On Monday, thousands of people gathered to mourn and commemorate the two Kurdish journalists, Nazim Daştan and Cîhan Bîlgîn, killed by a Turkish drone strike near Kobani (Kobanê), northern Syria on 19 December. The ceremony took place in Qamishli (Qamişlo) in the northeast of the country.
In addition to the two journalists, a fighter from the Women’s Defence Units (YPJ) and two members of the Commando Forces of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were mourned at the ceremony. The ceremony took place at the cemetery of the martyr Delil Saruxan in Qamishli city.
There was a great display of affection for the fallen journalists and fighters at the ceremony. Mourners carried their portraits and decorated the coffins with flowers and ribbons of red, green and yellow, the colours of the Kurdish flag. During the commemorative speeches, a representative of Jazira (Cizîrê) Canton recalled the courage and sacrifice of those fallen in the struggle to defend their homeland and to spread the truth through the media.
Journalists Daştan and Bîlgîn were killed in a targeted Turkish drone strike while travelling by car south of Kobani on 19 December. Fighters Avzem Ciya, Diyar Qamishli and Lokman El Xemis died in action at the Tishreen Dam on the Euphrates on 2 January. Fighting has been ongoing in the area since early December, when mercenaries from the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) began violent attacks on the territories under the control of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
Ekrem Berekat, a member of the Hawar News Agency, where Cîhan Bîlgîn also worked, spoke on behalf of the Free Press Union (YRA) during the mourning ceremony. “Today we renew our promise to continue the work of the free press in memory of our friends Cîhan Bîlgîn and Nazim Daştan,” he said. “With their pens and cameras, they’ve brought the truth, the sacrifice and the heroism of the Kurdish people to the whole world”.
At the request of the two families of the killed journalists, their bodies will be taken to Turkey, where the families resides, for burial.
