MALATYA
A funeral ceremony took place at the Seventh Main Jet Base in eastern province of Malatya on Friday for two Turkish pilots who were killed when their jet was downed by Syria on June 22.
Families of the two pilots, Turkish Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Ozel, Chairman of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag, Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin, National Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz, force commanders and colleagues of the two pilots participated in the funeral ceremony.
After a minute of silence, the personal histories of the two pilots were read aloud.
Speaking at the funeral ceremony, the Commander of the Seventh Main Jet Base, Air Commodore Mustafa Avci said that the two pilots died as heroes while serving the homeland, the Republic and under duty.
"We have gathered here today to send our brave pilots to eternity," Avci said.
"As the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), we are determined to protect the rights and interests of our country and to protect regional peace and tranquility under even the most toughest circumstances," Avci also said.
Following Friday's funeral ceremony, Captain Gokhan Ertan will be laid to rest in the Malatya Martyrs' Cemetery while Lieutenant Hasan Huseyin Aksoy will be laid to rest in the Istanbul Edirnekapi Martyrs' Cemetery.
Downing incident
The Turkish RF4 military reconnaissance plane was shot down by Syria on June 22 while on an unarmed training and test mission in international airspace after unintentionally straying into Syrian airspace.
The incident has drawn widespread international condemnation amid the continuing violence in Syria.
Turkey has said the Syrian act constituted "a clear and a grave violation of international law" and that Ankara would take "every necessary measure."
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said rules of military engagement of the Turkish Armed Forces had been revised in the face of the incident, adding, "any Syrian military element approaching the Turkish border from Syria will be considered as a military threat and dealt with accordingly."
