A commemoration event for Gulistan Tara and Hêro Bahadîn was held yesterday at the Chatr production studio in Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî). The two journalists were working for Chatr Production when they were killed by a Turkish drone strike near Sulaymaniyah on 23 August while on their way to film a television programme. The event took place 40 days after their deaths.
The event began with a minute of silence for Tara, Bahadîn and all killed Kurdish journalists, followed by a speech by Şoxan Mîrza, a friend and colleague of the killed journalists. She expressed her commitment to continue the work of Tara and Bahadîn and said that she is “proud of these two women journalists, who were authentic women of our country and will never be forgotten.”
After Mîrza’s speech, a message was given by the mother of Bahadîn: “I ask God to take revenge for my daughter and to destroy the Turkish regime. Erdoğan has martyred a Kurdish child and Muslim.”
The event continued with video messages from the family of Gulistan Tara. Tara’s siblings expressed the pain they are feeling and said that their sister will “always remain in our hearts and minds and in our struggle”.
A condolence message by the Metro center, an NGO aiming at monitoring free press situation in Kurdistan Region of Iraq was read by the organisation’s president Diyarî Mihemed. “The Turkish state has killed hundreds of civilians in the KRI in the last 30 years. The situation of journalists is worsening,” Mihemed stated, but emphasised that these attacks “can never defeat our struggle”.
The event ended with musical performances by various Kurdish artists, giving friends, family and colleagues of Tara and Bahadîn the opportunity to share their grief and pain together.
