Last respects paid to BBP leader Yazicioglu

Grand Unity Paty (BBP) leader Muhsin Yazicioglu, who lost his life in a helicopter crash last week along with five others, was laid to rest yesterday after an official ceremony in Parliament and funeral prayers at Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara. Yazicioglu's body was first brought to Parliament for an official memorial ceremony. Present at the ceremony were President Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan, Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal, Constitutional Court Chief Justice Hasim Kilic, Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug, Cabinet members, former President Suleyman Demirel, former Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, and many deputies and governors. Those at the ceremony offered their condolences to Yazicioglu's family. An even larger crowd gathered at Kocatepe Mosque, where thousands of people from nearby cities came to participate in the prayers, led by Religious Affairs Directorate head Ali Bardakoglu. Yazicioglu was later buried on the grounds of the Taceddin Dergahı in Ankara's Altındag district, where poet Mehmet Akif Ersoy lived when he wrote the lyrics to the Turkish national anthem. Born in the central province of Sivas in 1954, Yazicioglu graduated from Ankara University. He joined the MHP when he was a university student. After parting ways with the MHP, he formed the BBP in 1993 and served as its leader until his death. He was also elected deputy from Sivas in the 2007 parliamentary elections. Yazicioglu was married and had two children. In related news, the body of Ihlas News Agency (IHA) reporter Isamil Gunes, found five days after the helicopter crash, was sent to his hometown Sivas for burial yesterday.