2 Set Selves on Fire to Protest Delay of Rebel’s Execution

Two relatives of soldiers killed in Turkey’s Kurdish insurgency set themselves on fire in an Istanbul cemetery Thursday, during a protest against the government’s decision to delay executing a Kurdish rebel leader.

Onlookers rushed to aid the pair--the mother of a slain army lieutenant and the brother of another killed soldier--beating the flames with jackets and rolling the two on the ground to try to put out the fire. Both suffered only minor burns, as did a third man who had come to their aid.

“My son is burning!” a woman could be heard shouting.

The self-immolations took place as about 100 relatives of Turkish soldiers killed while battling Kurdish rebels protested Turkey’s decision to await a European human rights court ruling before deciding whether to hang Abdullah Ocalan.

“Do they know how long it takes to rear a child?” said Nevzat Pinarbasi, whose son Ramazan was killed six years ago.

Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said he understood the relatives’ anger but defended his government’s hold on Ocalan’s execution, a move aimed at enhancing Turkey’s prospects for joining the European Union.