ISTANBUL - Speaking at the anniversary of the bombing of Özgür Ülke 28 years ago and stating that they are at work despite all the pressure, journalist Hüseyin Aykol said: "After 28 years, we promise Ersin and all our martyrs again. We will not stop, we will not tire, we will not be silent."

 

Yeni Yaşam Newspaper, Mesopotamia Women Journalists Platform (MKGP) and Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) were held a memorial event in front of the old building of the newspaper in Kadırga due to the anniversary of the simultaneous bombing of Özgür Ülke Newspaper's headquarters in Istanbul Cağaloğlu, Kadırga and Ankara offices on December 3, 1994. At the commemoration of the banner "Free press cannot be silenced", photographs of Ersin Yıldız, who lost his life in the explosion, were carried. Journalist Hüseyin Aykol, Human Rights Association (İHD) Co-Chair Eren Keskin, Turkish Press and Printing Workers' Union (Basın-İş) Chairperson Faruk Eren, Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) MPs Musa Piroğlu, Kemal Bülbül and many journalists attended the commemoration.

 

WE ARE IN THE SAME PLACE

 

Making a statement after a moment of silence, Journalist Aykol said: "We are still in the same place after 28 years. We are together with our friends once again in front of our beautiful building that stretches out towards the sea like a white seagull. Once again, we feel the pain of our Ersin Yıldız and those we lost before and after him in the depths of our hearts. Every year we count; We count it so that we never forget it, so that it will be remembered by everyone: 25, 26, 27… Today we are in the 28th year. 28 years ago today, three separate buildings of our newspaper Özgür Ülke were bombed at the same time by the order of the Prime Minister of this country, Tansu Çiller, to 'dispose'."

 

'WE ARE FOLLOWING THE TRUTH'

 

Emphasizing that "dispose" is the key word, Aykol said: “We were a party because we are. We were on the side of the people, on the side of the truth, and that is why it was necessary to be eliminated. But it didn't start that day. It didn't end after that. The country has been engulfed in fire throughout the 28 years since we threw the headline 'This fire will burn you too' and never saw the light of day. Today, the drums of war are still being played, and we still continue to pursue the truth. Meanwhile, we lost dozens of our journalist friends in an ambush. Most of us have paid the price of telling the truth in prisons. Today, at this time, dozens of journalists are in prison again. They killed our Nagihan in Sulaymaniyah only recently, we gave our Nujiyan to the lands of Shengal, which she loved so much, and a few days ago, our brother Isam Ebadullah was the target of the bombardment in Derik. Now, 28 years later, we promise again to Ersin and all our martyrs. We will not stop, we will not tire, we will not be silent. We will continue to do our job."