Sivas Massacre remembered on 28th anniversary

Thirty-two intellectuals, artists and writers, and two hotel workers were killed when a mob set fire to Madımak Hotel in Sivas in 1993.

İstanbul

Sivas Massacre remembered on 28th anniversary

Photo: MA

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The people who lost their lives when a mob set fire to Madımak Hotel in Sivas on July 2, 1993, have been commemorated on the 28th anniversary of the massacre.

Representatives of Alevi organizations from Turkey and Europe participated in the commemoration led by the Pir Sultan Abdal Cultural Association (PSAKD) in Sivas.

The crowd marched to the Madımak Hotel, where they left carnations and stood in silence in the memory of the 33 intellectuals and two hotel workers who lost their lives in the massacre.

MPs from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) also attended the commemoration.

The crowd displayed placards that read "Don't forget Sivas" and "Justice for Sivas."

Alevi organizations reiterated their demand for the conversion of the hotel into a "Museum of Shame."

Giving a speech during the event, Hüseyin Güzelgül, the chair of the Federation of Alevi and Bektashi Associations, said, "New massacres are being added to our 28-year struggle."

"Those who can't live together in peace can't tolerate the existence of others today as well. They continue to discriminate, ignore and murder," he said.

PSAKD Chair Gani Kaplan said the justice is not served because "the state was involved in the massacre."

"We don't forgive those who are responsible for this massacre, those who released the killers and those who dropped the case due to the statute of limitations," he remarked.

About Sivas Massacre

26 years ago on July 2, 37 people, including 33 artists, intellectuals and writers, two hotel workers and two perpetrators, lost their lives in the fire that started at Madımak Hotel in Sivas. 33 intellectuals were in Sivas to attend the Pir Sultan Abdal festivities. 65 people, 14 of whom were police officers, got wounded in the fire.

124 people were arrested in relation to the fire. In the seven-year trial, 33 people were sentenced to death and 85 people were given prison sentences of 2 to 15 years. 37 defendants were acquitted. The death sentences of 33 people were converted to aggravated life sentences.

On March 13, 2012, the Ankara 11th Heavy Penal Court dropped the charges of the Sivas Massacre trial in line with the prosecutor's demand to apply the statute of limitations to the case.

As the 9th Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals upheld the verdict on violation of the statute of limitations, attorney Şenal Sarıhan took the case to the Constitutional Court in 2014. However, the court has not yet announced its judgment. In response, lawyer Sarıhan appealed to the Constitutional Court regarding the long judicial processes.

Those who lost their lives: Muhibe Akarsu – (35 years old, guest), Muhlis Akarsu – (45 years old, artist), Gülender Akça – (25 years old, artist), Metin Altıok – (52 years old, poet and writer), Ahmet Alan – (22 years old, artist), Mehmet Atay – (25 years old, journalist), Sehergül Ateş – (30 years old, artist), Behçet Aysan – (44 years old, poet), Erdal Ayrancı – (35 years old, director), Asım Bezirci – (66 years old, researcher and writer), Belkıs Çakır - (18 years old, artist), Serpil Canik –(19 years old, artist), Muammer Çiçek – (26 years old, actor), Nesimi Çimen – (67 years old, poet and artist), Carina Cuanna – (23 years old, journalist from the Netherlands), Serkan Doğan – (19 years old, artist), Hasret Gültekin– (23 years old, poet and artist), Murat Gündüz - (22 years old, artist), Gülsüm Karababa –(22 years old, artist), Uğur Kaynar – (37 years old, poet), Asaf Koçak – (35 years old, cartoonist), Koray Kaya – (12 years old, child), Menekşe Kaya – (17 years old, artist), Handan Metin – (20 years old, artist), Sait Metin – (23 years old, artist), Huriye Özkan – (22 years old, artist), Yeşim Özkan – (20 years old, artist), Ahmet Öztürk – (21 years old, hotel employee), Ahmet Özyurt – (21 years old, artist), Nurcan Şahin – (18 years old, artist), Özlem Şahin – (17 years old, artist), Asuman Sivri – (16 years old, artist), Yasemin Sivri – (19 years old, artist), Edibe Sulari – (40 years old, artist), İnci Türk – (22 years old, artist), Kenan Yılmaz – (21 years old, hotel employee).

(RT/VK)