şanlıurfa Police Department had informed Suruç district in an instruction sent days prior to the attack. That instruction, as indicated in the indictment, reads as: “The staff must be careful, sensible, and vigilant in case of a suicide bomb,etc. kind of attacks at their work places.”