Bayik: who fears the Truth Commission?
Bayik: who fears the Truth Commission?
In a piece published by KurdishInfo, Cemil Bayik of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) leadership council, writes about the issue of the establishment of a Truth Commission. Although the issue is currently on the agenda in Turkey as various groups and individuals involved in the protection of human rights and democracy are proposing such a step, Bayik points out thath "unfortunately the progress of these proposals has been blocked by the ruling Islamic AK party (AKP)."
Recalling the calls from Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan for the establishment of a Truth Commission Bayik underlines that "despite all the work that has been done on this issue" achieving this goal seems quite hard. To explain why Bayik points out that "when Mr Ocalan highlighted the necessity of establishing such a commission he pointed out certain important points. These measures will play a major role in the democratic solution of the Kurdish question."
The main problem seems to be the fact that many of those blocking the way to the establishment of a Truth Commission have clearly something to fear from the truth.
In January initiatives like the Civil Platform and others highlighted the views of victims of the so-called "Unknown Perpetrators" - although in truth the perpetrators are widely known.
"In the nineties, - writes Bayik - which we call the blood-soaked decade, thousands of villages were evacuated and millions of people were uprooted from their homeland and sent into exile. Tens of thousands of people were arrested and suffered torture. According to official figures 17 thousand people were murdered. Among those arrested and “disappeared” there were many intellectuals and community leaders. The President of the Republic and military commanders died under mysterious circumstances or were murdered. Such things as happened here could not have occurred anywhere else in the world. For these reasons the establishment of a Truth Commission is a vital step forward for the future for Turkey. We must open a clean sheet in the country’s history and take concrete steps so that the dark events that took place may be brought to light. Then steps must be taken so that those responsible will be brought to account."
In his conclusion Bayik writes that "the fundamental reason why they are afraid to establish a Truth Commission in Turkey is that they know, like Mehmet Agar, that they will also be buried beneath it."
Recalling the calls from Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan for the establishment of a Truth Commission Bayik underlines that "despite all the work that has been done on this issue" achieving this goal seems quite hard. To explain why Bayik points out that "when Mr Ocalan highlighted the necessity of establishing such a commission he pointed out certain important points. These measures will play a major role in the democratic solution of the Kurdish question."
The main problem seems to be the fact that many of those blocking the way to the establishment of a Truth Commission have clearly something to fear from the truth.
In January initiatives like the Civil Platform and others highlighted the views of victims of the so-called "Unknown Perpetrators" - although in truth the perpetrators are widely known.
"In the nineties, - writes Bayik - which we call the blood-soaked decade, thousands of villages were evacuated and millions of people were uprooted from their homeland and sent into exile. Tens of thousands of people were arrested and suffered torture. According to official figures 17 thousand people were murdered. Among those arrested and “disappeared” there were many intellectuals and community leaders. The President of the Republic and military commanders died under mysterious circumstances or were murdered. Such things as happened here could not have occurred anywhere else in the world. For these reasons the establishment of a Truth Commission is a vital step forward for the future for Turkey. We must open a clean sheet in the country’s history and take concrete steps so that the dark events that took place may be brought to light. Then steps must be taken so that those responsible will be brought to account."
In his conclusion Bayik writes that "the fundamental reason why they are afraid to establish a Truth Commission in Turkey is that they know, like Mehmet Agar, that they will also be buried beneath it."
