Bodyguarding

It was very sad to hear of the armed attack against Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov on Dec. 19 at the opening of a photo exhibition at a gallery in central Ankara. As a matter of fact, despite regional turbulence and tensions, Ankara has always been a safe capital for diplomats and ambassadors.

Energy Minister Taner Y?ld?z recently attracted a lot of reaction when he declared: ?I want to be a martyr.?

Mehmet Alkan, a member of the Turkish Gendarmerie who lost his brother, was one of those who reacted, saying at his brother?s funeral: ?You can?t say you want to be a martyr and then walk around with an armored guard surrounded by 30 body guards.?

The president delivers a speech in front of a coffin covered by a Turkish flag.

There are bodyguards everywhere. Ten men in suits and six soldiers listen to him at full attention.

A few young men shout slogans.

All eyes are on him.

In the other corner of the photograph, the father of the martyr, sitting on his knees, cries in front of the coffin.