Relatives of Kurdish political activist Deniz Cevdet Bülbün, who was killed in an armed attack on the office of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) in Erbil (Hewlêr) on 18 September, have called for the perpetrators to be found, Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reported.
Thousands of mourners attended Bülbün’s funeral in his home town in Hakkari (Colemêrg) province, southeast Turkey on Friday evening. There was palpable grief, and anger among the crowd that the perpetrators have still not been found despite the presence of numerous active security cameras in the area. Reactions have also been mounting against the Kurdistan Regional Government, due to the deafening silence maintained on the incident by officials of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
“Deniz was a person who fought for the unity of the Kurdish people”, said one of his relatives, who still lives in the Dêlezê village, where Deniz was born. “Deniz’s murderers are still in South Kurdistan [Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI)], and the Barzani government needs to find them”, he added, referring to the government of the KRI under the prime ministership of Masrour Barzani.
Speaking to MA, mourner Gülsüm Kılıçoğlu blamed the KDP and the Barzani family and said, “Everyone needs to raise their voices against Barzani’s silence.”
Another mourner Ebubekir Kıratlı stressed that Deniz Bülbün’s death has deeply affected all Kurds saying, ‘The perpetrators of this assassination must be found as soon as possible. This is of utmost importance for the unity of the Kurdish people’.