Death of Eren Bülbül

{{Infobox person

| name = Eren Bülbül

| image =

| caption = Young Eren Bülbül

| birth_date = {{birth date |2002|1|1|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Maçka, Trabzon, Turkey

| death_date = {{death date and age|2017|8|11|2002|1|1|df=yes}}

| death_place = Maçka, Trabzon, Turkey

| death_cause = Gunshot wound

| resting_place = Maçka, Trabzon{{cite web | title = Trabzon'da şehit olan Eren Bülbül toprağa verildi | date = 12 August 2017 | url = http://www.haberturk.com/gundem/haber/1596174-eren-bulbul-topraga-veriliyor-eren-bulbul-icin-cenaze-toreni-duzenlendi | access-date = 16 August 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170817033758/http://www.haberturk.com/gundem/haber/1596174-eren-bulbul-topraga-veriliyor-eren-bulbul-icin-cenaze-toreni-duzenlendi | archive-date = 17 August 2017 | url-status = live|language=Turkish}}

}}

Eren Bülbül (1 January 2002 – 11 August 2017) was a Turkish 15-year-old boy from Maçka, Trabzon who was killed during the clashes between the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Turkish security forces in part of a Turkish military patrol during the Turkish-PKK conflict.

Life

The son of Ayşe and Hasan Bülbül, Bülbül was one of 12 children. He spent his entire life in Maçka, Trabzon, as he went to local Çatak Primary School and later Maçka Anatolian Religious High School. His father died in 2016. He worked in his family's farm and liked sports, being a fan of Trabzonspor.{{cite web |title=Eren Bülbül ölümü nasıl oldu, kaç yaşındaydı? Eren Bülbül kimdir, nerelidir? |url=https://www.milliyet.com.tr/gundem/eren-bulbul-olumu-nasil-oldu-kac-yasindaydi-eren-bulbul-kimdir-nerelidir-6279310 |website=Milliyet |access-date=30 May 2021 |date=11 August 2020|language=Turkish}}

Death

On 11 August 2017, a group of PKK militants entered a house to obtain supplies after clashes with police. Bülbül saw them and informed the gendarmerie. He accompanied the police, showing them the house which the militants had entered. As a result of an attack by the PKK, both Bülbül and Gendarmerie Sergeant Major Ferhat Gedik were killed.{{cite web |title=Trabzon'da şehit düşen Eren Bülbül yürekleri dağladı. Eren Bülbül kimdir? |url=https://www.mynet.com/trabzonda-sehit-dusen-eren-bulbul-yurekleri-dagladi-eren-bulbul-kimdir-110103196446 |website=Mynet |access-date=5 January 2021 |language=Turkish |date=14 August 2017}}{{cite web |title=Eren Bülbül ölümünün 3. yılında anılıyor! Eren Bülbül kimdir, ne zaman öldü? İşte Eren Bülbül'ün hayatı |url=https://www.ahaber.com.tr/gundem/2020/08/11/eren-bulbul-olumunun-3-yilinda-aniliyor-eren-bulbul-kimdir-ne-zaman-oldu-iste-eren-bulbulun-hayati |website=A Haber |access-date=29 May 2021 |date=11 August 2020 |language=Turkish}} After his death, 41 bullets were taken out from Gedik's body.{{cite web |title=Eren Bülbül'ün üzerine kapanan Astsubay'ın vücudundan 41 kurşun çıkmış, şehit Eren'in bu paylaşımı Türkiye'yi ağlatmıştı |url=https://www.yenicaggazetesi.com.tr/eren-bulbulun-uzerine-kapanan-astsubayin-vucudundan-41-kursun-cikmis-sehit-erenin-bu-294367h.htm |website=Yeniçağ |access-date=29 May 2021 |date=11 August 2020 |language=Turkish}}

= Reactions =

Later, Eren's mother Ayşe Bülbül said that his death had become the sorrow of the whole country.{{cite web |title=Şehit Eren Bülbül'ün annesi: Şehit yavrum tüm Türkiye'nin acısı oldu |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/turkiye/sehit-eren-bulbulun-annesi-sehit-yavrum-tum-turkiyenin-acisi-oldu/1936952|language=Turkish|website=Anadolu Agency|date=10 August 2020|access-date=6 January 2021}} Additionally, his mother criticised the Turkish security forces who had taken her son with them to show where the PKK militants were hiding,{{Cite web|title=A sergeant and a teenager get killed in Turkey in a clash between security and PKK|url=https://www.birgun.net/haber/a-sergeant-and-a-teenager-get-killed-in-turkey-in-a-clash-between-security-and-pkk-174457|url-status=live|access-date=2021-12-19|website=Birgün|language=Turkish|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303221834/https://www.birgun.net/haber/a-sergeant-and-a-teenager-get-killed-in-turkey-in-a-clash-between-security-and-pkk-174457 |archive-date=3 March 2021 }} saying: "My son would've liked to be a martyr but a martyr in the military, not in front of his door."{{cite web |title=Eren Bülbül'ün annesi: Oğlumun oraya götürülmesi büyük ihmal |url=https://www.evrensel.net/haber/329407/eren-bulbulun-annesi-oglumun-oraya-goturulmesi-buyuk-ihmal |website=Evrensel |access-date=29 May 2021 |date=14 August 2017|language=Turkish}}{{cite web |title=Annesi Ayşe Bülbül isyan etti: Eren ne tepki aldı da gitti oraya... |url=https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/annesi-ayse-bulbul-isyan-etti-eren-ne-tepki-aldi-da-gitti-oraya-40549737 |website=Hürriyet |date=14 August 2017 |access-date=29 May 2021|language=Turkish}} The party leader of the Republican Peoples' Party (CHP) Kemal Kiliçdaroğlu as well as Serpil Kemalbay of the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) condemned the death of Bülbül.

Legacy

File:Eren Bülbül Railbus Station.jpg station, Sivas, Turkey]]

On 25 June 2019, Turkish Airlines launched a survey on Twitter to name the new Boeing 787 aircraft.{{cite news |title=THY 'Rüya uçak' için isim anketi başlattı |url=https://www.trthaber.com/haber/turkiye/thy-ruya-ucak-icin-isim-anketi-baslatti-420716.html |access-date=25 June 2019 |publisher=TRT Haber|language=Turkish}} Among the options suggested in the survey were ancient city names such as Perga, Assos, Göbekli Tepe, and Zeugma, but Eren Bülbül's name was not included in the list. When many Twitter users initiated a campaign to put the name Eren Bülbül on the plane, Turkish Airlines responded by naming the plane after Bülbül's hometown Maçka.{{cite news |title=THY Maçka açıklaması|url=https://twitter.com/TK_TR/status/1144018886926508032 |access-date=27 June 2019 |publisher=Turkish Airlines official Twitter page|language=Turkish}} In August 2021 Turkish manufacturer of special purpose and military vehicles, Katmerciler, presented a new tactical vehicle, Katmerciler Eren, named after Eren Bülbül.{{Cite web|url=https://www.turdef.com/Article/katmerciler-to-unveil-eren-and-hizir-ii/572|title = Katmerciler to Unveil EREN and HIZIR II | TurDef}}{{Cite web|url=https://en.otonomhaber.com/2021/08/Katmerci%27s-new-armored-vehicles-eren-and-hizir-will-be-introduced-for-the-first-time-at-idef21-2/|title = OtonomHaber - Driverless Automotive News}}