Never before had so many people gathered in Mersin. Thousands cried for Leyla Şaylemez today, who was executed in Paris on 9 January along with Sakine Cansız (Sara) and KNK France representative Fidan Doğan (Rojbin). Young and old women made the majority of the thousands who joined the funeral in a Kurdish neighborhood. Her coffin was carried by women who, like all other people joining the funeral, were dressed in black and wearing a white scarf representing peace. Pigeons were let fly both outside the mosque and at the cemetery with wishes for peace on these lands. 

Thousands had already gathered early in the morning outside the Nur Cami (mosque) where the religious ceremony was held for Leyla, who  was still in her 20\\\\\\\'s. Following the Friday prayer, she was taken to the cemetery, accompanied by people crying for her death but chanting slogans for freedom and peace. Even children were carrying her and other two murdered women\\\\\\\'s photos, saying “We are all Leyla”, “We are all Sakine”, “We are all Fidan”.  The ceremony for the Paris victim was also joined by Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-chair  Selahattin Demirtaş, deputies Ertuğrul Kürkçü, Sırrı Süreyya Önder, Pervin Buldan, Murat Bozlak, Demir Çelik, Hüsamettin Zenderlioğlu and Mülkiye Birtane.

The one-minute silence at the cemetery, packed with people who chanted “Şehid Namırın” (martyrs are immortals) slogan for hours, was followed by short but sharp speeches by Leyla\\\\\\\'s father Cumali Şaylemez, BDP deputies Ertuğrul Kürkçü, Mülkiye Birtane and co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş. A huge PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) flag was opened on a hill in the cemetery area, with thousands of Kurdish young people chanting “PKK is the people and the people are here”. They were all carrying something in the color of the flag they opened, yellow, red and green (kesk u sor u zer in Kurdish). 

Leyla\\\\\\\'s father Cumali Şaylemez first addressed Prime Minister Erdoğan, saying; “I have eight children, seven now, and seven grandchildren. None of them has ever wanted war on these lands. We always asked for peace but our voice was never heard. If you do not want peace, these 14 people from my family will bear arms and fight against you. Do not let this happen.” 

Şaylemez also addressed the mothers of Turkish soldiers; “Turkish mothers should know that Kurdish mothers do not want to cry and to lose their children either. We are also saddened by the news of soldier deaths as all these Turkish and Kurdish young people die because of the ongoing dirty war. No one has the right to make people suffer this pain.” 

“Kurds are not terrorists, my daughter wasn\\\\\\\'t one either. She never fired a bullet on anyone. However, if demanding your identity means terrorism, and if my daughter was a terrorist, then I am a terrorist too”, he said and underlined; “I am proud of my daughter, our martyr, and all Kurdish people shall be proud of her as well.” 

BDP Mersin deputy Ertuğrul Kürkçü started his speech by extending his condolences to all people of Kurdistan and to all other peoples in Turkey. “Yesterday in Amed and today here, we say once again that we are ready for peace”, he said in great emotion and asked the government; “Now we are asking you, are you ready for peace?”. Kürkçü said peace will not come without freedom and added the followings addressing to the people of Mersin; “As a representative of yours, I promise you and Leyla that we will bring peace to this country.”

BDP co-chair Demirtaş also put emphasis on peace and underlined; “Our people are ready for peace. All we need is a genuine approach to a solution from the government. The perpetrators of the Paris killings committed these murders to hinder the İmralı process but the best answer to their conspiracy theory has been the dignified stance you have had at the funerals, voicing peace rather than hate and anger. Kurds make no provocation, all they do is to demand what was stolen from them by force.”

Demirtaş ended saying “We will bring peace to these lands all together”. 

Following the speeches, Leyla was laid to rest with songs, slogans and again words of peace and rest.