Hundreds of people on Saturday gathered in the Pazarcık district of Kahramanmaraş province (originally known only as Maraş) in front of a local cemevi, an Alevi house of worship, to join a demonstration organized by the Alevi Bektaşi Federation to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the Maraş massacre. The protesters departed for Kahramanmaraş by bus, but the convoy of protesters was stopped on the Gaziantep-Kahramanmaraş highway by gendarmes. Although the protesters told the gendarmes they wanted to commemorate the Maraş events, the gendarmes did not let them continue on their journey.
Thereupon, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Kahramanmaraş deputy Durdu Özbolat called Interior Minister İdris Naim Şahin and requested that he grant the protesters access to the city. In response to Özbolat's request, Minister Şahin reportedly said the gendarmes could not let them pass because of the possible tension their presence in the city would cause.
After this call, clashes broke out at the scene when the protesters tried to break a barricade set up by gendarmes. The protesters attacked the gendarmes with sticks and stones. Gendarmes used their batons and tear gas against the protesters to disperse the crowd. An undisclosed number of protesters was taken into custody. Soon after the demonstrators gave up on their attempt to try and reach Kahramanmaraş, the protesters taken into custody were released.
Last year, the commemoration of the 32nd anniversary of the massacre was cut short after an ultranationalist group marched toward the square where the Alevi groups had gathered. Police, fearing a confrontation, intervened and put a stop to a few small skirmishes. The ultranationalist Sunni group chanted “God is great” (Allahu Akbar) and “This is Maraş, there is no exit.” The Alevis were then forced to end their commemoration as the group descended upon them.
On Dec. 19, 1978, after an explosion in a movie theater, the CHP Kahramanmaraş branch was attacked. The CHP is strongly supported by Alevis. Counterattacks followed, resulting in the assassination of prominent figures and, eventually, the massacre of 111 Alevis, who were attacked in their homes. Martial law was then declared in the area.
