22 Years after Sivas Massacre, Turkish Islamists Hail the Murderers
13th July 2015
On July 2, shortly after Friday prayers, thousands of devout Sunni Muslims marched to the Hotel Madimak. They broke through the weak police barricades surrounding the hotel, chanting “Allahu Akbar” (in Arabic, “God is the greatest”). When they reached the hotel, they set it alight, with policemen allegedly standing by and watching. The city’s Islamist mayor refused to send fire brigades to put out the fire. The assault took eight hours, without any intervention from the police, military or fire department. When what would later be internationally known as the “Sivas massacre” ended and the mob dispersed, 35 people, mostly Alevi intellectuals as well as a Dutch anthropologist, had died, along with two hotel employees. Two arsonists also died. Ironically, Aziz Nesin survived the attack.