Funeral Procession For Slain PKK Activists Marches Through Paris
  • 11 years ago
Coffins of the three Kurdish activists slain in Paris were carried through the streets of Parisian suburb Villiers-le-Bel as part of a final homage on Tuesday (January 15).
Thousands of France's Kurdish community attended the ceremony, forming processions to bear the caskets and mourn the dead. The faces of the killed activists and imprisoned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) co-founder Abdullah Ocalan watched on from flags and placards.
Among the attendees, answers were being sought.
"All the Kurdish people are completely devastated by this drama, these three women who have been murdered. Today we are waiting for French authorities, the Interior Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs to truly clarify what happened, why these women were targeted," one member of the Kurdish community, Aziz, said.
Kurdish activists blamed the execution-style killings at an institute in central Paris on Thursday on shadowy elements from the Turkish state or foreign powers. Turkey pointed to possible infighting in the separatist PKK.
The PKK is viewed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
-Reuters