Those Who Lost Their Lives in October 10 Massacre Commemorated in Ankara

It has been four years since 103 people lost their lives and over 500 others have been wounded in September 10 Ankara Massacre. The deceased have been commemorated in front of Ankara Train Station: "We will keep on siding with peace".

İstanbul

Those Who Lost Their Lives in October 10 Massacre Commemorated in Ankara

* Photo: CHP Vice Chair Orhan Sarıbal / Twitter

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Four years have passed since the October 10 massacre, which claimed the lives of 103 people in Ankara in 2015. A commemoration ceremony was held in front of Ankara Train Station today (October 10).

Gathering in Ulus, several representatives from occupational organizations and MPs marched to the Ankara Train Station.

A minute of silence was kept there for the deceased on 10.04 a.m, when the bombs exploded. A poem was also read for them.

The ones who lost their lives in the massacre were commemorated with their names read out one by one.

CLICK - Stories of Those Who Lost Their Lives in Ankara

In the first two years after the massacre, the police did not allow the commemoration to take place and intervened against the group with pepper gas. The third commemoration ceremony could be held with limited participation. In the fourth year of the massacre, the ones who attended the commemoration marched to Ankara Train Station by chanting slogans.

Intervention against slogans

After the group chanted the slogans "Murderer state will be brought to account" and "Murderer ISIS, collaborator AKP", a brief row ensued between police officers and the group.

Those who wanted to attend the commemoration could enter the square after being searched at two checkpoints.

Protest against main opposition CHP MPs

The commemoration ceremony was also attended by Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Sezai Temelli, HDP Group Deputy Chair Saruhan Oluç, HDP MPs Serpil Kemalbay, Filiz Kerestecioğlu, Murat Çepni, Oya Ersoy and main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) MPs Mahmut Tanal, Veli Ağbaba, Özgür Özel, Gamze Taşcıer.

Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK) Chair Arzu Çerkezoğlu, Confederation of Public Employees Trade Unions (KESK) Co-Chair Aysun Gezen, Turkish Medical Association (TTB) Chair Sinan Adımana and Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB) Emin Koramaz led the cortege heading to Ankara Train Station.

Some people from the group protested MPs of the CHP, which voted in favor of the resolution allowing cross-border operation into northern Syria. While some people booed while the names of CHP MPs were read out. "You said yes to war", some people protested.

In response to the protests, October 10 Peace and Solidarity Association Chair Mehtap Sakinci Coşgun reminded the crowd that they had common slogans and said, "Today, we have come here for commemoration. We say that there is a shared sorrow and I am inviting you to common sense".

Koramaz: We will keep on siding with peace

Speaking on behalf of occupational organizations attending the ceremony, TMMOB Chair Emin Koramaz said,

"Our sorrow, our rage grow with each passing day. We filled this square with love for humans in our hearts and songs of peace on our lips.

But, they drenched our demand for peace in lood. We will keep on siding with peace in the face of those warmongers.

"This square does not suffice to express the sorrows. Ankara Metropolitan Municipality renamed this square as 'Democracy Square' after the massacre, but it has not been put into practice.

"We have come to an agreement by negotiating with occupational organizations and municipality. We will start an international competition. The vicinity of this square will be designated as memorial site".

October 10 massacre

A suicide attack was launched against the Peace Rally in Ulus, Altındağ in the capital city of Ankara at around 10.04 a.m. on October 10, 2015.

While 69 people lost their lives at the scene of incident, a total of 103 people and two attackers lost their lives.

The peace rally participants who lost their lives in the massacre are: Abdülkadir Uyan, Metin Kürklü, Gökhan Akman, Orhan Işıktaş, Gülhan Karlı Elmascan, Yılmaz Elmascan, Nevzat Sayan, Bilgen Parlak, Hacı Kıvrak, Rıdvan Akgül, Rıdvan Akgül, Hacı Mehmet Şah Esin, Gökmen Dalmaç, Elif Kanlıoğlu, Hakan Dursun Akalın, Ercan Adsız, Ayşe Deniz, Berna Koç, Fatma Esen, Gülbahar Aydeniz, Eren Akın, Canberk Bakış, Tayfun Benol, Nizamettin Bağcı, Kasım Otur, Başak Sidar Çevik, Nilgün Çevik, Resul Yanar, Mehmet Ali Kılıç, Tekin Arslan, Sezen Vurmaz, Dilaver Karharman, Onur Tan, Umut Tan, Sarıgül Tüylü, Dilan Sarıkaya, Ali Kitapçı, İsmail Kızılçay, Muhammet Demir, Korkmaz Tedik, Veysel Atılgan, İbrahim Atılgan, Emine Ercan, Kübra Meltem Mollaoğlu, Meryem Bulut, Seyhan Yaylagül, Ebru Mavi, Ali Deniz Uzatmaz, Ziya Saygın, Vahdettin Özgan, Cemal Avşar, Ahmet Katurlu, Selim Örs, Azize Onat, Dicle Deli, Güney Doğan, Binali Korkmaz, Mehmet Zakir Karabulut, Leyla Çiçek, Metin Peşman, Mesut Mak, Adil Gür, Gökhan Gökbönü, Şebnem Yurtman, Osman Turan Bozacı, İdil Güneyi, Abdullah Erol, Mehmet Hayta, Özver Gökhan Arpaçay, Şirin Kılıçalp, Uygar Coşgun, Ahmed Alkhadi, Nurullah Erdoğan, Gözde Arslan, Aycan Kaya, Yunus Delice, Sevgi Öztekin, Mehmet Tevfik Dalgıç, Sevim Şinik, Emin Aydemir, Fatma Karabulut, Ramazan Tunç, Erol Ekici, Feyyat Deniz, Necla Duran, Osman Ervasa, Ramazan Çalışkan, Vedat Erkan, Abdülbari Şenci, Niyazi Büyüksütçü, Gazi Güray, Sabri Elmas, Erhan Avcı, Ümit Seylan, Serdar Ben, Nevzat Özbilgi, Hasan Baykara, Fatma Batur, Bedriye Batur, Ata Önder Atabay, Mustafa Budak, Ağa Bayar.

After the bombs exploded, police officers used pepper gas on the wounded and the ones trying to held them. As a result of this intervention, the wounded could not be referred to hospitals quickly and the survivors were also traumatized by this intervention.

The scene of incident was not placed under protection, crime scene investigation teams and prosecutors did not come to the scene immediately. The teams arrived after 1.5 hours and deputy public prosecutor after 2.5 hours.

The indictment concerning the attack was approved on July 13, 2016. The indictment stated that the attack order was given by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria's (ISIS) representative to Turkey İlhami Balı.

It was stated in the indictment that it was the same people who organized the Suruç attack, which killed 33 people. 14 suspects including Balı face from 5,083 to 7,820 years in prison on charges of "attempted murder for multiple times" and "attempting to annihilate constitutional order". The trial started on November 7, 2016 and still continues.

The families of the deceased hold a commemoration ceremony on the 10th day of every month in front of the Train Station.

(TP/SD)