ANKARA - A memorial service took place at cemetery of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday out of respect to diplomats, public workers and their families who were killed in acts of terrorism while working abroad.
Speaking at the memorial service, Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul recalled that 34 people lost their lives in heinous acts of terrorism in 19 separate countries between 1973 and 1994.
''These organized attacks targeting our citizens who had done nothing, but serving Turkey honorarily, are among the dark moments of history of mankind. Today, I damn once again all those who are responsible for these heinous attacks and those who failed to bring them to justice intentionally. Turkey has always adopted provision of peace and friendly relations as its principle. Turkey has always exerted great efforts to contribute to peace both in its region and in the world. These attacks could not make Turkey deviate from its main policies,'' he emphasized.
Gul noted, ''Turkey had to fight against all kinds of terrorism, and called for international co-operation and solidarity against terrorism for years. Terrorists attacks in Istanbul on November 15 and 20, 2003 and in Madrid on March 11, 2004 have unveiled requirement of such a co-operation once again.''
''Any case or any target cannot justify killing of innocent people. We want those whose hearts were filled with resentment and enmity, to seek for affection and friendship before it is too late,'' he said.
Gul recalled that he had given an order to erect a monument out of respect to martyrs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, adding that the place of the monument would be chosen later.
A total of 34 Turkish officials and their families had been killed since January 27, 1973 while working in Turkish representations abroad. Their names are as follows:
DATE PLACE POSITION NAME
Jan 27, 1973 Santa Barbara Consul General Mehmet Baydar
Jan 27, 1973 Santa Barbara Consul Bahadir Demir
Oct 22, 1975 Wien Ambassador Danis Tunaligil
Oct 24, 1975 Paris Ambassador Ismail Erez
Driver Talip Yener
Feb 16, 1976 Beirut First Secretary Oktar Cirit
Jun 09, 1977 Vatican City Ambassador Taha Carim
Jun 02, 1978 Madrid Wife of Ambassador Necla Kuneralp
(R) Ambassador Besir Balcioglu
Oct 12, 1979 The Hague Son of Ambassador Ahmet Benler
Dec 22, 1979 Paris Tourism Attache Yilmaz Colpan
Jul 31, 1980 Athens Administrative Attac. Galip Ozmen
and his doughter Neslihan Ozmen
Dec 17, 1980 Sydney Consul General Sarik Ariyak
Security Attache Engin Sever
Mar 04, 1981 Paris Labor Attache Resat Morali
Attache for
Religious Affairs Tecelli Ari
Sep 09, 1981 Geneva Secretary Savas M. Yerguz
Sep 24, 1981 Paris Security Attache Cemal Ozen
Jan 28, 1982 Los Angeles Consul General Kemal Arikan
May 04, 1982 Boston Honorary Consul Orhan Gunduz
Jun 07, 1982 Lisbon Administrative Attac. Erkut Akbay
and his wife Nadide Akbay
Aug 27, 1982 Ottawa Military Attache Attila Altikat
Sep 09, 1982 Burgas Administrative Attac. Bora Suelkan
Mar 09, 1983 Belgrade Ambassador Galip Balkar
Jul 14, 1983 Brussels Administrative Attac. Dursun Aksoy
Jul 27, 1983 Lisbon Wife of Counselor Cahide Mihcioglu
Apr 28, 1984 Tehran Wife of Secretary Isik Yonder
Jun 20, 1984 Wien Labor Attache Erdogan Ozen
Nov 19, 1984 Wien Int. Officer Enver Ergun
Oct 07, 1991 Athens Press Attache Cetin Gorgu
Dec 11, 1993 Baghdad Administrative Attac. Caglar Yucel
Jul 04, 1994 Athens Counsellor Haluk Sipahioglu

(UK-AÖ) 18.03.2004