The remains of a Kurdish fighter killed in clashes with Turkish forces in 2016 in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority district of Şemdinli (Şemzînan) have been handed over to her mother in a box.
The mother, Aynur Karatay, was summoned to the prosecutor’s office and informed that the remains had been identified by DNA analysis as belonging to her daughter, Siti Karatay.
Speaking to Mezopotamya News Agency, the mother said:
“She was fell as martyr six years ago. It’s only now, they hand over a few bones to us. This is cruelty. Nobody can accept such insults.”
She continued:
“I felt nothing though. We hold our heads high. We’re happy to have received even a few bones. It is still an honour for us. We’ll never bow down. We’ll always stand tall, and we’ll never give up our struggle. I hold my head high for my martyr. I offer my condolences to all the Kurdish people. We’ll never bow down.”
She added:
“The state is always committing acts of oppression against the Kurdish people. But the Kurds aren’t always aware of this.”
Aynur Karatay’s son Emrah Karatay, also a Kurdish fighter, was killed in clashes with Turkish forces in March 2017.
Her husband Burhan Karatay died of a heart attack in prison in November 2018.
The remains of Siti Karatay will be buried in a grave at the Kuçkıran Cemetery in Doğubayazıt (Bazîd) district, not far from where her mother is currently living.