Murat Bardakçı joins the national mourning debate: 'It is not in our tradition'

Following the martyrdom of 20 Turkish soldiers in a military cargo plane crash in Georgia, the issue of whether or not to declare a national day of mourning in Turkey has come to the agenda.

Journalist Murat Bardakçı joined this debate, stating, "Declaring mourning for fallen soldiers is contrary to our traditions."

NO RESPONSE TO NATIONAL MOURNING EXPECTATION

Demands had been raised to declare a national day of mourning for our 20 soldiers who were martyred in the military plane crash in Georgia. Following the accident, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel called on President Erdoğan to declare 3 days of national mourning. However, no statement has been made by Erdoğan on this matter.

In his column on the subject, Murat Bardakçı stated that national mourning has never been declared for soldiers martyred throughout the history of the Republic.

Bardakçı said, "Many painful events resulting in martyrdom have occurred in our Republican history, but a national day of mourning has never been declared for these incidents."

In his article, Bardakçı stated that "Martyrdom is the highest rank that can be reached in accordance with religious beliefs," and noted that mourning should not be held for martyrs. While acknowledging that shedding tears for martyrs is a human emotion, he emphasized that there is no tradition of mourning for military martyrs.

In his article, Bardakçı acknowledged that the pain of the fallen soldiers has caused great sadness among the public.

However, he expressed that this pain does not traditionally require the declaration of national mourning. Bardakçı said, "Although fire burns where it falls, it is a very natural and human feeling to be saddened, to shed tears, and to be devastated for the lives lost."