The village of Tavuklu (Xirbêmiriþka), in the province of Mardin, was burnt and evacuated in the 1990s. On May 3 it has been evacuated again, this time due to the arrest of the villagers. Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Mardin deputy co-chair Þaban Karakaþ said that the village that was once evacuated due to state oppression has now been evacuated due to the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) political operations.

Two families who had returned and settled down in the village in 2003 were taken into custody on May 3. Now in the village where most houses are ruined, even the mosque has been closed. Karakaþ added that about 5000 villages have been burnt and evacuated in the 1990s. “At the time villages were burnt and evacuated, houses were burnt. Now a village is being evacuated because of the cleansing political operations carried out by the AKP” he said.