ISTANBUL- Saturday Mothers/People gathered for the 12th week in a row to ask for the fate of Abdurrahim Demir and to reiterate their demand for justice for those forcibly disappeared. 

 

Saturday Mothers/People gathered at Galatasaray Square for the 12th time to ask for the fate of their relatives who were disappeared and murdered under custody and to demand the prosecution of the perpetrators. Carrying carnations and photographs of their disappeared relatives, the Saturday Mothers' protest was attended by many rights defenders. 

 

This week's demonstration demanded the fate of Abdurrahim Demir, who disappeared after being detained in Qoser (Kızıltepe) district of Mêrdîn (Mardin) on August 17, 1995. 

 

Ayşe Tepe from the Saturday People read the press text and pointed out that the biggest obstacle to the search for justice for state-related crimes in Turkey is the politics of denial.

 

'THE TRUTH HAS NOT BEEN REVEALED' 

 

Stating that they have been telling the truth against the state's policy of denial, Tepe said: “Despite witnesses, documents and evidence, our applications regarding our missing persons, whose bodies were found in deserted roadsides, deserted graves or acid wells after being taken into custody by security forces, or who were never found, were recorded as ‘abstract allegations’.” Tepe stated that the necessary judicial processes were not carried out and the truth was prevented from being revealed.

 

'WE ARE THE VOICE OF KESRI·YE AND MEHMET DEMI·R'

 

Emphasizing that they will be the voice of Kesriye Demir, who lost her life without learning the fate of her child Abdurrahim Demir, and Mehmet Demir, who lost his life without receiving any news from his brother, “Abdurrahim boarded a passenger bus on August 17, 1995 to go to Adana. After traveling for about an hour, the bus was stopped by soldiers at the Qoser checkpoint. After checking his identity, the soldiers took Abdurrahim off the bus and detained him” Tepe said.

 

Tepe stated that although the witnesses said that Abdurrahim Demir was taken to Şevalet Gendarmerie Station, the station denied it and said: “Upon this, the family applied to Mardin Police Department. The police told them, 'Abdurrahim took out a passport and went to France as a waiter. The family objected, but they were threatened to 'leave this matter alone'. His mother Kesriye Demir passed away without being able to find her son, for whom she had been waiting for 20 years, and without being able to learn his fate; and his brother Mehmet Demir passed away without being able to get an answer to the question ‘What happened to my brother?’ for 23 years.”

 

Tepe called on the judicial authorities to put an end to the policy of impunity and conduct an effective investigation and countinued as follows: “No matter how many years pass, we will not stop demanding justice for Abdurrahim Demir, for all our disappeared, and reminding the state that it has to act within universal legal norms.”

 

'WE HAVE SENT MANY MOTHERS FROM THIS SQUARE' 

 

Taking the floor after the statement, İkbal Eren, sister of Hayrettin Eren, who was disappeared in detention, stated that they will be the voice of Kesriye and Mehmet Demir and those who seek their rights and said: “My mother Elmas Eren passed away 5 years ago today at the age of 86. My mother asked for the fate of her son for 39 years. Like every mother, she had dreams for her children. She had so many dreams for her son Hayrettin. Our dreams changed, my mother spent the last 39 years dreaming of a grave that she would cover with carnations. We have sent many mothers from this square. We ask for my mother and the children of all the mothers we have lost; where are they?” 

 

After the speech, the participants left the carnations in their hands at Galatasaray Square, which was surrounded by police barriers.