QERS - Suna Karataş, a witness to the Digor Massacre, recalled the events at the time, describing the scene as “like the end of the world.” Pointing out that those responsible for the massacre have still not been held accountable 33 years later, Suna Karataş said: “The pain is still with us.”

 

The Digor Massacre, one of the many massacres carried out in Kurdistan throughout the history of the Republic of Turkey, took place 33 years ago. On August 14, 1993, thousands of people from more than 20 villages gathered in Nexşan village in Dîgor, Qers. They then set off toward Dîgor from four different directions, protesting pressure to join the village guard system, a food embargo and raids on homes. Two groups were forced to turn back after being stopped by the gendarmerie. Meanwhile, more than 3,000 people from the villages of Başko, Zibinî, Zixçî, Bacalı and Dilxêrî arrived by vehicle from the direction of Îdir. Police stopped them at the entrance to the district and ordered them out of their vehicles.Thousands of people, including children, young people and the elderly, then began walking in silence. Just minutes into the march, special forces units positioned behind the rocks opened fire on the crowd using heavy weapons. 

 

17 PEOPLE MASSACRED 

 

According to official figures, 17 people, including six children, were massacred in the attack, while 63 others were injured.

 

The victims were identified as Gülcan Çağdavul (8), Selvi Çağdavul (14), Yeter Kerenciler (13), Necla Geçener (14), Zarife Boylu (15), Erdal Buğan (17), Zeynep Çağdavul (19), Hacer Hacıoğlu (20), Suna Çidemal (21), Fatma Parlak (22), Faruk Aydın (27), Cemil Özvarış (39), Gıyasettin Çalışçı (41), Hasan Çağdavul (43), Süleyman Taş (47), Nurettin Orun (80), and Tütiye Talan (66).

 

CASE FILED THREE YEARS LATER

 

On August 15, the day after the incident, relatives of those massacred filed criminal complaints against those responsible for the massacre. Mahmut Alınak, then an SHP MP for Qers, and his colleagues also prepared a report on the incident and submitted it to then-Speaker of Parliament Hüsamettin Cindoruk. Cindoruk forwarded the report to the Ministry of Justice. The ministry then sent it to the Kars Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, initiating the legal proceedings. 

 

After a three-year preliminary investigation, the Digor Public Prosecutor’s Office transferred the case file to the Kars Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. Following its investigation, the prosecutor’s office filed charges on April 22, 1996, against eight special operations police officers serving with the Kars Police Department: Tuncay Yasa, İsmail Yıldız, Mustafa Demir, Yunus Alper, Sezai Özyurt, Atilla Yıldız, Suat Kaymak and Sıraç Birol. They were charged with “intentional killing” and “attempted intentional killing.” In their defence, the officers claimed that shots had first been fired from within the crowd and that a rocket-propelled grenade had been fired at them.

 

However, a crime scene investigation found no evidence other than spent shell casings from the weapons used by the special operations officers. After more than 40 hearings over several years, the court acquitted the police officers on February 24, 2006, accepting their claim of self-defence.

 

TURKEY CLOSED THE CASE, ECtHR RULED AGAINST IT

 

Following the march in which 17 people massacred, criminal investigations were launched against participants on charges of violating law No.2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations. Following the investigation, 160 people were prosecuted, but the case was later postponed under the conditional release law. Once all domestic legal remedies had been exhausted, the case was taken to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) that same year. In March 2007, the ECtHR found Turkey responsible for violating the “right to life”. However, requests for the police officers to be retried were never granted.

 

REMEMBERING THE DAY OF THE MASSACRE

 

While no action has been taken against those responsible for the massacre in the years since, witnesses have not forgotten what happened. Suna Karataş (47), a resident of Şewana Memka who was just 15 years old at the time of the massacre, recalled what she witnessed that day.

 

Suna Karataş said the day of the massacre remains vivid in her memory, recalling how they prepared for the march. She said her family initially refused to let her take part, saying “We heard that there was going to be a march in the village. My mother wanted to go with my two brothers, but she wouldn’t let me go. She said, ‘Two of the three children can go, while one stays home,’ and left me behind. My brother’s name was Ömer. Later, when the young women were also asked to join, three of us got on a bus. We went to Norşên village, where we danced the halay with women who had come from Dilxêrî and Nexşan villages. We then set off. as we approached Dîgor, a red vehicle blocked our way. A man from the vehicle approaches us holding a Quran and said, ‘Don’t go, they will kill you all.’ The day before, my mother had gone to Dîgor to do some shopping and told us she had seen tanks positioned behind the hills. But as young people, we were determined to go. We got out of the vehicle and started walking. We were carrying flags and banners. My uncle was with us too. He was shot in the leg by the special forces during the attack and is now disabled.”

 

Suna Karataş said they heard a serious of explosions coming from the front and middle of the marching group, describing how the scene suddenly turned into ‘hell’. Suna Karataş said: “Everyone started running in different directions. People in the crowd were screaming, ‘They’re killing us.’ The men ran toward Mêwrek village, with the special forces chasing after them. It was like the end of the world. Women, men, everyone was running for their lives. The whole area was covered in blood. My brother Ömer had taken shelter under a bridge. My uncle Zahir was wounded and when he tried to help, the special forces shot him in the leg, causing him to lose his leg.”

 

33 YEARS ON, THE PAIN IS STILL THERE

 

Suna Karataş, who witnessed the events as a child, recalled how the entire district was plunged into mourning in the aftermath of the massacre. Emphasizing that the massacre was followed by a policy of intimidation, with security forces carrying out repeated raids on their village, Suna Karataş continued: “When they raided the village, they would seize all the Kurdish language cassette tapes. They showed no regard for women or children. They would break down our doors and torture the men in the village in front of the women and children. There was no justice after the massacre either. No one was held accountable. Everyone was forced to leave. Because of the constant pressure, people had to abandon their homes, belongings, and livestock and move away. Those responsible for the massacre were never arrested. Instead, it was the people who were arrested and killed. Thirty three years on, our pain is still with us.”

 

‘WE WANT PEACE’

 

Suna Karataş said that both the Kurds and the Turks lost their lives during the years of conflict, adding that hopes for peace have grown since Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan launched the Peace and Democratic Society Process. Suna Karataş concluded: “We want this process to move in a positive direction. First, the prisons should be emptied and those in custody should be released. So much suffering has been endured. There have been arrests and deaths. I hope this law is enacted and that the process moves forward so that peace can be achieved. Kurdish should be recognized as an officer language, and it should be taught in schools so that our children can learn their own language and receive an education in it.  We want those who lay down their arms to be able to return, for everyone to go back home, and for peace to finally prevail.”