A Memorial Ceremony and an Attack

There was a memorial ceremony for iconic politician Sırrı Süreyya Önder on May 4 in Istanbul. Main opposition leader Özgür Özel was attacked while leaving. Just another day in the Turkish news cycle.

An interesting juxtaposition of wreaths sent to Sırrı Süreyya Önder’s memorial. The one on the left is from the Istanbul LGBTI Pride Week Committee, the one on the right is from Turkey’s Interior Ministry, which is in command of the police forces.

It’s been awhile since I’ve written something for this blog. It would be an understatement to say that the last month and a half have been eventful. Since the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu in March, massive demonstrations broke out that amounted to the largest street protests since the Gezi Park protests in 2013, followed by a series of rallies and economic boycotts. For those inclined, you can check out these two articles I wrote about the main political event in Turkey as of late. The news cycle ever since has been exhausting (not that it never is in this country) with reports of people being arrested practically every day, and a whole slew of other events that would take too long to discuss here. Nevertheless, below I’ve written about a few noteworthy things that happened in Istanbul over the weekend that shed light on some larger issues.

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At the memorial ceremony for Turkish politician Sırrı Süreyya Önder held in Istanbul’s Atatürk Cultural Center, a large and eclectic crowd showed up. These included top government officials, far-right politicians, Kurdish mothers whose children were disappeared by the state in the 1990’s, leftists, and members of the LGBT+ community. Önder, a parliamentarian from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) might have been the only figure in Turkey to attract such disparate groups of people to their memorial ceremony.

Önder passed away at the age of 62 on May 3 after suffering a heart attack in April for which he was hospitalized. Immediately prior to his heath failing, Önder was part of a delegation that recently visited jailed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan in part of a new effort to relaunch a peace process between the PKK and the Turkish state. To that end, Önder also held a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, though Erdoğan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has removed democratically-elected DEM Party politicians from their mayoral seats in recent months, replacing them with state-appointed trustees. This is a tactic that the government has used against the party for years. Though the parties have long been adversaries, Erdoğan was one of the many figures (and certainly the most important) in the government who expressed their sadness at Önder's death:

“I was deeply saddened by the passing of Mr. Sırrı Süreyya Önder, Deputy Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye and Member of Parliament for Istanbul. I wholeheartedly believe that we will reach the "Türkiye Without Terrorism" target for which Sırrı Süreyya Önder has been working so hard recently,” Erdoğan tweeted.

Erdoğan’s coalition partner, leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Devlet Bahçeli also shared his condolences. “Once again, I pray to God to have mercy on my late brother Sırrı Süreyya Önder,” Bahçeli wrote, saying in a separate statement that he was very sad about Önder’s passing. A year ago, it would have been unheard of for Bahçeli to refer to any member of the DEM Party in a brotherly manner, but then again anything can happen in Turkey, which never fails to surprise. It was Bahçeli himself who called on the PKK to disarm last year, and this initiative was what led to the the new round of peace negotiations between the state and the leader of the banned organization. In the months leading up to his death, Önder had shared words of praise of Bahçeli for his stance during their meetings.

Obviously this is a complicated issue, and many have wondered why it was Bahçeli, who has been largely out of the public eye for several months due to health issues, was the one who encouraged the peace process, rather than Erdoğan, who has for his part supported the efforts from a distance. Some insist that the ruling coalition needs to court the Kurds in order to change the constitution to enable Erdoğan to run for another presidential term, others say that Bahçeli-as a staunch Turkish nationalist-genuinely believes that the most pragmatic method to protect the Turkish nation and the Turkish people is to engage in a peace process where the PKK lays down their weapons once and for all.

Back to Önder. He grew up in a leftist, working-class family in the province of Adıyaman, which is mostly Kurdish, though Önder’s family is of Türkmen origin. He was jailed at the age of 16 after protesting one of Turkey’s most infamous massacres in 1978, and then spent seven years in prison after the 1980 military coup. Before becoming a parliamentarian for the DEM Party’s predecessor party in 2011, Önder was an acclaimed filmmaker, actor and writer who penned columns for a variety of newspapers. During the Gezi Park protests, he famously stood in front of a bulldozer to protect the felling of a tree, declaring “I am also the representative of trees!” He was also hospitalized during the protests after his shoulder was struck with a metal tear gas canister. He was known for his sense of humor and witty remarks that often came out during parliamentary debates. After sustaining a heart attack on April 15, Önder underwent several operations and was monitored around the clock, but ultimately succumbed to his conditions three weeks later. The outpouring of grief was among the most I’ve seen for any deceased politician during my fifteen years in Turkey, and the fact that so many people from different political backgrounds admired and respected Önder-as someone with a long leftist past and a member of a pro-Kurdish, left-leaning party--certainly speaks to his unique character.

After the memorial ceremony, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel was attacked by a man while leaving the building. The attacker got in one punch before being wrestled to the ground. In his statement, Selçuk Tengioğlu said that he applied for food assistance to the CHP but was denied it, and became suddenly angry when he saw Özel. The explanation didn’t seem realistic, and reports quickly came out that Tengioğlu murdered two of his own children in 2004 and only spent 16 years behind bars. There was mass outrage over the fact that this kind of person was walking free while dozens of students—including 22 year-old Esila Ayık who has a chronic kidney condition—are sitting in jail for protesting after İmamoğlu’s arrest.

There is a lot more to be said about the topics explored in this article, but that could take thousands and thousands of more words. Many people have become disillusioned by the chaotic pace of Turkey’s news agenda and have chosen to stop following it entirely. As a journalist, I don’t have that option, but I am tired and burned out. On the other hand, writing this helped me sort some thoughts out, and I feel a bit more energized and motivated that I have in recent days.