The Human Rights Association (IHD) and relatives of the disappeared continued their weekly protests this week in relation to the people who were disappeared in detention in the 1990s and who fell victim to unidentified murders. In the statements made in Colemêrg (Hakkari), Amed (Diyarbakır), Êlih (Batman) and Izmir, the fate of the disappeared was demanded to be revealed and the perpetrators to be punished.

 

COLEMÊRG

 

IHD Colemêrg Branch and relatives of the disappeared gathered at Sanat Street in Gever (Yüksekova) district on the 150th week of their protest. During the demonstration, the banner "Find the disappeared, prosecute the perpetrators" and photographs of the disappeared were carried. The perpetrators of Islam Terkoğlu, who was killed by soldiers while collecting firewood in Oremar village of Gever on 23 November 2006, were asked.

 

Ozan Tekin Akbaş, one of the executives of IHD Colemêrg Branch, read the story of Terkoğlu. Akbaş stated that Terkoğlu and his friend Reşit Soydan were on their way to take the wood they had collected to Gever on the date in question when they were intercepted by soldiers and said: "Soldiers fired at the vehicle without any warning and İslam Terkoğlu was seriously wounded on the spot. Reşit Soydan, luckily, escaped unhurt. Realising thet Terkoğlu was a civilian, law enforcement officers tried to transfer him to hospital, but he died on the way. At the same time, Hakkari Governorate announced that two terrorsits were neutralised. Reşit Soydan was released from the gendarmerie battalion he was taken to without being referred to the court. A Hakkari MP of the time submitted a parliamentary question about Terkoğlu's murder. In the answer given by the Ministry of Interior to the parliamentary question, it was stated that the incident was investigated in detail and that it was accepted that it was a villager who was shot."

 

Akbaş said: "No investigation was conducted. Thus, the fate of Islam Terkoğlu was left unsolved. Let justice be done in the Islam Terkoğlu case, let the perpetrators be judged. We will continue to raise our voice to reveal the fate of Terkoğlu."

 

The protest ended with a sit-in.

 

AMED

 

IHD Amed Branc and relatives of the disappeared met in front of the Human Rights Monument in Koşuyolu Park on the 824th week of their protest. A large number of people from non-govermantal organisations participated in the statement carrying the photographs of the disappeared and those who lost their lives in unidentified murders. 

 

IHD Branch Vice Chair Suzan Mehmetoğlu pointed to 25 November  International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and said, "25 November is a special day for us women. Its speciality is that it shows that women's struggle is increasing every year. Deaths of women and children are increasing day by day. As women, we condemn what is happening. Our struggle will continue until there is not a single woman left." Suzan Mehmetoğlu also reacted against the appointment of trustees to Dêrsim (Tunceli) and Pulur (Ovacık) municipalities.

 

In this week's protest, the story of Mümine Sincar and Tayibe Sincar, who were murdered on 27 June 1994, was read. Berfin Elçi, member of the IHD Commission on Disappearances, shared the following information: "On 27 June 1994, after an armed attack by PKK militants against public buildings in Mêrdîn Mahsert (Ömerli) district, Special Operations Teams raided the house of Mümine and Tayyibe Sincar. The raid was carried out while the family was sleeping on the roof. The raid was directed directly at Tayyibe Sincar. The special operations forces pointed their guns at Tayyibe Sincar. At that moment, her sister Mümine fell on her sister. The police officers shot and killed the two sisters there. After the incident, soldiers came to the village and tried to take the bodies, but the family and villagers refused to allow them to do so. The prosecutor came and made a report at the scene of the incident. 36 M-16 cartridges were found in the report. Despite the family's demands and insistence, the prosecutor did not order an autopsy. Soldiers detained the village headman Mehdi Aksoy on the same day and released him after 30 hours of interrogation. The commander at the head of the soldiers who came to the village said 'If you had accepted the village guard service, this would not have happened to you'. The family filed a criminal complaint against the police officers to the Ömerli Prosecutor's Office. However, despite all the legal struggle, no result was obtained and this incident was recorded as an unknown perpetrator."

 

ÊLIH

 

IHD Branch and relatives of the disappeared gathered in front of the Human Rights Monument on Gülistan Street in Êlih for the 660th week of their protest. During the demonstration, the banner "Find the disappeared and put the perpetrators on trial" was unfurled and photographs of the disappeared were carried. In addition to the relatives of the disappeared, many people from non-governmental organisations and political parties participated in the protest. At this week's demonstration, the fate of Halit Boran, who was detained in Aksaray neighbourhood of Fatih district of Istanbul on 19 October 1995 and was never heard from again, was demanded.

 

IHD member Zana Yücel Bozkurt stated that Boran, who had travelled to Istanbul from Hereg village in Licê (Lice) district of Amed to work, was detained by the police in Aksaray. Bozkurt stated that his family and relatives saw Boran 8 days later in the news reports of Show TV, a private television channel, about the people detained in Istanbul. Bozkurt stated that this news and photographs were published in Sabah Newspaper the next day and that the family made attempts before official institutions. Bozkurt said: "Despite all the attempts of his family, Halit Boran has not been heard from again since then."