AMED – İffet Mutaş, who lost her father, two brothers, nephew, son, and daughter during the conflict, said, “As someone who has witnessed the pain of 2 brothers, 2 children, a mother, father, and my nephew Mazlum Tekdağ, we want peace.”
The Human Rights Association (IHD) Amed Branch and families of the disappeared have been holding weekly protests in Koşuyolu Park, Rezan (Bağlar) district, demanding “Find the disappeared, prosecute the perpetrators” for 860 weeks. One of the protesters attending since the beginning is 71-year-old İffet Mutaş.
Mutaş’s family was forced to migrate to Amed in 1994 due to oppression and torture in Entax village of Licê district. She lost her brother Mehmet Tekdağ in a fatal unidentified attack in 1993, and her other brother Ali Tekdağ was detained and disappeared in 1994. She also lost her daughter in the conflict, and her son due to a hospital’s expired injection. Her nephew, Mazlum Tekdağ, died in a 2019 airstrike by Turkish jets in the Kurdistan Region.
SEARCHING FOR HER BROTHER SINCE 1994
Mutaş recounted how her brother Mehmet was shot from behind in 1993 and was prevented from receiving surgery by the police at the hospital, leading to his death. “Mehmet was killed on the street while heading to his bakery in Rezan (Bağlar). He had four children. Mazlum was his son. He was also later killed,” she said.
Her brother Ali was detained 19 times and suffered severe torture. On November 13, 1994, after being detained again, he disappeared. Mutaş has been searching for him ever since, hoping for his return or at least his remains.
‘WE WANT PEACE’
Speaking on the ongoing peace process, Mutaş said, “We want peace, no more bloodshed. As someone who has seen the pain of 2 brothers, 2 children, a mother, father, and my nephew Mazlum Tekdağ, we want peace. No one should die anymore. We demand an honorable peace. Despite all we have endured, we still want peace.”