Müyesser Yıldız: 'The pain inflicted and the lives lost at Ankara's Güvenpark have been forgotten'

Journalist and 12punto columnist Müyesser Yıldız, in her article titled 'They Were Forgotten Again', highlighted the citizens who lost their lives in the attack carried out by the PKK on March 13, 2016, using a vehicle laden with explosives at the Ankara Güvenpark bus stops.

That article by Müyesser Yıldız:

"It was a Sunday evening 8 years ago.

The first signs of spring had arrived, and the scent of the season was in the air.

In Kızılay, the heart of Ankara, students, teachers, tea house workers, and retirees—all of them were just like us, either shopping or waiting for the bus to return home.

It was exactly 18:45. That Kızılay turned into hell in an instant.

Because the separatist terrorist organization PKK had carried out one of its most treacherous attacks right there.

We lost exactly 36 lives, 13 of whom were high school and university students. Hundreds of our people were injured.

Remember that day and the days that followed.

All politicians, especially members of the government, and non-governmental organizations turned Güvenpark, where the explosion occurred, into a place of pilgrimage... Carnations were laid, and prayers were said... Protests were organized...

Condolence messages poured in from all over the world... Famous local and foreign figures opened so many hashtags...

Our media spent weeks writing the stories of the 36 lives we lost to terror.

And then?

Like all the pain experienced and inflicted, this attack and the lives lost were forgotten. Life in Kızılay returned to normal. It didn't occur to anyone to even erect a monument or place a plaque there.

Yes, today was the 8th anniversary of this great pain. Those who lost their children, parents, and loved ones were alone again. The Ankara Metropolitan Municipality had adorned the trees in Güvenpark with pictures of the March 13 martyrs and had prepared a tent and halva for those who came; but the only representatives of the State were the police officers taking security measures.

Politicians and non-governmental organizations were nowhere to be seen. Let alone showing solidarity with the families; with only 18 days left until the election, wouldn't any political party show their face, even if just for their own propaganda? They did not.

It means they have forgotten, or they do not care.

What is desired and expected is nothing more than the wishes written on the small cardboard prepared in the name of the lost lives:

'DO NOT SEGREGATE EVEN IN DEATH'

At this year's memorial ceremony, retired Colonel Faruk Dinç, who lost his 20-year-old nephew Elvin Buğra Aslan in that massacre, and Attorney Tülay Bekar, who has been following the case on behalf of the families, tried to speak. Because, in fact, after 8 years, they had reached the point where words fail.

Faruk Dinç, who began his words by saying, “We all lied together. We said, ‘This pain will diminish,’ but it did not,” was only able to say the following:

“Our only consolation is to remember them, commemorate them, and put our heads together and cry, even if it is just once a year. Hopefully, one day we too will go to the beautiful place where they have gone. There is nothing else we can do but remember and love them. We said to some places, ‘Do not forget us, do not let those who want to forget, forget’; but there were those who were not by our side, those who did not care at all.

This is also a war. A war we are waging so that they are not forgotten. Because we forget so easily... Have we become such an insensitive public? Even though they were perhaps witnesses to the event 8 years ago, are they forgetting, are they being made to forget, or do they want to forget? Let us not leave each other alone.”

Attorney Tülay Bekar, emphasizing that they are the Güvenpark Family, said, “The case is ongoing. Even if strange decisions come out, we will definitely get our rights, one way or another. Even if we cannot, as Faruk Dinç said, one day we will go to be with them.”

After these speeches, the Güvenpark Family recited the Fatiha for the lives lost. The halva prepared by the municipality—with the words 'March 13 Martyrs' written on it...

Was distributed to those passing through Kızılay.

May they rest in peace, and may the grieving families find solace...