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Energy minister attacked during funeral of soldier
Yıldız was rushed to the Erciyes University School of Medicine. The attacker, who was identified as Şahin Şimşek, was taken into custody along with four others. Eyewitnesses in the area said the assailant was a physical education teacher. “This is the fist of the Turkish nation; here comes the initiative,” the attacker reportedly said while punching Yıldız's face. The attacker was referring to the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government's Kurdish initiative, which was launched last summer in order to resolve Turkey's long-standing Kurdish problem. Some nationalist circles voiced strong opposition to the initiative, describing it as a project aimed to divide the country.
Doctors at the Erciyes University School of Medicine said the minister's nasal bone was broken and soft tissue bruised, adding that his general health condition was good.
President Abdullah Gül called Yıldız to ask him about the situation, while Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan contacted Interior Minister Beşir Atalay, who was also present at the funeral prayer to inquire about Yıldız’s condition. Yıldız was discharged from the hospital yesterday afternoon.
 Energy Minister Taner Yıldız was rushed to the Erciyes University School of Medicine after he was punched in the face during a funeral ceremony held in Kayseri for a slain soldier. |
A similar incident took place in the Black Sea province of Samsun last week as leader of the now-defunct pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) Ahmet Türk was punched in the face and had his nose broken after reading a press statement in front of a courthouse. The attack on Türk drew widespread criticism from politicians and nongovernmental organizations who interpreted the attack as an attempt to raise tension in the country and prevent a solution to the Kurdish problem. Türk called for restraint after the attack.
The soldier from Kayseri was gendarme Capt. Levent Çetinkaya, 34. He was injured in a clash with the PKK last week and taken to the Gülhane Military Academy of Medicine (GATA), where he later died.
Around 15,000 people attended the funeral. The crowd chanted slogans against the PKK. Another funeral was held yesterday for policeman Malik Saykal, 36, in his hometown of Amasya. Saykal, along with another colleague, was killed in an armed attack while patrolling Samsun’s Ladik district on Saturday night. Many news reports revealed that the attack on the police in Samsun may have been organized by the PKK as retaliation for the attack on Türk. Saykal’s funeral was attended by senior administrative and military officials in the city. Amasya Governor Halil İbrahim Daşöz said the attack in Ladik targeted the unity and solidarity of the nation.
Saykal was buried in a cemetery in the village of Mercimek. The funeral of noncommissioned officer Muhammet Demirbaş, 22, who died on Sunday night after being struck by lightning in Şırnak, was also held yesterday. Demirbaş had been serving at the Şırnak Çakırsöğüt military outpost for three years. He was buried in the Körfez Cemetery in his hometown of Kocaeli.
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