Reactions to the killing of journalists Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin, who were targeted by Turkis Unmanned Combat Armed Vehicle (UCAV) while they were covering the attacks of Turkey and its Syrian National Army (SNA) on North and East Syria, continue. While bar associations in Kurdistan and Istanbul, journalist professional organizations and political parties demanded an investigation into the incident, Cihan Bilgin's parents asked Free Press workers not to leave their daughter's pen on the ground. 

 

'HER COMRADES WILL NOT LEAVE THEIR PENS ON THE GROUND'

 

 

Mother Katibe Bilgin stated that she love Cihan's friends and the struggle she defended and said: "I send my greetings to Rojava, her friends and comrades from here. I kiss their eyes."

 

Mother Katibe Bilgin said that her daughter told her on her way to Rojava, "I want to go and do something. I want to see the right and the injustice" and added: "Journalists should be able to travel freely. They should not be targeted." Mother Katibe Bilgin sent a message to Cihan's colleagues and said: "I hope Cihan's comrades will not leave her and Nazım's pen on the ground."

 

Noting that Cihan turned to journalism after her university education, her father Mehmet Nesim Bilgin said: "She took her camera, took out her passport and set off. First she travelled to the South (Federated Kurdistan Region), and from there she headed to Rojava. She was a journalist. She was fighting for the truth, for fairness."

 

'HER AIM WAS TRUTH'

 

"Cihan only had her camera in her hand," said father Bilgin and added: "She was on the job. Her aim was the cause of truth. Shee said she would fight for her own cause. She always wanted to succeed. She was always trying to do her job well. She was trying to do it on fairness. She was reflecting what happened as it happened. She did not reflect it differently. We will also follow her cause. We will not forget her for the rest of our lives. That's what we want. My condolences to our people. I wish success to her journalist friends. May no one ever experience this pain again."

 

'THE POLICE WERE INVESTIGATING CI·HAN'

 

Father Bilgin stated that he had been called to the police station many times before and that people he did not know had asked him where Cihan was and said the following: "They told me that she went to Rojava, they took out her photograph and showed it to me. They had the photos, they were doing research. They told me to talk to her on the phone and ask for information. I told them that I would tell them if they called me and left. They phoned me a few times and asked me if I had received any information. I told them that I had not. They asked my children in Europe to contact them. They said they would give me a mobile phone. When they didn't get anything, they stopped communication."

 

MA / Ahmet Kanbal