Trade union and civil society groups protest teh massacre in Ankara, October 13. Demotix/ Recep Yilmaz.All rights reserved.Three days after the bomb attack in Ankara, which killed at least 99 people when 2 suicide bombers detonated themselves early on Saturday, October 10 at a peace rally, a large portion of Turkey's football fans booed the minute's silence that was dedicated to the lives lost in the attack. Deciding to express their disregard to the Kurdish and leftist victims, a sizeable minority chanted nationalist and religious slogans.
What was meant to be a moving tribute of national unity in the face of such a tragedy, instead highlighted the very real divisions that constitute a stark polarisation of Turkish society. AKP and government officials have been noticeably absent at all the funeral ceremonies held, possibly out of fear of angry crowds. Erdogan himself, whose speeches usually dominate Turkish media, has yet to make a public appearance since the Ankara bombing. A sole statement released from his Presidential Palace stated, “Like other acts of terror, the attack at the Ankara Train Station is taking aim at our unity, brotherhood and future.”
The attack took place as people were gathering before a peace rally under the slogan “Savaşa Inat, Barış Hemen Şimdi” (Stand Up Against War, Demand Peace Now) that was organised by various leftists groups and Unions alongside the pro-Kurdish HDP party. The bomb attacks targeted leftists and Kurds who were demanding that the government end its campaign against the PKK in the south-east of the country, which has killed hundreds since the peace process broke down, back in July.
