NEWS CENTER - Relatives of the missing spoke out on the 800th week of the protest held in Amed, demanding "Let the missing be found and the perpetrators be tried" and said: "No matter what they do, we will not give up on this struggle. We want the bones and the graves." Relatives of the missing also came together in Gever district of Êlih and Colemêrg.

 

The "Let the missing be found, let the perpetrators be tried" protest, initiated by the relatives of the missing and the Amed Branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) on January 31, 2009, is in its 800th week. Relatives of the missing and rights defenders gathered in front of the Right to Life Monument in Koşuyolu Park in Rezan (Bağlar) district for the protest that the relatives of the missing have been carrying out uninterruptedly for 15 years and asked about the fate of their relatives and the perpetrators of the murdered people.

 

In this week's action, the story of Vasıf Öztürk, who was detained in the Comar rural neighborhood of Amed's Pasur (Kulp) District on June 1, 1994, was taken away by helicopter and was never heard from again.

 

Members of many institutions and organizations participated in the 800th action this week. Speaking here, İHD Branch Chair Ercan Yılmaz said: “Those who committed this organized crime must be held accountable. Those whose photographs we carry were killed in a state-organised manner. We saw this in the trial files, even if it was for show. Since no real confrontation was made, these cases ended with impunity. We will continue this struggle under all circumstances."

 

'THEY KNOW WHERE THEY ARE'

 

İffet Tekdağ, the sister of Mehmet, whose perpetrator went unsolved, and Ali Tekdağ, who was disappeared in custody, said: “You know, my brother has been missing for years. He doesn't even have a grave. I will search for them until the end. I will search for the bones of my brothers."

 

Ali Tekdağ's wife, Hatice Tekdağ, said that her husband was tortured with a needle and a dog. Tekdağ said: “Ali was detained 19 times and disappeared the 20th time. We want our bones. No matter what happened today, no one saw the torture that I and my child were subjected to. They took me to the Xana Axpar (Çınar) border and tortured me by a stream. They said, 'Why are you asking about Ali Tekdağ on television?' No matter what they do, we will not give up this fight. We want the bones, the graves. Reveal it wherever you put it."

 

Lahiya Öztürk, wife of Vasıf Öztürk, whose story will be read, “We have been searching for his bones since that day. We want him to have a grave. We have been pursuing our case for 30 years" said.

 

HIS COUSINS ARE RELEASED, ÖZTÜRK REMAINS IN CUSTODY

 

Öztürk's story was read by İHD Amed Branch Missing Commission Member Berfin Elçi. Öztürk's disappearance story is as follows: "Vasıf Öztürk, who was married and the father of 7 children, lived in Cumar village of Amed's Pasur district. On June 1, 1994, soldiers carrying out an operation under the Bolu Brigade detained villagers named Vasıf Öztürk, Cembeli Tuncer and Efendi Şen in Salkım hamlet. On the same day, a few more villages in the vicinity were raided by soldiers. Those detained that day were held in the village school for one night. Vasıf Öztürk's aunt's son, Cembeli Tuncer, and Efendi Şen are released in the morning, but Vasıf Öztürk is told that his hands and eyes will be tied, put on a military helicopter and taken to Pasur. Later, some eyewitnesses who were detained in the same period stated that Vasıf Öztürk was at the Lice Gendarmerie Station and that he was tortured. Again, according to the statements of eyewitnesses, he was detained at the Lice Gendarmerie Command for 25 days. From that date until today, Vasıf Öztürk has never been heard from again."

 

DETENTION IS DENIED

 

After the incident, his family applied to Kulp Gendarmerie Command, Lice Gendarmerie Command, Diyarbakır Central Gendarmerie Command, Diyarbakır State Security Court, Diyarbakır Governorship and OHAL Regional Governorship and asked about the fate of Vasıf Öztürk. However, all the attempts made by the family are unsuccessful. In response to the family's application on 14 October 1994, the State of Emergency office affiliated with the Diyarbakır Governorship said; 'In your petition dated 26.09.1994, which you submitted to the State of Emergency Regional Governorship and was delivered to our Governorship, it was stated that Vasıf Öztürk was detained by the Gendarmerie with a friend of his in the Uzunova village of Kulp district and that you never heard from them again, as a result of the investigation carried out on the subject; It has been understood that your son Vasıf Öztürk was not detained for any reason and is not one of the wanted persons."

 

The action ended after a sit-in. 

 

ÊLIH

 

Relatives of the missing people carried out the 636th protest "Let the missing be found and the perpetrators be tried" in front of the Human Rights Monument on Gülistan Street. DEM Party and DBP Êlih Provincial Organizations, Tevgera Jinên Azad (Free Women's Movement-TJA), Eğitim-Sen, Êlih Peace Mothers Assembly as well as many relatives of the disappeared attended the action. İHD Branch Manager Rezan Baytar read the statement text, which included photographs of citizens disappeared in custody in different years.

 

During the action, the fate of İsa Gök, who was lost in Elih (Batman) in June 1994, was asked.

 

The story of Lost Gök is as follows: “İsa Gök was a tradesman, he would go from home to work and from work to home. He was detained 2 months before he disappeared, and was released after 11 days of interrogation, as no incriminating evidence was found. However, one morning in June 1994, after leaving home to work, he never returned. Despite all the family's efforts, not a single trace can be found."

 

The sit-in protest ended after the statement was made.

 

COLEMÊRG

 

İHD Colemêrg Branch and relatives of the missings came together on Sanat Street in Gever (Yüksekova) district of Colemêrg. Many people participated in the action, as well as relatives of the missings, Colemêrg Bar Association and Peace Mothers, DEM Party and DBP Gever district organization executives. In the action, "Let the missings be found, let the perpetrators be tried" and "Where are the missing perpetrators?" banners and photographs of those who were murdered and disappeared by unknown assailants were carried. In the 126th week of the action, attention was drawn to the action that Saturday Families have been carrying out in Amed for 800 weeks.

 

 

 

The statement was read by İHD Colemêrg (Hakkari) branch member Pınar Zengin Şen.

 

Stating that the Turkish lands have been tired with pain for 100 years, Şen stated that thousands of unsolved murders have been committed within the borders of the country and that no concrete steps have been taken against the murders committed by those in authority. Şen said: “The mothers' requests for apology and their wait for the murderers to be tried in the face of a real understanding of justice were tried to be postponed and intimidated by illegal methods. However, our mothers' only wish was to learn the fate of their children. Today, we stand side by side in this square for our mothers who are waiting for the fate of their children to be revealed. Parents longing for a grave site, we who are constantly screaming in the courthouse corridors and fields for the fate of their fathers and mothers, demand that this cruelty end as soon as possible." 

 

In the statement, Şen told the story of Vasıf Öztürk, a married father of 7 children, who was taken into custody in Amed in 1994 and disappeared under custody.