79-year-old Nefise Erkek is preparing to apply to the Human Rights Association (İHD) Diyarbakır Branch to find the remains of her son Miğdat Erkek, who was martyred in a clash in the countryside of the city in 1996.
Miğdat Erkek joined the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) in 1992 and was martyred in 1996 during a clash in the triangle area between the Lice and Kulp districts of Amed (Diyarbakır) and Genç district of Bingöl.
The family learned of their son's death through a book published in 2000. The book stated that Erkek's body had been left in Şatos Creek. However, the family was never able to recover the body.
According to years of research by the family, five guerrilla bodies were discovered by villagers in the Sarum Creek and reported to the gendarmerie. Eyewitnesses stated that the bodies had been buried on the banks of a small stream next to the Üçdamlar Police Station. A school has since been built on the site of the former police station.
Mother Nefise Erkek called for excavation work to be carried out in the area, saying, “I want my son to have a grave before I die.” The family is demanding that their son's remains be returned to them at a time when a resolution process and the search for peace are back on the agenda.
To this end, the Erkek family will file a complaint with the Amed branch of the Human Rights Association (İHD).
