HPG (People’s Defense Forces) guerrilla Roşer Tolhildan (Ali Kemal Arslan), who fell as a martyr in a Turkish state attack in Adıyaman (Semsûr) on 19 September 2019, was buried in his hometown after six years.
His body, previously interred in the paupers’ cemetery in Malatya (Meletî), was brought to Adıyaman and received at the Karapınar Cemetery entrance by the Association for Solidarity and Support with Families Who Lost Their Relatives in the Cradle of Civilizations (MEBYA-DER), his family, relatives, and representatives of numerous political parties and democratic mass organizations. Carried on shoulders, his coffin was accompanied by chants of “Şehîd Namirin” (“Martyrs are immortal”) and “Bijî Serok Apo” (“Long live President Öcalan”) before being laid to rest with prayers.
Erhan Akyılmaz, co-chair of MEBYA-DER in Urfa (Riha), said: “Comrade Roşer, who transformed his farewell to life into an honorable march, has gifted his martyrdom not as an end but as the free future of peoples. Martyrs are immortal.”
Peace Mother Adalet Çay, commemorating the Martyrs of Freedom, said: “We extend our hand to peace. Let this war, this bloodshed, finally end. Let a step be taken.”
Mehmet Bayır, co-chair of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in Adıyaman, emphasized that Roşer Tolhildan fought for the freedom of Kurdistan, and added: “We pledge that we too will continue to struggle until this country is free.”