Farewell to two TKP/ML and TİKKO fighters martyred in Dersim

Funeral ceremony was held for socialist fighters Volkan İldem (Nubar) and Ali Kemal Yılmaz who fell as martyrs in Dersim.

A funeral ceremony was held today in Istanbul to bid farewell to Erol Volkan Ildem (Nubar), an executive member of TKP/ML and Dersim Political Commissioner and TIKKO Dersim Region Commander, and Ali Kemal Yılmaz (Özgür), both of whom were martyred in Turkish bombardments in Dersim’s Ovacık district in September and October respectively.

The farewell began in the Cemevi (Alevi place of worship) in Sarıgazi district which was blockaded by hundreds of police and dozens of armored vehicles and helicopters.

The bodies of the two martyrs were received yesterday evening from the forensic medicine institute in Malatya and brought to Sarigazi Cemevi amid the harassment of police and armored vehicles. All the streets leading to the Cemevi and the Sarıgazi Cemetery were surrounded by police barriers. The police prevented people from entering the Cemevi, saying "60 people limit is exceeded" on the pretext of the epidemic.

'OUR RESISTANCE WILL GROW'

The crowd that entered the Cemevi despite the blockade of the police, held a memorial ceremony at 13:00 Thursday afternoon. The bodies were taken from the morgue and brought to the Cemevi’s yard, accompanied by the slogans "Guerrillas Do Not Die, Long Live People's War". In the ceremony, which started with a minute's silence in memory of all the martyrs of the revolution in the persons of TKP/ML TIKKO fighters, the crowd made a vow and chanted the slogan "Our Leader İbrahim Kaypakkaya". After a minute of silence, speeches were made on behalf of the Partizan, Families of Partizan Martyrs and Captives.

A speech made on behalf of Partizan stressed that "Our resistance will grow with our longings".

Families of Partizan Martyrs and Captives said, “Fascism fears even the bodies of our martyrs. Now we will walk the path they have paved and bear the grudge against fascism and the honor of our comrades on our shoulders. No hesitation, no giving up! We will be their voice and shout them out!”

CEMETERY UNDER BLOCKADE

After the ceremony, the crowds inside and outside of the Cemevi marched together to the Sarıgazi Cemetery of Party and Revolution Martyrs chanting slogans. The police, having already surrounded the cemetery with barriers and armored vehicles, prevented the crowd from entering the graveyard. While some people managed to enter, some remained outside, who were then checked for criminal record by the police.

Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), Halkevleri (People's Houses), the Federation of Socialist Assemblies (SMF), the Revolutionary Party and the League of Struggle, as well as families of martyrs and prisoners attended the funeral.

The coffins of Ali Kemal Yılmaz and Erol Volkan İldem, wrapped in a red flag, were brought to the cemetery on the shoulders of their families and comrades. The bodies of the two martyrs were buried, wrapped in the flag of the TKP/ML.

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