Activists to hold symbolic march to Ankara in memory of Suruç massacre victims

Activists from the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF) will hold a symbolic march from Istanbul to Ankara in demand of justice for 33 of its members who were killed in an ISIS attack in the southeastern district of Suruç in 2015.

Thursday July 08 2021 10:36 pm

Duvar English

The Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF) will hold a symbolic march from Istanbul to Ankara in demand of justice for 33 of its members who were killed in an ISIS suicide bombing in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa's Suruç district on July 20, 2015.

The SGDF is the youth wing of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP).

The organization members will hold a press meeting in front of the Kadıköy Municipality building in Istanbul on July 9 with the families of the deceased and injured, and then hit the road with cars to Ankara.

On July 10, the group will participate in a commemoration ceremony to honor the victims of the ISIS suicide bombing that occurred outside Ankara's main railway train station on Oct 10, 2015.

SGDF Executive Board Member Şükran Yaren Tuncer has said that although they have been seeking justice for the Suruç massacre for the last six years, questions still linger over the events leading up to the deadly attack.

There is only one defendant under arrest in the bombing case. As in other numerous deadly attacks in Turkey, there is still no attempt to track down responsibility, complicity, or negligence on the part of the local and national security forces.

Last year, the Justice for Suruç Platform presented a report which said that government officials turned a blind eye to the Suruç massacre, despite having prior knowledge of the events that led to it.

“It is again us who are massacred and arrested. They also ruled that it was the young people's fault to be in Suruç. There is a court ruling that says young people were at 50 percent fault on allegations that they were on their way to a close combat area. They are declaring those who were massacred in front of the public eyes as criminals,” Tuncer was quoted as saying by Mezopotamya news agency on July 8.

On July 20, 2015, a suicide bomber named Abdurrahman Alagöz detonated explosives outside Suruç Municipality’s Amara Cultural Center as members of the SGDF prepared to travel to Kobane in Rojava to aid in the town’s reconstruction following its liberation from ISIS forces.