JINHA

ISTANBUL - As people across Turkey opened tents to mourn the victims of the Suruç massacre, Turkish police were out to stop them yesterday.

After a bombing in the town of Suruç, Turkey killed 32 on Monday, people across Turkey have been mourning the victims. The victims were activists affiliated with the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations who were planning to travel to Kobanê to aid in the city's reconstruction. Police presence has been heavy at events mourning the young activists.

In Izmir, the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations and the Socialist Party of the Oppressed set up a tent for mourners. Police attempted to stop the groups from opening a tent, but they succeeded. As police barricaded the area, attendees read the names of the dead one by one, with the crowd shouting, "…lives!" after each name.

The group Izmir Women held a march down the city's seaside esplanade to the tent. When the women reached the barricade around the tent, police kicked them, earning boos from the march. After negotiating with police, the women successfully continued on to the tent with ululations and chants of "women, life, freedom."

The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP)'s youth organization for Istanbul's Beyoğlu district were stopped from opening a condolence tent entirely. Police told the crowd that they were stopping them from putting up the tent "for their own security." Youth replied that if police wanted to protect them, they would not have allowed the massacre of their friends in Suruç. The youth set up a small stand with photographs of the victims in place of a tent.

(ekip/gc/ödk-en/dc/cm)