Sırrı Süreyya Önder, a member of the People's Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) İmralı Delegation and Deputy Speaker of Parliament, lost his life on May 3, on the 18th day of his treatment in the intensive care unit of an Istanbul hospital following a cardiac arrest on April 15.

Dozens of writers and literary figures have issued a joint letter in memory of Sırrı Süreyya Önder, which reads as follows:

“Farewell,

Peace, the most beautiful word in every language, you have written in all our hearts.

Lend a hand, dear friends; let us bury our dead; let us bury all deaths with our dead.

May the life you dedicated to peace serve as an opportunity for this era, marked by anti-democratic, unlawful practices, oppression, and the rising social resistance against them, to open up to democracy and a lasting, just peace.

Farewell, Sırrı Süreyya Önder; may life be as beautiful as your smile, and may there be peace.”

Signatories:

Abdullah Ataşçı, Adnan Özyalçıner, Ahmet Ergenç, Ahmet Karadağ, Altay Öktem, Arlin Çiçekçi, Arzu Erkan, Ata Egemen Çakıl, Ayça Erkol, Ayfer Tunç, Ayhan Koç, Aysen Beyazıt Melik, Ayşe Kulin, Ayşegül Devecioğlu, Ayşen Şahin, Ayşenur Tanrıverdi, Azimet Avcu, Başak Canda, Belgin Bıyıkoğlu, Belma Fırat, Beşir Sevim, Birgül Oğuz, Buğra Giritlioğlu, Buket Arbatlı, Burak Soyer, Burcu Alşan, Burhan Sönmez, Bülent Ayyıldız, Bülent Çallı, Bülent Tekin, Cabir Özyıldız, Can Öktemer, Cenk Kolçak, Çağnam Erkmen, Çiğdem Koç, Çiler İlhan, Defne Suman, Deniz Saatkaya Eldem, Dilek Emir, Dilek Yılmaz, Elif Sofya, Emek Erez, Emrullah Alp, Eray Özer, Erdoğan Aydın, Ethem Baran, Fatma Nur Kaptanoğlu, Figen Alkaç, Fulya Kılınçarslan, Gaye Boralıoğlu, Gonca Özmen, Gökçer Tahincioğlu, Gökhan Arslan, Gönül Kıvılcım, Gündüz Vassaf, Gürel Sürücü, Gürsel Korat, Haden Öz, Hakan İşcen, Halil İbrahim Özcan, Hande Ortaç, Hasan Cemal, Hasan Hayri Ateş, Hayati Dede, Haydar Ergülen, Hıdır Işık, İrem Uzunhasanoğlu, İsmail Hakkı Zariç, Kadir Akın, Kadir Işık, Kamil Erdem, Kamil Tekin Sürek, Kerem Işık, Lal Laleş, Mehmet Altun, Mehmet Fırat Pürselim, Mehmet Hanifi, Melih Özeren, Mesut Varlık, Mevsim Yenice, Mine Sosyal, Murad Uçaner, Murat Gülsoy, Murat Özyaşar, Murat Uyurkulak, Mustafa Güçlü, Müge İplikçi, Müren Beykan, Neslihan Önderoğlu, Neslihan Yiğitler, Nilay Özkan, Nurhan Suerdem, Oya Baydar, Ömer Faruk, Ömer Türkeş, Özge Doğar, Özgün Enver Bulut, Öznur Unat, Rıdvan Hatun, Selim Bektaş, Semih Öztürk, Semra Bulgin, Semrin Şahin, Senem Gezeroğlu, Sepin Sinanlıoğlu, Serap Çakır, Sevim Çiçek, Sevim Erdoğan, Sezer Ayvaz Ateş, Sibel Oral, Sinan Cumart, Sonat Yurtçu, Süreyya Köle, Şebnem İşigüzel, Taçlı Yazıcıoğlu, Tarık Günersel, Tayfun Topraktepe, Uğur Portakal, Yasemin Özek, Yasemin Seven Erangin, Yaşar Seyman, Yavuz Ekinci, Yekta Kopan, Zeynep Oral.