Reactions grow over murder of Kurd in Antalya
A ceremony to commemorate ethnic Kurd Mahir Çetin, killed last week in Antalya's Kaş district by a group of 20-30 young men from Turkey's ultranationalist Ülkücü (Idealist) movement, was held on Tuesday by the Say Stop to Racism and Nationalism Association (Dur-De) in İstanbul.
Releasing a statement at the commemoration ceremony that took place on İstanbul's İstiklal Street in Taksim, Yüksel Çirik, a member of the association, told the press that the Antalya governorship has been trying to cover up Çetin's killing by creating the impression that it was just a regular brawl between two drunken groups.
“There is strong evidence and eyewitness accounts that Kurdish man Mahir Çetin was killed by a group of people who had strong racist tendencies. The governorship will not be able to cover up the incident. Systematic discrimination against Kurds has been carried out by the Republic of Turkey for years. Kurdish citizens of Turkey have long resisted these discriminatory policies in order to live as equal citizens. To make matters worse, they have also been compelled to face many racist assaults.
Today, government spokesmen keep talking about the settlement process, though they also keep making discriminatory statements targeting Kurdish politicians. Kurds are not the “others!” Kurds are one of the nations who have been living on this soil for centuries. In order to build peace and trust, those who killed Mahir Çetin must be called to account. Until then, we are all Mahir; we are all Kurds. We will not allow racism,” Çirik said.
Çetin died as a result of head injuries after being beaten by a group of 20-30 nationalists in Antalya's Kaş district on Sept. 3. Çetin's cousin, Vedat Çetin, who managed to get out alive despite serious wounds, told police that the group insulted them using racist slurs and then physically assaulted them. Mahir Çetin died in the hospital after suffering a brain hemorrhage and was laid to rest on Sept. 5 at a funeral ceremony held in Batman's Sinan village by his family.
Saruhan Oruç, deputy co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), also released a written statement regarding the incident, saying although at least 25 people attacked and killed Mahir Çetin, only one person was detained following the murder.
“I am deeply sorry to hear that Kurdish citizen Mahir Çetin, who worked at a hotel in Antalya's Kaş district, was killed by a group of nationalist people. According to eyewitnesses, during the attack, the group members chanted slogans against Kurds, saying “Dirty Kurds” [a slogan commonly used to insult Kurdish people]. Calling a nation “dirty” is a clear indication of racism and a hate crime. Members of the ultranationalist Ülkücü (Idealist) group who killed Mahir Çetin must be brought to justice, Çetin said in his written statement.
Abdulsamet Çetin, the father of Mahir Çetin, told Turkey's private İhlas news agency that he will take legal action against those who murdered his son, saying: “I will not only bring a suit against those responsible for my son's death. I will also sue the media organs who try to justify and legitimize the ultranationalists."
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