Thousands bid fareweel to Ertas

Thousands of people, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay, Constitutional Court Chairman Hasim Kilic, many party leaders, singers and artist, and citizens yesterday bid farewell to Neset Ertas, an internationally renowned Turkish folk musician who died in the Aegean province of Izmir on Tuesday after losing a two-year battle with cancer. Delivering a speech following the funeral prayers for Ertas, Erdogan praised Ertas as a "valuable brother and bard." Erdogan said that Ertas was the voice of Anatolia. "We hope his followers and students will maintain his voice. We need this unity and solidarity very much," Erdogan added.