Disappeared people remembered at anniversary of military coup
Disappeared people remembered at anniversary of military coup
Kenan Bilgin disappeared while in custody on September 12th 1994. Saturday Mothers, staging their 337th sit in in Istanbul, Galatasaray, underlined once more that disappearances of people while custody is a “state policy” and asked once again for perpetrators to be brought to justice.
‘What is the AKP government waiting for to prosecute the perpetrators’
Speaking at this week’s sit-in act, Fatma Kýrbayýr, sister of Cemil Kýrbayýr who disappeared while in custody at the beginning of the 12 September 1980 military coup period, underlined that the AKP government doesn’t take any step although having the power to bring the murderers to court. Kýrbayýr urged the government to release the remains of all disappeared people to their families and to identify and bring to justice the responsible of the disappearances.
Another demonstrator Kadriye Ceylan, mother of Tolga Baykal Ceylan who similarly disappeared while under custody, expressed that the Parliamentary Investigative Commission also established that Ceylan was disappeared while in custody but took no step forward. To the government, Ceylan asked “What are you waiting for to judge those who disappeared my son?”.
'We all have same stories because this is a state policy’
One other demonstrator Irfan Bilgin, brother of Kenan Bilgin who disappeared while in custody on September 12th 1994 said; 'We continue seeking for justice for 16 years. We all have same stories because this is a state policy. These photos of the disappeared people we are carrying are our honor, our identity. We will continue to fight for them. But, why is no step taken by the AKP government which pulls votes saying 'zero-tolerance to torture? ’.
Reading the press statement of the 337th week, lawyer Gülseren Yoleri remarked that disappearances in custody isn’t only a violation of rights of the victim, but also a lifetime torture for those remaining behind. Yoleri added that those who don’t reveal the truth by not implementing the law are also responsible of this crime against humanity as much as those who ordered the disappearances. Yoleri pointed out that the state still denies Kenan Bilgin disappeared while in custody although Ankara Public Prosecutor Selahattin Kemaloðlu stated to the ECHR that he was sure that Kenan Bilgin had disappeared while in custody and there are eye witnesses who had seen him at the Anti-Terror Department. Yoleri reminded that the ECHR unanimously sentenced Turkey for the disappearance of Kenan Bilgin while in custody and underlined that they demand the trial of the then Police Chief Orhan Taþanlar, Prime Minister Tansu Çiller and Director General of Public Security, Mehmet Apar whom they hold responsible for the fates of their relatives.
The weekly sit-in by IHD Diyarbakir branch and relatives of disappeared people has reached week 135. At the sit in were IHD administrators and members, representatives of unions affiliated to KESK, MEYA-DER, TUHAD-DER members of Peace Mothers Initiative, relatives of disappeared people and representatives of non-governmental organizations who also staged a sit-in for peace.
Making a speech before the sit-in action, IHD Diyarbakir Branch Secretary Raci Bilici underlined that the state has to reveal the perpetrators of disappearances in custody and murders by unknown committed within the knowledge of the state.
Mürsel Zeyrek
Bilici’s speech was followed by a disappearance story told by Islam Zeyrek, elder brother of Mürsel Zeyrek whose whereabouts have not been known since he was taken into custody by soldiers in Silopi district of Sirnak on 25 June 1994. Zeyrek told that the responsible of his brother’s disappearance is Lieutenant Serdar Öztürk who was in charge in Silopi in the term and a suspect of the current Ergenekon case, adding that the event took place within the knowledge of the then Prime Minister Tansu Çiller and President Süleyman Demirel and the Governor of the State of Emergency Region.
‘What is the AKP government waiting for to prosecute the perpetrators’
Speaking at this week’s sit-in act, Fatma Kýrbayýr, sister of Cemil Kýrbayýr who disappeared while in custody at the beginning of the 12 September 1980 military coup period, underlined that the AKP government doesn’t take any step although having the power to bring the murderers to court. Kýrbayýr urged the government to release the remains of all disappeared people to their families and to identify and bring to justice the responsible of the disappearances.
Another demonstrator Kadriye Ceylan, mother of Tolga Baykal Ceylan who similarly disappeared while under custody, expressed that the Parliamentary Investigative Commission also established that Ceylan was disappeared while in custody but took no step forward. To the government, Ceylan asked “What are you waiting for to judge those who disappeared my son?”.
'We all have same stories because this is a state policy’
One other demonstrator Irfan Bilgin, brother of Kenan Bilgin who disappeared while in custody on September 12th 1994 said; 'We continue seeking for justice for 16 years. We all have same stories because this is a state policy. These photos of the disappeared people we are carrying are our honor, our identity. We will continue to fight for them. But, why is no step taken by the AKP government which pulls votes saying 'zero-tolerance to torture? ’.
Reading the press statement of the 337th week, lawyer Gülseren Yoleri remarked that disappearances in custody isn’t only a violation of rights of the victim, but also a lifetime torture for those remaining behind. Yoleri added that those who don’t reveal the truth by not implementing the law are also responsible of this crime against humanity as much as those who ordered the disappearances. Yoleri pointed out that the state still denies Kenan Bilgin disappeared while in custody although Ankara Public Prosecutor Selahattin Kemaloðlu stated to the ECHR that he was sure that Kenan Bilgin had disappeared while in custody and there are eye witnesses who had seen him at the Anti-Terror Department. Yoleri reminded that the ECHR unanimously sentenced Turkey for the disappearance of Kenan Bilgin while in custody and underlined that they demand the trial of the then Police Chief Orhan Taþanlar, Prime Minister Tansu Çiller and Director General of Public Security, Mehmet Apar whom they hold responsible for the fates of their relatives.
The weekly sit-in by IHD Diyarbakir branch and relatives of disappeared people has reached week 135. At the sit in were IHD administrators and members, representatives of unions affiliated to KESK, MEYA-DER, TUHAD-DER members of Peace Mothers Initiative, relatives of disappeared people and representatives of non-governmental organizations who also staged a sit-in for peace.
Making a speech before the sit-in action, IHD Diyarbakir Branch Secretary Raci Bilici underlined that the state has to reveal the perpetrators of disappearances in custody and murders by unknown committed within the knowledge of the state.
Mürsel Zeyrek
Bilici’s speech was followed by a disappearance story told by Islam Zeyrek, elder brother of Mürsel Zeyrek whose whereabouts have not been known since he was taken into custody by soldiers in Silopi district of Sirnak on 25 June 1994. Zeyrek told that the responsible of his brother’s disappearance is Lieutenant Serdar Öztürk who was in charge in Silopi in the term and a suspect of the current Ergenekon case, adding that the event took place within the knowledge of the then Prime Minister Tansu Çiller and President Süleyman Demirel and the Governor of the State of Emergency Region.
