A deadly blood feud between two prominent families in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa brought together an unlikely alliance of mediators. People from the opposite end of the political spectrum crowned their achievement of peace between the Yıldız and Şenyaşar families with a "peace meal" two families hosted in the province on Sunday.
Among the prominent guests of the meeting were Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and representatives from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), and the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) of the opposition.
Blood feuds involving traditionally large families in the southeast have been a staple of the region in the past, often leading to losses to sides where each killing triggered retaliation. Such feuds are rare nowadays while dignitaries called "opinion leaders" often step in to end family feuds by inviting sides to make peace. This time, it was lawmakers and a mayor, as well as two former ministers, all hailing from the region, that helped families to make amends.
The feud, that led to the killing of Mehmet Şah Yıldız from the Yıldız family and Esvet, Adil and Celal Şenyaşar from the Şenyaşar family in 2018 in Şanlıurfa’s Suruç district, had political undertones. Yıldız’s brother was Ibrahim Halil Yıldız, a former lawmaker from the AK Party while Ferit Şenyaşar, a Şanlıurfa lawmaker from the DEM Party is the son of Esvet and brother of Adil and Celal. The brawl that led to the killings was indeed during a political campaign by two lawmakers. On Oct. 18, four defendants in the case over the killings, one from the Şenyaşar family and three from the Yıldız family, were released from prison. Following the releases, locals and politicians stepped in to help the families overcome their differences and end the feud.
On Sunday, 45 members from each large family convened in a dining hall inside a large park in the Eyyübiye district of Şanlıurfa. Along with Yılmaz, Parliament’s deputy speaker Sırrı Süreyya Önder, who is also a lawmaker from DEM, Ahmet Türk, a prominent former lawmaker from DEM who now serves as co-mayor of the Mardin province, former justice ministers and members of the AK Party Bekir Bozdağ and Abdülhamit Gül who were also credited with mediating the peace between families, attended the convention.
Speaking at the meeting, Yılmaz said healing such wounds in the society would contribute to a broader unity in Türkiye. Yılmaz said both families were affected by the incident and they cannot take back what happened. "But we are here today to alleviate their suffering," Yılmaz said, adding that "future generations should not have to burden this suffering."
Yılmaz thanked Bozdağ, Gül, Önder and Türk for their endeavors to bring together the families for peace, along with a large number of people who contributed to the process. "Thee families are not stuck in the past and they managed to look forward," he said. Yılmaz said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also extended his greetings to the two families and thanked them for ending the feud.