Sixteen years searching for justice
Sixteen years searching for justice
The struggle for justice began by the relatives of the people who disappeared while in detention of state security forces, is 16 years old today. Tears of the mothers dominated the commemoration ceremony in Galatasaray on the 16th anniversary.
During the action organized with the slogan of an Ahmet Kaya song’s name 'Find me Mom', relatives of lost people, hugging the photographs of their brothers, husbands and relatives, once more demanded justice.
Coming together at Taksim Tramway Station, relatives of the disappeared walked to Galatasaray with a banner “We will never give up looking for you”. There was a flood of tears during the song’s play at the act which was also supported by a number of institution members and citizens. Candles were lit around and a carnation was left before each photograph of the lost people.
The relatives of the disappeared have gathered at the same place every Saturday and demanded further action for 16 years for the matter of disappearance in detention which began after the military coup on September 12 of 1980 and continued during the war years in Kurdistan.
Calling on the state authorities, relatives said ‘Enough now! Find the offenders and judge them’. Among the relatives who one by one expressed their feelings, Zübeyde Tepe, mother of Ferhat Tepe who was detained and murdered as a journalist of Ozgür Gündem newspaper, said the followings; “"My son was writing the truth. My son was murdered for writing the truth. The responsible of my son’s death is Korkmaz Tahma, Tansu Ciller, Mehmet Agar, Dogan Güres. Now one of the murderers is a columnist on Zaman journal. Is the journal not ashamed of this situation, doesn’t it ask him about the things he did? We are here for 16 years and we'll be here until the perpetrators are found. You shall firstly shed light on the crazy things in Kurdistan”.
Another relative Mikail Kýrbayýr; “We have been searching for justice for 16 years. Isn’t that enough now? Tell us the burial place of our relatives and catch the offenders and judge them”. Falling ill during the act, a mother Hanife Ana said the followings; “Our act, which began here 16 years ago with the sit-in act of Hasan Ocak’s family, is going to continue despite everything. We will continue our sit-in-act here until the offenders of each case are all taken to judgment. Shame on you! At least, give us their bones.”
The press statement of the action was read by Hayrettin Eren’s sister Ikbal Eren on behalf of the group. Eren said the followings; “The people you see on these photographs were taken from their beds at midnight hours and taken into custody. There were witnesses during their detentions and interrogations. He was taken into custody by the security forces who were moving with the infinite support of the state. We have tried all the ways to take the responsible to court and made an appeal to all authorities. We have called out to the governors from this square every week for 16 years to make ourselves heard. We were heard and listened by the world but the governors of the state turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to us. We promise our disappeared relatives that we will continue to be in Galatasaray and at areas until their offenders are found and judged in accordance with the universal law and until no more people are taken into custody. We promise them not to give up searching for them.”
Translation: Berna Ozgencil
During the action organized with the slogan of an Ahmet Kaya song’s name 'Find me Mom', relatives of lost people, hugging the photographs of their brothers, husbands and relatives, once more demanded justice.
Coming together at Taksim Tramway Station, relatives of the disappeared walked to Galatasaray with a banner “We will never give up looking for you”. There was a flood of tears during the song’s play at the act which was also supported by a number of institution members and citizens. Candles were lit around and a carnation was left before each photograph of the lost people.
The relatives of the disappeared have gathered at the same place every Saturday and demanded further action for 16 years for the matter of disappearance in detention which began after the military coup on September 12 of 1980 and continued during the war years in Kurdistan.
Calling on the state authorities, relatives said ‘Enough now! Find the offenders and judge them’. Among the relatives who one by one expressed their feelings, Zübeyde Tepe, mother of Ferhat Tepe who was detained and murdered as a journalist of Ozgür Gündem newspaper, said the followings; “"My son was writing the truth. My son was murdered for writing the truth. The responsible of my son’s death is Korkmaz Tahma, Tansu Ciller, Mehmet Agar, Dogan Güres. Now one of the murderers is a columnist on Zaman journal. Is the journal not ashamed of this situation, doesn’t it ask him about the things he did? We are here for 16 years and we'll be here until the perpetrators are found. You shall firstly shed light on the crazy things in Kurdistan”.
Another relative Mikail Kýrbayýr; “We have been searching for justice for 16 years. Isn’t that enough now? Tell us the burial place of our relatives and catch the offenders and judge them”. Falling ill during the act, a mother Hanife Ana said the followings; “Our act, which began here 16 years ago with the sit-in act of Hasan Ocak’s family, is going to continue despite everything. We will continue our sit-in-act here until the offenders of each case are all taken to judgment. Shame on you! At least, give us their bones.”
The press statement of the action was read by Hayrettin Eren’s sister Ikbal Eren on behalf of the group. Eren said the followings; “The people you see on these photographs were taken from their beds at midnight hours and taken into custody. There were witnesses during their detentions and interrogations. He was taken into custody by the security forces who were moving with the infinite support of the state. We have tried all the ways to take the responsible to court and made an appeal to all authorities. We have called out to the governors from this square every week for 16 years to make ourselves heard. We were heard and listened by the world but the governors of the state turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to us. We promise our disappeared relatives that we will continue to be in Galatasaray and at areas until their offenders are found and judged in accordance with the universal law and until no more people are taken into custody. We promise them not to give up searching for them.”
Translation: Berna Ozgencil
