No justice for Roboski for 11 years

The Justice for Roboski Initiative demanded an end to impunity during a protest that marked the 130th month after the massacre.

Members of the Justice for Roboski Initiative made a press statement in front of the Human Rights Association (IHD) Ankara office to mark the 130th month after the massacre in which Turkish fighter jets killed 34 people, 19 of whom were minors, in the Roboski village in the Uludere district in Şırnak province on 28 December 2011 night.

“The trial of perpetrators would mark a threshold to make sure that similar incidents will never take place again, and geography is not destiny,” IHD Ankara Branch Co-chair Fatin Kanat said.

Kanat spoke about the judicial process regarding the massacre, saying, "The Roboski Massacre is an 11-year-old open wound caused by a persistent policy of impunity. For the last 11 years, state authorities have remained silent, and there has been no justice. The last application submitted by the families has been pending in the Constitutional Court for two years.”

“Like the unsolved murders in the 1990s, the responsibility of officials is known but a veil has been cast on all murders and massacres. Promoting human rights, peace, justice, ending impunity and ensuring the accountability of those responsible would be a threshold to preventing similar incidents. Justice for Roboski is the key to opposing borders and to promote peace, democracy and a solution,” Kanat stated.

Kanat pointed out that those responsible for the massacre were protected by the state. He continued, “The judiciary took side with the rulers and the system against those oppressed, murdered and the victims. We can put an end to the injustice and impunity that developed after Roboski by coming together, struggling, not making people forget and building a system for peoples. The existence of wars, massacres and politics that do not seek a solution leads to hunger, economic chaos, expensiveness, war, injustice and lawlessness.”