A large group marched through Sivas and ended at the site of the infamous Madımak Hotel, where they laid carnations and gave speeches in memory of the victims. (Photo: DHA)
More than 10,000 people gathered in front of the Madımak Hotel in Sivas and marched, amid strict security precautions taken by the police, to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the 1993 massacre of 33 Alevi artists and intellectuals who were killed when an angry mob set fire to the hotel.
A number of representatives from various nationwide Alevi associations, 60 deputies from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) — including Zeynep Altıok, daughter of poet Metin Altıok who was killed in the tragedy and CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s spouse, Selvi Kılıçdaroğlu — joined the memorial service. Joining them were Sivas Governor Alim Barut, acting Sivas Mayor Erdal Karaca, Cumhuriyet University rector Prof. Faruk Kocacık and the head of the Cem Foundation, Ali Dağ.
Those public figures who participated in the commemoration demanded that the hotel be converted into “museum of shame” and penalization of the perpetrators of the attack in order to see justice served.
In July 1993, an angry mob broke through police barricades after Friday prayers and set fire to the hotel — where Alevi artists, musicians and authors had assembled to participate in the festival of Pir Sultan Abdal, a 16th-century Alevi poet — causing most of them to be killed.
Remembering the victims of the massacre, in which 33 Alevis, two hotel workers and two of the assailants died, those who took part in the march and the memorial service held placards with the demands for the improvement of the Alevi rights.
Prior to the ceremony, police set up checkpoints to search participants entering the site and all intercity buses coming in were stopped and searched in an effort to ensure security.
After the delegation laid carnations in front of the photos of the victims in the hotel, Governor Barut made a statement, saying that the tragic incident has been imprinted on the memories as a dark day full of pain and added: “Those provocateurs achieved their goals by creating divisions in our society. Our unity [between Sunnis and Alevis] was targeted. It will go down in history as one of our darkest days since it helped undermine the unity people who have lived in peace for centuries. The fire set in the hotel also set Sivas’ future on fire. The grief caused by the tragedy continues to tear our hearts out. However, living in the past is an obstacle to improvement. For sure, we will not forget the pain but we will turn to the future to prevent similar tragedies and to maintain brotherhood between the various segments of the society.”
Source: ZAMAN