Medeni Yıldırım, who was killed by Turkish soldiers in Lice during a protest against the construction of a military fortress, was commemorated at his grave on the 11th anniversary of his murder.
Masses staged a march in the village of Kayacık (Hêzan) in Amed's Lice district on 28 June, 2013 to protest the construction of additional buildings to military posts. Soldiers in the village's military post opened fire on the crowd, killing 18-year-old Medeni Yıldırım and leaving ten other people severely wounded.
The attack increased tension in the Kurdish region where people were expecting a democratic and peaceful solution to the Kurdish question and constantly staged demos calling on the government to take steps for the advancement of the resolution process, demanding “We want peace, not war”.
On the 11th anniversary of his murder, Medeni Yıldırım was commemorated at his grave at Yeniköy Cemetery in the central Bağlar district of Amed on Friday.
The commemoration was attended by the family and members of MEBYA-DER (Association for Solidarity, Solidarity, Unity and Culture with the Families who Lost Relatives in the Cradle of Civilisations), Democratic Regions Party (DBP), Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), Free Women’s Movement (TJA).
DBP Amed Provincial Co-Chair Mehmet Şirin Gürbüz, who spoke after the minute of silence in Yıldırım’s memory, said that 11 years ago, Medeni Yıldırım wanted to shout out and raise his voice for peace against war, operation and persecution in Kurdistan. "For this, Medeni Yıldırım was murdered. We promise that we will show the very same stance on their path, and we will advocate for peace and an honourable life."
