IRAQ: TURKMENS PROTEST IN KIRKUK AGAINST THE MURDERS BY BURNING OF TWO TURKMEN TEACHERS

• TIC

The murders of Turkmen teachers was protested 20 December 2012



Reactions in terms of the ruthless murders by burning of two Turkmen teachers by unknown assailants in Reşat district in the southern part of Kirkuk are growing.



The Turkmen Teachers Union organized a protest demonstration in front of Kirkuk Province National Education Directorate to protest the incident. The teachers attending the protest demonstration damned the killers who murdered their colleagues Abdül Hüseyin Mahmut and Kasım Nasıh. The teachers who carried Iraqi and Turkmen flags characterized the incident as “ultimate crime against humanity “. The Head of the Turkmen Teachers Union Abdülselam Bayraktar and his deputy Burhan Celal demanded that the perpetrators of the murders be apprehended as soon as possible otherwise teachers deputized outside Kirkuk would be called to boycott. The Head of Iraqi Turkmen Front Kirkuk Province Kasım Kazancı who attended the demonstration indicated that as the ITF they were on the side of all teachers and educators without discrimination and said that, “because an educator is the reflection of a nation”.

In addition a statement prepared by the Turkmen Teachers Union was read at the demonstration. The demonstration was also attended by numerous representatives from Turkmen civil society organizations.

Türkmeneli Cooperation and Culture Foundation Iraq Representative and Projects Manager Talat Zulal said that it was mandatory to allocate funds from the state budget for Turkmen to establish a security force.

The Head of Turkmen Women’s Union Kadriye Ziyai voiced her reaction with the words, “Teachers and learning should be sacred. Terror should keep away from teachers.”

The Secretary General of Turkmen Students and Youth Union Kahtan Vindavi emphasized their condemnation of the incident with vehemence and hoped that “it is not repeated”.

The Kurdistan Teachers Union expressed their strong condemnation at the press conference they arranged. The Head of the Union Celal Muhammet emphasized that such incidents were aimed at discriminating among Kirkukians and said, “Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen are all brothers”.