At the 350th traditional sit-in today (International Human Rights Day and 63th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) the Saturday Mothers have called on the government to find the perpetrators of human rights violations and unidentified murders.

They carried a banner saying “Perpetrators are known, where are the disappeared people,” in front of Galatasaray High School, in the center of Taksim and Istanbul. Mothers reminded the government of human rights.

Speaking at the sit in, IHD (Human Rights Association) Branch Secretary Ümit Efe pointed out that the 48 governments changed in Turkey in 63 years and remarked that a great number of unsolved murders and slaughters were committed by these governments. Efe underlined that; “All crimes were committed within the knowledge and support of senior government officials. Perpetrators of these crimes were granted promotion and commendation medals, while criminal complaints against these crimes were either not put in process or abandoned to dusty shelves of prosecution offices.”

Efe emphasized that basic human rights and freedoms were still considered in this territory as factors threatening the public safety. Efe added the followings; “We are a sign of human right abuses in this country whose relatives were killed or lost by security forces. We demand the opening of state archives and mass graves and the establishment of a DNA bank and database regarding disappeared people.”

Efe ended his speech calling on the prime minister to urgently sign the international treaty for the protection of every person.