Access To Kahramanmaraş Prevented On 36Th Anniversary Of 1978 Massacre

Thousands were prevented from entering the city of Kahramanmaraş on Sunday on the 36th anniversary of the 1978 massacre that left more than 100 people dead.

On the anniversary of the 1978 Maraş massacre, in which 103 people died and thousands were wounded, all demonstrations to be held in the southeastern city of Kahramanmaraş were banned by Governor Mustafa Hakan Güvençer. Strict security measures were taken and entry to the city was blocked by armored vehicles, while 2,200 police officers were posted on major roads coming from the provinces of Osmaniye, Gaziantep and Kayseri.

A crowd trying to commemorate the 1978 event was prevented from entering the city, a move that led them to stage a sit-in in front of the armored vehicles securing the city's entrance.

The ban on demonstrations had been publicly announced on the governor's website. “In order not to allow any undesirable situations the governor's office considers a ban of meetings and demonstrations appropriate and acceptable,” the statement said.

People coming to Kahramanmaraş from Adana in support were stopped at the Türkoğlu entrance to the city. Reacting harshly to the incident, the crowd complained to security officers, claiming their “freedom to travel is being limited.” The crowd was forced to return to Adana after they were unable to convince the officers.

Nearly 100 people chanting slogans were stopped at the Narlı crossroads on the way from Gaziantep by policemen dispatched from the provinces of Adıyaman, Diyarbakır and Gaziantep. Despite warnings to return home, the crowd remained along the main road for some time.

Some people who fainted from the heat were treated by waiting ambulances. Prohibited from entering the city, the crowd stopped the flow of traffic on the main road coming from Gaziantep.

After a call by main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Kahramanmaraş deputy Durdu Özbolat to the Kahramanmaraş governor, the crowd was allowed to congregate in the cemevi (Alevi house of worship) in Narlı neighborhood.

KERİM ZENGİN (Cihan/Today's Zaman)