Ankara , Turkey - Turkey's army held a state funeral service Tuesday for former president Kenan Evren, but no government official attended the burial of the man who masterminded the bloodiest military coup in Turkish history.
Evren died aged 97 at a military hospital in Ankara on Saturday -- almost a year after he received a life sentence for his role in the coup, which unleashed a wave of arrests, torture and extrajudicial killings.
He was hailed as a hero at the time for ending years of violence between leftists and rightists, but has proved to be a divisive figure even in his death, with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the opposition boycotting his funeral.
The Turkish army held a military funeral honours ceremony for Evren -- the country's seventh president -- at its headquarters in Ankara, which was attended only by military officials and his family.
Private NTV television showed Evren's coffin wrapped in the Turkish flag and carried on a gun carriage accompanied by a military band. Military officials were also seen observing a moment of silence.
Conspicuous in their absence were officials from the AKP and three other parties represented in parliament, all of which had already declared that they wouldn't join the funeral for a convicted junta leader.
Army chief of staff Necdet Ozel was absent, too, as he is currently on medical leave. But other four forces commanders were present at the ceremony, Dogan news agency reported.
The military ceremony was followed by a quiet funeral prayer at a nearby mosque attended by around 300 people, a stark contrast to the hero's send-off former presidents usually receives, an AFP reporter said.
Two women in headscarves and a man were detained by police outside the mosque after chanting slogans against the former general.
An elderly woman told AFP: "It's a shame. All of today's leaders kissed his hand once."
AFP
