Kemal Gün, a 70-year-old man who is on the 81st day of a hunger strike he began to get the remains of his son, a militant of the far-left Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) who was killed in an operation by Turkish security forces, has said he is determined to continue the hunger strike until he is given the remains of his son, according to the Dihaber news portal.
Gün’s son Kemal was among 11 DHKP/C militants who were killed in an air bombardment by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in Tunceli last November. The remains of nine DHKP/C militants have not yet been returned to their families.
Gün said his only wish is to grieve at his son’s grave.
“I don’t want anything from them [the Turkish authorities]. I just want the bones of my son whose body I gave to them with my own hands. If they have some honor and conscience, if they also have children and know something about humanity, they should no longer keep us waiting. Even if I die in the end, I will not give up my protest. My last wish in this world is a grave for my son,” said Gün.
Gün, who weighed 74 kilograms when he began the hunger strike, has lost 13 kilograms over the past 81 days. Volunteer doctors who examine Gün regularly told Dihaber that there has been a loss of vision in Gün’s left eye and that his loss of weight and muscles continues.