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Turkish energy minister attacked at soldier’s funeral

20 April 2010 04:01 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Energy Minister Taner YÄ±ldÄ±z was attacked Monday in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri during the funeral ceremony for a soldier who died last week, news agencies reported, APA reports quoting â€œHurriyet Daily Newsâ€.
Gymnastics teacher Åžahin ÅžimÅŸek punched YÄ±ldÄ±zâ€™s face, shouting, â€œThis is the fist of the Turkish people. Here is [a Kurdish] initiative,â€ private news channel NTV reported.
Åžimsek was detained along with three other people after the attack. YÄ±ldÄ±z, who was also a deputy from Kayseri, was injured in the attack with scratches from his glasses.
Last week in the Southeast Anatolian province of ÅžÄ±rnak, a civilian minibus belonging to the military came under in attack that injured three soldiers.
One of the three, Captain Levent Ã‡etinkaya, died in the GATA military hospital Sunday.
Interior Minister BeÅŸir Atalay participated in the funeral as well, while people reacted against the government for their move to â€œsolveâ€ the Kurdish issue. There had been media reports that the attack was carried out by the outlawed Kurdistan Workersâ€™ Party, or PKK.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan called Interior Minister Atalay to learn information about YÄ±ldÄ±z. President Abdullah GÃ¼l also called the Kayseri governor to hear about YÄ±ldÄ±zâ€™s condition.
Last week in the Black Sea province of Samsun, the former head of the disbanded pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP, was also attacked. Ahmet TÃ¼rk, who was also banned from politics last year, had his nose broken after a 27-year-old assailant punched him in the face.