ASSOCIATION FOR SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT FOR RELATIVES OF DISAPPEARED PERSONS (YAKAY-DER)
Other goals of the association:
Activities of the Association:
Past Projects
The Center for Truth, Justice, Memory.
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RENCONTRES EURO-MÉDITERRANÉENNES DES FAMILLES DE DISPARUS
La Première Rencontre euro-méditerranéenne des familles de disparus s’est tenue en 2000 à Paris et a constitué l’acte fondateur de la Coalition euro-méditerranéenne contre les disparitions forcées. Face au succès de cette rencontre en terme d’échanges, la FEMED a décidé d’inclure cette activité dans son programme d’actions. Ainsi, en 2008 et 2009, la Fédération a organisé des Rencontres pour permettre aux associations de familles de disparus de la région d’échanger entre elles et d’approfondir les enjeux liés aux disparitions forcées, avec le concours d’experts internationaux.
La Deuxième rencontre euroméditerranéenne des familles de disparus sur le thème « La Convention internationale contre les disparitions forcées au défi des pays euroméditerranéens » a eu lieu les 12, 13 et 14 juin 2008 à Rabat (Maroc).
Plus d’une centaine de personnes y ont participé, en particulier des représentants d’associations de familles de disparu(e)s de la région euroméditerranéenne - Algérie, Bosnie Herzégovine, Chypre, Espagne, Irak, Liban, Libye, Maroc, Serbie, Syrie et Turquie - ainsi que des experts et des professeurs de droit international, des militants des droits de l’Homme et des organisations d’autres régions - AFAD, FEDEFAM, FIDH, ICTJ, ICMP, HRW, etc.
Les différents thèmes abordés au cours de cette conférence ont permis d’avancer plusieurs observations et suggestions relatives aux victimes de disparitions forcées et à leurs familles, ainsi qu’au mouvement des droits de l’Homme et à la communauté politique du bassin euro-méditerranéen.
Cette conférence très enrichissante a permis à des associations de rencontrer pour la première fois leurs homologues voisins ou plus lointains. Pendant ces trois jours ils ont pu discuter, échanger des informations et planifier des actions communes en vue de l’éradication des disparitions forcées dans la région méditerranéenne.
Grâce à cet évènement, la FEMED a formé de nombreux militants sur la Convention internationale pour la protection de toutes les personnes contre les disparitions forcées. Cette Convention, adoptée le 20 décembre 2006 par l’Assemblée Générale des Nations Unies, instrument qui permettra de lutter plus efficacement contre cette pratique. Elle entrera en vigueur après sa ratification par vingt pays. Les travaux de cette Deuxième rencontre euroméditerranéenne des familles de disparus se sont achevés par un appel à ratifier la Convention : l’Appel de Rabat.
Après la conférence, une délégation - composée de Nassera Dutour, Présidente de la FEMED, Rachid El Manouzi, Secrétaire Général de la FEMED, Boudris Belaid, représentant de la Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l’Homme, Eric Goldstein, représentant de la Coalition internationale contre les disparitions forcées et Moussa Salem, représentant du Comité de coordination des familles de disparus et des victimes de disparition au Maroc, a rencontré Monsieur Liddidi, Secrétaire Général du Ministère de la justice et Monsieur El Hajoui, Secrétaire Général de la Primature.
Afin de clôturer cette Deuxième rencontre euro-méditerranéenne des familles de disparus, le 16 juin 2008, la FEMED a tenu une conférence de presse dans les locaux de l’Organisation marocaine des droits humains (OMDH) pour présenter le déroulement de la conférence ainsi que que celui des rendez vous avec les autorités marocaines. C’est aussi dans ce cadre que l’Appel de Rabat a été présenté et diffusé à la presse.
Les associations de familles de disparus de toute la région ont participé à la rencontre: Algérie, Maroc, Liban, Bosnie, Kosovo, Serbie, Irak, Chypre, Espagne et Turquie. De plus, plusieurs ONG locales et internationales travaillant aux côtés de ces associations dans la lutte contre les disparitions forcées étaient présentes. De nombreux experts internationaux ont été invités à prendre la parole lors de cet événement. 120 personnes, dont 60 invités internationaux, ont ainsi participé à cette rencontre .
Du 11 au 13 décembre 2009 s’est tenu à Istanbul (Turquie), la Troisième rencontre euro-méditerranéenne des familles de disparus. Le thème de cette réunion était « justice transitionnelle et disparitions forcées ». Les commissions vérités sont employées à titre d’outils transitionnels et semi-juridiques dans des pays où de graves violations des droits de l’homme ont eu lieu. Pour la plupart des familles de disparus, il s’agit de l’une des solutions à examiner pour obtenir la Vérité. Dans cette idée, la rencontre a été organisée autour d’interventions aux dimensions théoriques et pratiques afin de former, d’informer et de servir de point de départ aux discussions. Suite à cette rencontre a eu lieu l’Assemblée Générale Ordinaire de la FEMED qui a réunit une quarantaine de participants.
Il est à souligner que cette activité a été organisée en partenariat avec les associations locales YAKAY-DER, Mères pour la paix, IHD, ainsi que le Centre International pour laJustice Transitionnelle. La réalisation de cet événement aurait été impossible sans le soutien d’Aim for Human Rights, l’Agence catalane pour la coopération et le développement (ACCD), la Fondation Soros, le Comité catholique contre la faim et pour le développement (CCFD) et la Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l’homme (FIDH).
Après la rencontre, une délégation composée de la FEMED et des associations turques de familles de disparus s’est rendue à Ankara afin de rencontrer les autorités : le Directeur des Affaires Etrangères du Ministère de la Justice, la Directrice du Conseil de l’Europe et des Droits de l’Homme au Ministère des Affaires Etrangères et le Vice Président de la Présidence des Droits de l’Homme faisant partie du Bureau du Premier Ministre. La délégation a porté à l’attention des représentants l’importance de signer et ratifier dans les plus brefs délais la Convention internationale pour la protection de toutes les personnes contre les disparitions forcées. Enfin, la FEMED a déclaré que la politique anti-terroriste de l’Etat ne doit pas servir de prétexte ou de caution aux autorités pour perpétrer des violations des droits de l’homme, et parmi celles-ci les disparitions forcées.
Le Conseil d’administration (CA), en concertation avec les membres du Bureau Exécutif élu par ce dernier, décide des orientations stratégiques de la Fédération euro-méditerranéenne contre les disparitions forcées (FEMED) et évalue les actions de celle-ci.
Le CA est composé au maximum de neuf membres et doit refléter une parité. Un siège est réservé à chacune des associations membres fondatrices de la Fédération. Il se réunit au moins une fois par an sur convocation de la Présidente.
Le CA de la FEMED s’est ainsi réuni :
Il est composé des représentants suivants:
Présidente, Membre du Bureau Exécutif Nassera Dutour - Collectif des Familles de Disparus en Algérie (CFDA) (Algérie)
Vice-Président, Membre du Bureau Exécutif Rachid El Manouzi - Association des Parents et Amis de Disparus au Maroc (APADM) (Maroc)
Secrétaire Général, Membre du Bureau Exécutif Wadih Al Asmar - Centre Libanais des Droits Humains (CLDH) (Liban)
Trésorière, Membre du Bureau Exécutif Annie France Berthod - SOS Disparus (Algérie)
Nezahat Teke - Mères pour la paix (Turquie)
Mohammad Kowthar - Al-Ata’a for Human Rights (Irak)
Adnane Bouchaïb - Association SOMOUD (Algérie)
Velat Demir - YAKAY-Der (Turquie)
Destan Berisha - Shpresimi / Hope Suhareka (Kosovo)
L’Assemblée Générale réunit toutes les associations membres de la FEMED et a lieu tous les trois ans. A cette occasion, les rapports moraux et financiers de la FEMED sont présentés et soumis à l’adoption des membres. C’est également lors de l’Assemblée Générale que sont présentées et les demandes d’adhésion de nouvelles organisations. De même, des travaux en groupe sous régionaux sont organisés afin de mettre en place des projets communs entre les différentes associations membres à une échelle sous-régionale. Enfin, cet évènement permet de resserrer les liens entre les associations membres de la Fédération et d’adopter le plan d’action biennal de la FEMED.
L’Assemblée Générale de la FEMED s’est réunie deux fois depuis la création de la FEMED : en décembre 2009 à Istanbul en Turquie et en novembre 2013 à Beyrouth au Liban.
L’Assemblée Générale de Beyrouth (2013)
Une trentaine de personnes ont pris part, à la deuxième Assemblée Générale ordinaire de la FEMED qui s’est déroulée à Beyrouth le 24 novembre 2013. Cette Assemblée Générale s’est tenue suite à la Quatrième rencontre euro-méditerranéenne des associations de familles de disparus qui s’est tenue les 23 et 24 novembre 2013.
Dans ce cadre, les rapports moraux et financiers de la FEMED, couvrant la période décembre 2009 – décembre 2012 ont été présentés et adoptés par les membres. Le plan d’actions pour la période 2014-2016 a également été adopté.
Les élections des membres du conseil d’administration ainsi que ceux du bureau exécutif ont eu lieu.
L’Assemblée Générale d’Istanbul (2009)
Une quarantaine de personnes ont pris part, à la première Assemblée Générale ordinaire de la FEMED qui s’est déroulée à Istanbul le 14 décembre 2009. Cette Assemblée Générale s’est tenue suite à la Troisième rencontre euro-méditerranéenne des familles de disparus qui avait eu lieu du 11 au 13 décembre 2009. Dans ce cadre, les rapports moraux et financiers de la FEMED, couvrant la période mai 2007 – octobre 2009 ont été présentés et adoptés par les membres. Le plan d’actions pour la période 2010-2012 a également été adopté. Lors de cette Assemblée Générale, les membres fondateurs ont accueilli au sein de la FEMED 19 nouvelles organisations originaires de tout le pourtour méditerranéen:
Découvertes de fosses communes en Turquie
05 JANVIER 2011 | PAR MAXIME-AZADI
Les ossements d'au moins 12 personnes, pour la plupart des civiles, ont été découverts dans une fosse commune au Kurdistan de Turquie, à l'occasion d'une enquête sur le sort de Kurdes portés disparus depuis des années 1990. Plus de 30 fosses communes ont été découvertes jusqu'à présent, selon les organisations des droits de l'homme.
Neuf jeunes avaient quitté leurs familles en 1999 pour rejoindre les rangs du Parti des Travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK) dans la région de Bitlis, mais ces jeunes sans armes, tués par l'armée turque, ont été trouvés 10 ans après dans un terrain de décharge publique, une atrocité déniée par les autorités jusqu'à ce jour.
Mais pendant une enquête, saisi par des familles de disparus, sur 36 combattants disparus du PKK, le procureur de Mutki, une ville de la province de Bitlis, peuplée de Kurdes, a ordonné mercredi le 5 janvier le lancement de recherches dans un terrain vague servant de décharge publique à la sortie du bourg.
EXECUTION EXTRAJUDICIAIRE
Les corps de douze personnes, dont neuf jeunes sans armes et trois guérillas du PKK, ont été exhumés dans la première zone où des excavations ont été effectuées, selon l'Association des droits de l'homme (IHD). "Les ossements ont été mis en sécurité", a déclaré de son coté le président du barreau de Bitlis, Enis Gül, qui était présent sur les lieux en qualité d'observateur.
"Pour le moment des excavations ont été effectuées sur une seule zone. Nous avons faits des recours pour différents lieux. Mais on ne sait pas encore s'il y aura des nouvelles excavations" a souligné Serdar Celebi, l'avocat membre d'IHD. La délégation d'IHD présente sur les lieux a qualifié la découverte de cette fosse commune d"exécutions extrajudiciaires"
UNE POLITIQUE DE L'ETAT
Des fouilles similaires ont abouti à l'exhumation en 2009 d'ossements humains et de vêtements dans la province de Sirnak, ville kurde. Elles ont conduit à l'ouverture en septembre du procès de sept prévenus, dont un colonel de gendarmerie, accusés d'avoir participé aux exécutions sommaires de 20 personnes dans les années 1990. Plusieurs plaintes ont été déposées par des familles de disparus et l'Association des droits de l'homme contre les anciens dirigeants turcs, dont l'ancien président turc Suleyman Demirel, l'ancien premier ministre Tansu Ciler, à la suite des aveux de Atilla Kiyat, vice-amiral d'escadre en retraite. "Les meurtres politiques non élucidés (faili meçhul en turc) étaient une politique de l'Etat entre les années 93 et 97" avait-il dit.
PLUS DE 30 FOSSES COMMUNES DECOUVERTES
Au moins 31 fosses communes ont été découvertes par les organisations de défense des droits de l'homme et les habitants de la région kurde avec l'aide de PKK. Les habitants ont découvert en septembre 2010 deux fosses communes à Diyarbakir, chef lieu de la région kurde, où des vêtements et des ossements de membres du PKK avaient été trouvés. D'après des témoins, les corps ont été brulés et abandonnés par l'armée après des violents combats entre 1993 et 1998 près de Zera, un village dans la région de Diyarbakir. Mais la justice n'a pas encore ordonné pour des travaux d'exhumation.
TEMOIGNAGE SUR LES ATROCITES
Onze autres corps, tous des membres du PKK, ont été exhumés le 9 juin 2010 dans un village de Gercus, une ville de la province de Batman. Ils avaient été tués en 1995 lors d'un affrontement avec l'armée turque. "L'armée turc a attaqué aux quinze guérillas avec des milliers de soldats, appuyés par des tanks, avions de combats et des hélicoptères. Le combat a duré pendant plusieurs heures et au début, quatre guérillas ont perdu la vie. Ces derniers ont été trainé, puis écraser par des tanks. Des hélicoptères de type Cobra ont été dépêchées de la ville de Sirnak, et onze guérillas ont perdu la vie au bout de 11 heures de combat" avait-il dit Numan Amed, un témoin, combattant du PKK. Son témoignage avait permis la découverte de la fosse commune et l'identification des corps. Mais en total quinze guérillas kurdes ont perdu la vie et ils ont été enterrés dans trois différents lieux, selon Amed. "Sari Selim, un guérilla comandant de la région Mardin, a perdu aussi sa vie lors de cet affrontement. Sa tête a été coupée par un soldat et son corps sans tête a été trainé par terre attaché derrière un véhicule militaire dans les villages Silebin, Midelbe et Baminire de Gercus " avait poursuivi le témoin.
RUISSEAU DES BOUCHERS
La Turquie a connue les fosses communes en 1989, révélée en par un journaliste kurde. Kasaplar Deresi (Ruisseau des Bouchers), un lieu de décharge de l'armée, dans la province de Siirt, a été la première fosse commune découverte, dans la quelle neuf personnes ont été exhumées selon les autorités, mais les noms d'au moins 73 autres personnes enterrées dans cette fosse commune ont été révélés. Les guérillas tuées lors des affrontements ou des gens enlevés par les forces de l'ordre ont été jeté avec leurs vetements à Kasaplar Deresi, parfois par des véhicules d'ordures, selon des témoins. Plus de 100 corps qui se trouvent dans cette fosse commune, attendent l'exhumation depuis plus de 20 ans.
http://blogs.mediapart.fr/blog/maxime-azadi/050111/decouvertes-de-fosses-communes-en-turquie
Practices of Enforced Disappearances inTurkey
Enforced Disappearance has always been one of most grave practices of cruelty implemented in Turkey, both by leaders of the Ottoman Empire, particularly by officers of İttahat and Terakki (party of Union and Progress), and continuing after the founding of the Republic. However, the use of disappearances as a systemic violation of rights dates to 1990‘s Kurdish War. Although enforced disappearance was one of the strategies used to eliminate dissidence and socialist politics in the wake of the September 12th, 1980 coup, it wasn’t until the war of 1992-1996 where it was implemented in a systemic scale in Kurdish cities. The ‘total war’ strategy adopted by the government at the time necessitated a state consensus on fighting not only the guerilla forces, but a much wider public, assumed to support the guerrillas. The concept of ‘total war’, beyond including previously existent institution of security -special operations, village guards and the gendarmerie- also led to the creation of independent counter-guerrilla forces. PKK informants working with the counter-guerilla forces, as well as JITEM (Gendarmerie Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism) -whose existence has never been officially acknowledged despite existing in reports of TBMM and officials- became marshaled the dirty total-war.
Along with extrajudicial killings -also known as unsolved murders- and forced migration, enforced disappearances constituted the most important systematic violation of rights during the period. The term used by human rights organizations and activists in Turkey for enforced disappearance has been “disappearance under custody”, as victims were generally detained at their home or in public, with witnesses, by military or police forces. In some cases, the victims were summoned to the battalion headquarters or the police department and appeared, never to be heard from again. To this day, there isn’t a complete list documenting victims of enforced disappearance after 1980. Despite important work by human rights activists, the prohibiting acts by the government, and lack of coordination amongst the rights groups has prevented reporting of a precise number. The estimates show that there have been 1000-1500 cases of enforced disappearance.
So, what are the challenges of working against enforced disappearance? The biggest problem is the statute of limitations. Even though the new Turkish Penal Code of 2005 introduced the concept of “crimes against humanity”, enforced disappearance is not included in this definition.. Furthermore, crimes that were committed before 2005 are judged according to old penal code, having a statute of limitations of 20 years. This means that if the prosecutor did not take the steps which suspend the statute of limitations, in the case of a person that disappeared in 1993 runs out in 2013, and the case is dismissed. There has yet to be an institutional response to the objections raised by relatives, and human rights organizations regarding the categorization of enforced disappearance outside ‘crimes against humanity’. Therefore, the threat of statute of limitations is a real danger for a majority of the cases, most having been committed in mid-nineties.
Also imperative is the careful protection of those who testify in cases of enforced disappearance, and their inclusion in witness protection programs if necessary. The importance of this subject became obvious in the trial of Temizöz et al, a landmark for enforced disappearances and unsolved murders, started in 2009 in Diyarbakır Specially Authorized Court. Witness testimonies are critical in indicting Colonel Cemal Temizöz, Kamil Atak, the head of village guards, and accomplices in forming a systematic death troop in Cizre district, actions including murder by torture, enforced disappearance, executions in the streets and extortion. Unfortunately, some of these witnesses had to withdraw their testimonies as they were not included in the witness protection program, and had reasonable fear for their lives. As can be observed across the world, this type of case relies heavily on witnesses and as such, witness protections programs are crucial in encouraging both current and future witnesses.
Another problem is the difficulties faced by the prosecution in the processes following the completion of the criminal investigation. Petitions are not taken seriously, the cases are being closed rapidly for ‘lack of evidence’ and prosecutors declare nolle prosequi after an inadequate investigation, all this despite multiple attempts by relatives at different prosecution offices. For example, prosecutors inquire to the gendarmerie or police offices where the very disappearance took place to confirm whether such an event happened there or not. Of course, to close the case, these offices claim that such an event did not take place. Even the method of inquiry shows that state is not willing to resolve these cases by conducting an adequate investigation.
Also, lawyers who try to open up these cases and follow their client’s files seriously are being threatened. These lawyers have been threatened in cities where they live and sometimes in the courthouse by blunt suspects, even during the very trial, in front of the judges, as it happened in the Temizöz case. The fact that architects of the enforced disappearan
ce continue to act with such bluntness deepens the doubts about the possibility of a fair trial and hurts the relatives of victims once more. As they do not see any attempt from judicial processes to establish their sense of justice, the relatives of disappeared people become more and more desperate, far from the recognition and recovery from their pain. Many relatives have been threatened, mistreated, and tortured by the police forces and faced charges for their inquiry, the state continues to discourage, if not render impossible the search for victims. Despite all these difficulties, the relatives of the disappeared have been coming together for several years under the name “Mothers of Saturday”, continuing their fight for justice in İstanbul, Diyarbakır, Cizre and Batman.
Another important issue is the KCK arrests of the last four years that deaden any hope for fair judicial process regarding enforced disappearances and accountability of perpetrators. In KCK trials thousands of activists, non-governmental organization administrators and lawyers are facing groundless charges and put in prisons because of inadequate evidences that connect them with PKK. At the moment, there are approximately 7500 in prison, mostly Kurdish politicians, NGO administrators, journalists, lawyers or members of political parties. These people are mainly the journalists who investigate enforced disappearances, lawyers who follow cases regarding the disappeared and non-governmental organization administrators and members who support them. At Yakay-Der, many of our members and administrators have also been incarcerated in the KCK trials. This situation damages seriously the credibility of a government who declares that it is ready to confront the past and judge systematic rights violations. Furthermore, the inadequate judiciary processes betray the expectation for justice by the victimized.
Finally, it is of vital importance that the state officials that committed crimes against humanity during the 90’s are identified and prosecuted for a genuine effort of coming to terms with the past, especially during this recent “peace process”. It is known that a dialogue between the Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and the representatives of the Turkish Republic has been going on and that it is an important step towards peaceful and democratic resolution of the Kurdish problem. However, the first and foremost important condition of this peaceful and democratic resolution of the conflict is the recognition and restitution of past injustices. This is vital both for guaranteeing that they will never happen again and establishing a “never again” political culture and for compensating, as much as possible, for the grieve that a lot of people suffered being subject to grave human rights violations. Today, we still live side by side with the perpetrators of the contra-guerrilla war and crimes against humanity. These perpetrators, commanders, military officers, village guards, informants or police officers, continue their lives as “accredited” state officials, businessmen or political figures. Although there are a very few court cases that are pursued during the last years, these are very insufficient and due processes are very slow. For all these reasons, the current “peace process” should definitely include the accountability of the perpetrators in order to restitute a feeling of justice in the eyes of the victims; otherwise, the Kurdish community will continue to hold a disbelief in peace.
I wanted to outline the obstacles in front of an effective investigation that could lead to justice, and present the current legal situation. I wouldn’t want this negative summary to be interpreted as a dismissal of the struggle by rights organizations, and most importantly, by the victims’ relatives. It is thanks to this experience and years of stubborn struggle by organizations such as Yakay-Der whom I represent that we have made some progress where just fifteen years ago, all was dismissed with a “such a thing did not happen”. We obligated Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to meet Saturday Mothers. I believe that we should keep the same pressure alive for the “peace process”. The peace process, without taking into account the victims’ demands, prosecuting the perpetrators and making publicly known the truth about the past through the establishment of a Truth Commission, will be inadequate to establish peace and justice. Our struggle is to overcome this difficult task. Therefore, despite the difficulties that I outlined, I believe that one day the state will have to recognize all disappearances and apologize, the public who seems disinterested will start discussing and criticizing this shameful practice and those perpetrators of this frightening crime against humanity will be held accountable. Just as people did in Argentina, Yugoslavia and South Africa, I believe that we will succeed.
Velat Demir
President of YAKAY-DER
ممارسات الأختفاء القسري في تركيا
الأختفاء القسري كان دائما واحد من أكثر ممارسات القسوة الخطيرة التي نفذت في تركيا, من قبل قادة السلطنة العثمانية, تحديداً ضباط حركة الأتحاد والترقي, وأستمرت حتى بعد تأسيس الجمهورية. لكن تاريخ استخدام الأختفاء القسري كخرق ممنهج للحقوق يعود الى الحرب الكردية في 1990. كما كان الأختفاء القسري أحد الأستراتيجيات التي أستخدمت لتصفية المعارضين والسياسيين الإشتراكيين في أعقاب إنقلاب 12 سيبتيمبر, 1980, ولم ينفذ الأختفاء القسري بشكل ممنهج في المدن الكردية حتى الحرب الممتدة بين 1992-1996. لم تستلزم سياسة " الحرب الشاملة" التي إعتمدتها الحكومة في ذاك الوقت محاربة المتمردين المسلحين فقط, بل قاعدة شعبية أوسع بحجة أنها تدعم المتمردين. مفهوم "الحرب الشاملة" كان مؤسسة واسعة تشمل في السابق قوات الأمن – قسم المهمات الخاصة, حراس القرى والجاندرما – أدى أيضا إلى إنشاء قوات مستقلة لمكافحة حرب العصابات. المخبرين المتواجدين في صفوف حزب العمال الكردستاني الذين يعملون مع قوات مكافحة حرب العصابات, وكذلك إستخبارات الدرك المعنية بمكافحة الإرهاب "JITEM " الذين لم يتم الأعلان عن وجودهم رسمياً عالرغم من وجودهم في تقارير مجلس الأمة الأكبر أو البرلمان التركي والمسؤولين وبذلك بدأت الحرب الشاملة القذرة.
بالإضافة إلى عمليات القتل خارج نطاق القضاء – والمعروفة أيضاً بعمليات القتل التي لم تحل- والهجرة القسرية, شكلت الإختفاءات القسرية أهم الخروقات للحقوق خلال الفترة. إستخدم المصطلح من قبل منظمات حقوق الإنسان والنشطاء في تركيا لأن الأختفاء القسري كان " إختفاء تحت الوصاية", كما تم احتجاز الضحايا عموما في منازلهم أو في الأماكن العامة، مع شهود عيان، من قبل قوات الجيش أو الشرطة. في بعض الحالات تم إستدعاء الضحايا إلى مقر الكتيبة أو قسم الشرطة ولاحقا لا يسمع أي شيْ عنهم. إلى يومنا هذا لا توجد قائمة كاملة بأسماء الضحايا الذين تعرضوا للإختفاء القسري بعد 1980. بالرغم من الجهد المهم المبذول من قبل نشطاء حقوق الإنسان, ألا أن الإجراءات الحكومية الناهية وعدم وجود تنسيق بين الفرق الحقوقية حرمت من الإبلاغ عن العدد الدقيق. التقديرات التي تشير إلى حالات الإختفاء القسري تتراوح بين 1000-1500 حالة.
إذاً ما هي التحديات التي تواجه العمل ضد الإختفاء القسري؟ المشكلة الأكبر هي قانون التقادم. رغم أن قانون العقوبات التركي الجديد لعام 2005 أدخل مفهوم "جرائم ضد الإنسانية", والأختفاء القسري ليس مشمولا تحت هذا المسمى , وعلاوة على ذلك، يتم الحكم على الجرائم التي ارتكبت قبل عام 2005 وفقا لقانون العقوبات القديم، وجود قانون التقادم من 20 عاما. هذا يعني أنه إذا لم يتخذ المدعي العام الخطوات التي تلغي قانون التقادم, في حالة شخص مختفي في عام 1993 فأنه يتم رفض القضية في 2013. لم تكن هناك استجابة مؤسساتية للإعتراضات التي أثارها أقارب الضحايا، ومنظمات حقوق الإنسان بشأن تصنيف الاختفاء القسري خارج 'جرائم ضد الإنسانية'. ولذلك، فإن التهديد من قانون التقادم هو الخطر الحقيقي لغالبية الحالات،لأن معظمها ارتكبت في منتصف التسعينات.
من الواجب حماية أولئك الذين يشهدون في حالات الاختفاء القسري ، وإدراجهم في برامج حماية الشهود إذا لزم الأمر.
أهمية هذا الموضوع ظهرت بشكل جلي في المحاكمة المسماة " "Temizöz et alوتعد هذه المحاكمة مَعلَماً لحالات الإختفاء القسري والقتل التي لم تُحل, بدأت في 2009 في محكمة دياربكر المفوضة الخاصة , الشهادات الحاسمة للشهود في توجيه الاتهام إلى العقيد جمال تيميزوز، كامل اتاك، رئيس حراس القرى, ، والمتواطئين معهم في تشكيل قوات الموت الممنهج في مقاطعة جيزره، والإجراءات بما في ذلك القتل عن طريق التعذيب، والاختفاء القسري، والإعدام في الشوارع والابتزاز. للأسف، بعض هؤلاء الشهود اضطروا إلى سحب شهاداتهم لأنهم لم يكونوا مدرجين في برنامج حماية الشهود، وكان خوفهم على حياتهم منطقي. من الملحوظ في جميع أنحاء العالم، وهذا النوع من القضايا يعتمد اعتمادا كبيرا على الشهود على هذا النحو، برامج حماية الشاهد يشكل عاملا حاسما في تشجيع الشهود الحاليين والمستقبليين.
مشكلة أخرى وهي الصعوبات التي تواجهها النيابة عقب عمليات التحقيق. لا تؤخذ الألتماسات على محمل الجد, يتم إغلاق القضايا لعدم كفاية الأدلة وأعضاء النيابة العامة يعلنون وقفاً جزئياً بعد تحقيق غير كافي, كل هذا رغم المحاولات المتعددة من قبل أقارب الضحايا في النيابات المختلفة. على سبيل المثال, مدعي النيابة يوجهون إستفسار لمكاتب الجاندرما ومخافر الشرطة للتاكد من مصداقية وقوع حدث معين في تلك المنطقة من عدم وقوعه. بالتأكيد, من أجل إغلاق القضية, تدعي هذه المكاتب إن مثل هذه الحدث لم يقع على الإطلاق. وحتى آلية التحقيق المتبناة من قبل الحكومة لا تساعد في إجراء تحقيق شامل.
أيضا, حتى المحامين الذين يحاولون فتح هذه القضايا وتعقب ملفات موكليهم بجدية يكونون تحت التهديد. هؤلاء المحامين تم تهديدهم في المدن التي يسكنونها وحتى في قاعات المحكمة من قبل المشتيبه بهم, حتى خلال المحاكمة ذاتها, في حضور القضاة كما حدث في قضية " تيميزوز". حقيقة أن المخططين لعمليات الإختفاء القسري مستمرين بطريقتهم الفظة معمقين الشكوك حول إحتمال الحصول على محاكمة عادلة و مستمرون بأيذاء أقارب الضحايا مرة اخرى. كما أنهم لا يرون أي محاولة من خلال العملية القضائية لتعزيز إحساسهم بالعدالة, أقارب المختفين في حيرة متزايدة, بعيدا عن الأعتراف بوجعهم أو أية محاولة لمداواته. تعرض العديد من الأقارب للتهديد, وسوء المعاملة والتعذيب من قبل قوات الشرطة وواجهوا تهماً لقيامهم بمتابعة التحقيق, بالرغم من هذه المصاعب كلها, فأن أقارب المختفين أجتمعوا لسنوات تحت إسم " أمهات السبت", مستمرين بنضالهم في سبيل تحقيق العدالة في إسطنبول, ودياربكر, جيزره و باتمان.
مسألة هامة أخرى هي الاعتقالات " ك ج ك " في السنوات الأربعة الأخيرة التي أماتت أي أمل لعملية قضائية عادلة بشأن حالات الاختفاء القسري ومساءلة مرتكبيها. في محاكمات آلاف نشطاء ال "ك ج ك"، ومديري المنظمات غير الحكومية والمحامين يواجهون تهما لا اساس لها وتم زجهم في السجون بسبب عدم كفاية الأدلة التي ربطتها بحزب العمال الكردستاني. في الوقت الراهن، هناك ما يقرب من 7500 في السجن، ومعظمهم من السياسيين الأكراد، ومديري المنظمات غير الحكومية والصحفيين والمحامين أو أعضاء في أحزاب سياسية. هؤلاء الناس هم أساسا من الصحفيين الذين يحققون في حالات الاختفاء القسري، والمحامين من يلاحق القضايا المتعلقة بالمختفين ورؤساء التنظيمات غير الحكومية والأعضاء الذين يدعمونهم, العديد من أعضاءنا ومدراءنا مسجونون في محاكمات كي سي كي في( ياكاي دير). تضر هذه الحالة بشكلٍ خطير بمصداقية الحكومة التي تعلن أنها مستعدة لمواجهة الماضي ولمقاضاة الانتهاكات المنهجية لحقوق الإنسان. بالإضافة إلى أن عمليات القضاء غير الوافية تخدع توقعات الضحايا بتحقيق العدالة.
أخيراً, من الأهمية الحيوية أن يتم تحديد موظفي الدولة الذين ارتكبوا جرائم بحق الإنسانية وأن يحاكموا كجزء من جهدٍ حقيقي للمصالحة مع الماضي, خاصة خلال "عملية السلام" الأخيرة. من المعروف أن الحوار بين القائد الكردي عبد الله أوجلان وممثلي الجمهورية التركية مستمر وأنه خطوة هامة لتحقيق حل سلمي وديمقراطي للمسألة الكردية. لكن الشرط الأكثر أهمية لهذا الحل السلمي والديمقراطي للصراع هو الاعتراف والتعويض عن الظلم السابق. هذا حيوي لضمان أن هذا الظلم لن يقع ثانيةً ولتأسيس ثقافة "لن يحدث ثانيةً" وللتعويض, قدر الإمكان, عن الأسى الذي عانى منه الكثير من الناس لتُدفن خروقات حقوق الإنسان. نعيش اليومَ جنباً إلى جنب مع جناة الحرب ضد قوات حزب العمال ومرتكبي الجرائم ضد الإنسانية. هؤلاء الجناة, من قادة, ضباطٍ عسكريين, حرسِ قرى, مخبرين وضباط شرطة, يكملون حياتهم كموظفي دولة "مفوضين" أو كرجال أعمال أو شخصياتٍ سياسية. رغم وجود بعض القضايا التي تتم متابعتها في المحاكم في السنوات الأخيرة, تبقى هذه القضايا غير كافية والإجراءات القانونية المرافقة لها بطيئة جداً. لكل هذه الأسباب, لا بد أن تتضمن "عملية السلام" محاسبةَ الجناة في سبيل رد الشعور بالعدالة في أعين الضحايا؛ وإلا فإن المجتمع الكردي سيبقى محافظاً على عدم ثقته بالسلام.
أردتُ أن أحدد العوائق التي تقف في طريق تحقيقٍ فعال قد يقود إلى العدالة, ويخدم الحالة القانونية الحالية. لا أريد لهذا الموجز السلبي أن يُفهم على أنه رفضٌ لنضال المنظمات الحقوقية, أو لأقارب الضحايا. بفضل خبرة سنوات من الكفاح العنيد من قبل منظمات ك (ياكاي دير) التي أمثلها, قطعنا شوطاً في موضوع كان يُرفض قطعياً قبل خمسة عشر عاماً بعبارة "لم يحدث شيء كهذا قَط". أجبرنا رئيس الوزراء رجب طيب إردوغان على لقاء "أمهات السبت". أعتقد أننا يجب أن نحافظ على الضغط من أجل "عملية السلام". ستكون عملية السلام غير وافية لتحقيق السلام والعدالة إن لم تأخذ في الاعتبار مطالب الضحايا ولم تلاحق الجناة عبر إعلان حقيقة الماضي على الملأ عبر تأسيس لجنة للكشف عن الحقائق. نضالنا هو لأجل التغلب على هذه المهمة الصعبة. لهذا, ورغم الصعوبات التي ذكرتها, أؤمن أن الدولة ستعترف يوماً ما بعمليات الاختفاء القسري هذه وتعتذر عنها, سيبدأ الناس الذين يبدون لا مبالين الآن بمناقشة وانتقاد هذه الممارسة المخزية, وستتم محاسبة أولئك الجناة الذين ارتكبوا جرائم بحق الإنسانية. مثلما فعل الناس في الأرجنتين, يوغوسلافيا وجنوب أفريقيا, أؤمن بأننا سننجح.
Relatives Bury Two More Victims of Turkey’s ‘Enforced Disappearances’
By Uzay Bulut 26/1/2014
Relatives and activists gathered for the funeral on Thursday. Photo: Benim Annem Cumartesi/Facebook (the Saturday Mothers of Turkey)
ANKARA, Turkey – Relatives and activists gathered last week to bury the remains of Nurettin and Nejat Yalcinkaya, who were among hundreds of victims of Turkey’s ‘enforced disappearances’ in the 1990s.
Nurettin Yalcinkaya, father of two and a shopkeeper, and his uncle, Nejat Yalcinkaya, father of five and a worker at Kiziltepe Municipality, died after being detained by JITEM (Turkish Gendarmerie Intelligence and Anti-Terror Unit) in 1995, said Erdal Kuzu, head of the Mardin Branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD).
Their funeral last Thursday was attended by relatives, members of the Saturday Mothers of Turkey who have gathered every Saturday in Istanbul since 1995 to demand information on their missing family members, activists of the Association of Solidarity and Assistance for the Families of Missing Persons (Yakay-Der) and representatives from IHD.
“We were looking for the bones of those two souls for 19 years. Thousands of people have been looking for the bones of their loved ones for years. This is the picture of the human rights record of Turkey,” Maside Ocak, member of the IHD’s Commission of the Enforced Disappearances, said in her speech at the funeral.
Kuzu told Rudaw that the bones of the two men were found in a water well in 2008.
“The bones were found during an excavation in a water-well in 2008 in the village of Katarlı which was emptied by the Turkish state between 1993 and 1995. The members of the Yalcinkaya family sought legal help from the local prosecutors in 1995 but the prosecutors dismissed the investigation. In 2008, another investigation was launched for all the enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in the province of Mardin. And in 2013, the forensic medicine institution was finally able to identify who the bones belonged to,” Kuzu said.
“We have been able to find there have been at least 55 cases of enforced disappearances in Mardin alone. And we have been able to locate six of them in mass graves,” Kuzu added.
“The state knows where, when, how and by whom all those people were killed,” Kuzu said. “The biggest obstacle in our struggle to find the bones of the disappeared people is that the state does not sufficiently share the knowledge it has concerning the enforced disappearances.”
The Turkish parliament has published a report that speaks of 17,000 unidentified murders in Turkey, activists said.
“We think that the estimated number of enforced disappearances is between 1,500 and 2,000, but we do not know th e exact number because we have not been able to enter many Kurdish villages due to security concerns,” Velat Demir, head of Yakay-Der, told Rudaw.
New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its 2014 World Report that great obstacles remain in securing justice for victims of abuses by police, military, and state officials in Turkey.
“The lifting of the statute of limitations for the prosecution of torture was a positive element in the April reform bill, though prosecution of unlawful killings by state perpetrators is still subject to a 20-year time limit, raising concerns about impunity for abuses committed in the early 1990s,” the report said.
- See more at: http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/turkey/26012014#sthash.llaJoWFu.dpuf
21 July 2013 /İPEK ÜZÜM, İSTANBUL
Relatives of victims of forced disappearance while in official custody during the dark era of the 1990s have been waiting for decades for an explanation of the fate of their family members who disappeared and they want to see justice served as soon as possible.
The last half-century in Turkey was marked by widespread and grave human rights violations in the aftermath of military coups and atrocities related to the ongoing Kurdish question, and in particular during the 1990s, the period known as the “dark era.” Thousands of individuals were abducted, forcibly disappeared or fell victim to unsolved murders for political reasons during this period. For three to four decades, many families have suffered a seemingly endless wait for their loved ones and they experience what they describe as immense pain over the disappearance of their relatives.
A recent report by the Center for Truth, Justice and Memory titled “Zorla Kaybetmeler ve Yargının Tutumu” (Enforced Disappearances and the Conduct of the Judiciary) indicates that at least 1,353 persons in southeastern regions of Turkey have disappeared since the Sept. 12, 1980 coup, the point that is identified in the report as the beginning of a period of illegal state-originated activities in Turkey. The report states that many paramilitary, clandestine structures within the state or military resorted to illegal acts as part of Turkey's counter-terrorism strategy during the 15-year Emergency Rule Region (OHAL) period in the Southeast. The report indicates that the bodies of 67 percent of the victims of enforced disappearance have not been found, 25 percent of the victims' bodies were found and delivered to their families and another 8 percent of the victims' bodies were found but their remains have not been returned to their families.
Solidarity Association for Bereaved Families (YAKAY-DER) Chairman Velat Demir, who spoke with Sunday's Zaman, says the data, testimonies and clues acquired so far about the victims of enforced disappearance clearly show state-linked dark forces as the perpetrators. Demir stated: “The cases of enforced disappearance based on political reasons during the 1990s were the result of security strategies created in the National Security Council [MGK] at that time. JİTEM [a clandestine and illicit unit within the gendarmerie] is already known to be one of the major suspected perpetrators of the cases of enforced disappearance. Retired Col. Arif Doğan [the prime suspect in the trial of the Ergenekon military coup case] set up JİTEM, the existence of which is consistently denied although it was revealed many times due to its illegal acts, in 1983 when he was on duty at the Gendarmerie General Command. He worked as the head of JİTEM for eight years. Later, Doğan himself confessed he had set up JİTEM. The state created it to implement its security strategies. The state also used soldiers against civilians during that era. The state also used illegal organizations such as Hizbullah [an outlawed Islamist terrorist group] and some other paramilitary groups to implement its security policies. Actually, there is no debate over who the perpetrators of enforced disappearance cases were.”
Demir added: “We want to know the fate of all the victims who were forcibly disappeared during periods of conflict in Turkey; it should be explained and the perpetrators should stand trial as soon as possible. Furthermore, Turkey should sign the UN's International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance as soon as possible in order to prevent any other enforced disappearance cases from happening in the future and should adopt a law to ensure the implementation of this convention in the country. In addition, a Truth and Justice Commission that will be fully authorized to investigate extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearance cases should be set up in Parliament.”
Continuing to list what should be done, Demir stated that enforced disappearance should be identified as a crime against humanity in the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) and that new regulations should be adopted to eliminate any kind of restrictions on the prosecution of this crime, such as using the protection provided for state secrets and statutes of limitation. He said that state officials who were involved in the crime of enforced disappearance in any way should be found and new regulations should be adopted to facilitate the punishment of the perpetrators of enforced disappearances as soon as possible.
Demir said that what the families of victims in enforced disappearance cases want is to see the bodies of their relatives found and to see justice be served, adding: “The settlement process [launched in 2012 to end up Kurdish question in Turkey] raises our hopes for a state of non-conflict in the country. However, the government's reluctance to move forward in the settlement process also raises fears for a possible return to a chaotic period similar to the 1980s and 1990s in Turkey.”
A story of enforced disappearance
Fikriye Alpsoy, the wife of a victim in a case of enforced disappearance, shared the details of how her husband, Halil Alpsoy, disappeared with Sunday's Zaman. She said: “One night in 1994, I was with my husband and child and we were returning to our house in İstanbul's Kanarya district at about at 1 p.m. from a visit to a relative. When we arrived home, we saw a white Şahin brand car in front of our house. Four men got out of the car when they saw us and wanted to take my husband to the police station. When my husband refused, they showed their guns and threatened him, saying they would kill me and our child if he insists. The men had identified themselves as civilian police officers. The next day, I went to the Kanarya Police Department to ask for my husband, but the officers said that my husband was not there, but at a police station in Sefaköy. I went to almost every police station looking for my husband, but could not find him anywhere.”
Alpsoy goes on to say that she even went to İstanbul's Gayrettepe Police Department, which was reputed to be used as a torture center for suspects taken into custody as part of anti-terrorism investigations during 1990s to find her husband. Describing the horror she experienced there, Alpsoy said: “The police department was surrounded by razor wire. A police officer welcomed me with astonishment and asked what I was doing there. I told him I was searching for my husband. When I said this, he took me to a room that was full of drawers. He said if I found my husband's clothes in those drawers, it meant that my husband was there. I was startled when I heard some screams and cries from downstairs. When he saw that I was afraid, he told me that people were tortured there for 15 days and that some of them were killed during the torture. Then he said that if my husband had been brought there, there would have been some hope, but if he was not brought there it meant that my husband had already been killed. I was very frightened and immediately went home. Eighteen days after my husband's disappearance, a soldier phoned me and said soldiers had found my husband's dead body in Kırıkkale province. There were serious injuries on my husband's body and his hands and feet were tied behind his back.”
While 16 activists were released on July 17
the preventive detention of Osman İşçi, activist for human rights, has been confirmed and his appeal rejected. Osman İşçi and several trade unionists accused of membership to an “illegal organization" will be held in custody at least until the end of the investigation, which could take 6 to 12 months. Osman İşçi, member of the human rights group IHD, executive committee member of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) and member of Eğitim Sen (Trade union of workers in education and science) affiliated to the KESK Union was arrested on June 25 at his home in Ankara province. His and 27 other trade unionists arrest is part of a major operation built to dismantle the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK). This operation, which began in 2009, is mostly directed against peaceful Kurdish activists and pro-Kurdish. The investigation files are kept secret even to their lawyers. The Law on Criminal Procedures allows up to 10 years in custody, a measure for which the European Court of Human Rights condemned Turkey on several occasions. Regarding these serious attacks against human rights activists, the FEMED asks: - For the immediate release of Osman İşçi, the trade unionists, and human rights activists including those fighting against enforced disappearances such as Cemal Bektas, founding member of the association Yakay-der; - To the Turkish authorities to ensure that defense lawyers access to the criminal cases; - Turkey to respect the liberty of association as defined by Article 1 of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders which states that «Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”; - Turkey to end the judicial harassment against human rights defenders, trade unionists, lawyers and journalists involved in human rights promotion and especially in the establishment of a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question.
July 20, 2012 FEMED, Nassera Dutour Contact + 33 1 42 05 06 22
Desaparicions forçades a Turquia
Context històric de les desaparicions forçades El segle XX ha estat un segle ple de violacions i massacres a les terres de l’estat turc, des del genocidi armeni, passant per la massacre/genocidi de Dersim.
El passat més recent de les desaparicions forçades i assassinats extrajudicials s’accentua a partir del 1980, amb el cop d’estat militar, i durant els anys 90, especialment entre 1993 i 1995 en el marc de l’anomenada “guerra especial”, protagonitzada per les forces de seguretat de l’estat i grups afins, amb l’objectiu d’eradicar el Partit dels Treballadors Kurd (PKK per les sigles en kurd).
La majoria de les desaparicions forçades van tenir lloc al Kurdistan, regió del sud-est i est d’Anatolia, en el context dels enfrontaments entre la guerrilla del PKK i les forces de seguretat del govern. La majoria de víctimes, d’origen kurd, van ser detingudes per les forces de seguretat o per grups paramilitars com Hizbullah o grups paraestatals no reconeguts oficialment com JITEM. Les persones sospitoses de pertànyer o ser afins al PKK, ser membres de partits de l’oposició política o periodistes de diaris opositors al govern turc eren detingudes o segrestades i desapareixien sota la tortura o en execucions extrajudicials.
No hi ha consens al voltant del nombre exacte de desapareguts, però segons organitzacions de drets humans hi ha més de 200 fosses comunes, 3000 persones desaparegudes i al voltant de 5.000 assassinats no resolts. D’altra banda, des del seu establiment, el Grup de Treball de Nacions Unides sobre Desaparicions Forçades o Involuntàries ha transmès 182 casos de desaparicions al govern turc, dels quals 61 romanen pendents de resolució.
A nivell estatal no s’han fet avenços significatius en la investigació i restauració de la veritat i la justícia per les víctimes de desaparicions forçades. De fet, Turquia no ha signat ni ratificat la Convenció per a la Protecció de Totes les Persones contra les Desaparicions Forçades.
El febrer del 2010, el govern turc va ordenar la creació d’un subcomitè parlamentari que està investigant les desaparicions de persones que estaven sota custòdia, incloses les que han tingut lloc des que el partit al poder governa el país (Partit de la Justícia i el desenvolupament- AKP). No obstant això, les organitzacions de drets humans reclamen l’establiment d’una comissió independent formada per científics, metges i representants de la societat civil. En la Conferència Internacional sobre Fosses Comunes organitzada a Diyarbakir es va demanar l’establiment d’una Comissió de la Veritat que ajudi a esclarir els fets.
Actualment, però, algunes organitzacions avisen que el govern turc ha intentat destruir les proves d’algunes fosses comuns conegudes excavant-ne la terra amb buldòzers (Bitlis) o planificant el planter d’arbres, evitant i destruint tota prova dels cossos que s’hi ha trobat, però als quals no es pot tenir accés per investigar i identificar (Siirt).
Pel què fa a les responsabilitats de la repressió per part de l’estat durant la “guerra especial”, durant la primavera del 2011, antics membres del JITEM (Intel·ligència Militar per la Lluita contra el Terrorisme) han reconegut als tribunals i a la premsa, la implicació d’aquest organisme en la “guerra especial” i la connivència de l’Estat amb aquest organisme militar durant els anys 90. Alguns afirmen, fins i tot, que el JITEM segueix existint sota d’altres formes i d’altres sigles.
A nivell de conscienciació de la societat civil, l’associació de Drets Humans de Turquia (IHD) organitza cada any la setmana de les desaparicions forçades entre el 17 i el 31 de maig. També es realitzen accions de pressió al govern perquè es faci justícia. Així, altres organitzacions estan treballant per aclarir el parador dels desapareguts tot i que l’actitud del govern no sigui de col·laboració. De fet, membres de “Mares del Dissabte” han estat empresonats i perseguits per les seves activitats en defensa de la veritat de les desaparicions.
Membres de la FEMED
Yakay-Der és una organització que té com a objectius investigar el parador de les persones desaparegudes, trobar als responsables d’aquestes desaparicions, portar-los davant la justícia i treballar amb les famílies dels desapareguts.
L’Associació de Drets Humans de Turquia és una organització no governamental que treballa pel respecte dels drets humans i perquè els responsables de les seves violacions siguin responsabilitzats. Mares per la Pau és una organització de dones de familiars assassinats i / o víctimes de desaparicions forçades que treballa en la recerca de la veritat i la pau a través d’activitats i campanyes de sensibilització a Turquia.
Meya-DER és una l’associació de Mesopotàmia de familiars de desapareguts amb seu al Kurdistan turc que fa seguiment de 1.200 casos de persones desaparegudes i proporciona assistència a les famílies que busquen dades que puguin aclarir el destí dels desapareguts.
URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY TUR
002 / 0612 / OBS 056 Release / Judicial harassment Turkey June 7, 2012 The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights(FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Turkey. New information: The Observatory has been informed by the Human Rights Association (İHD) about the release of Ms. Roza Erdede, İHD member in Diyarbakır. According to the information received, on June 1, 2012, Ms. Roza Erdede was released on bail pending the outcome of the trial on terrorism charges. The trial shall resume on June 29, 2012. While the Observatory welcomes this positive development, it notes that she continues to be subjected to judicial harassment. Moreover,, the Observatory recalls that two other İHD members are still in pre-trial detention in the same case: Mr. Muharrem Erbey, İHD General Vice Chairperson and Chairperson of its Diyarbakir Province branch, and Mr. Arslan Özdemir, İHD member in Diyarbakır. Accordingly, the Observatory calls upon the Turkish authorities to put an end to the continuing judicial harassment of human rights associations and defenders, and urges the Turkish authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Messrs. Muharrem Erbey and Arslan Özdemir since their detention is arbitrary as its only purpose seems to be the silencing of their human rights activities. Background information: Ms. Roza Erdede, Mr. Muharrem Erbey and Mr. Arslan Özdemir, were arrested respectively on April 14, 2010 and on December 23, 2009, by the Anti-Terror Units as part of an operation launched in 11 Turkish provinces to dismantle a so-called “terrorist network” - the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) - an organisation considered by the Turkish authorities to be the “urban branch” of the armed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). They are among 152 Kurdish civil society figures under trial in this case. On June 18, 2010, the three were formally indicted for “being member[s] of an illegal organisation” pursuant to Article 314 of the Criminal Code, with reference to Article 220/6 of the Criminal Code in the Law No. 5237, punishable by 7,5 to 15-year prison sentence. From the record of Mr. Erbey’s interrogation it appeared however that he had been imprisoned and indicted on the basis of his work with the İHD, and in his capacity as human rights lawyer. The trial opened before the Sixth Special Heavy Penal Court of Diyarbakır on October 18, 2010. The investigation and trial have raised a series of fair trial concerns, including: illegal surveillance and tapping, prolonged pre-trial detention and limited access, by the defendants and their lawyers, to the evidence against them. The trial has been delayed in part because the court has consistently denied many of the defendants their rights to address the court in Kurdish, their mother-tongue, and because the court refused to examine the defendants’ conditions of detention. Actions requested: i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Ms. Roza Erdede and Messrs. Muharrem Erbey and Arslan Özdemir,as well as all other members of İHD, and in general, of all human rights defenders in Turkey; ii. Release immediately and unconditionally Messrs. Muharrem Erbey and Arslan Özdemir since their detention is arbitrary as it only aims at sanctioning their human rights activities; iii. Put an end to all acts harassment, including at the judicial level, against Messrs. Muharrem Erbey and Arslan Özdemir and Ms. Roza Erdede as well as against all other members of İHD, and, in general, against all human rights defenders in Turkey; iv. Comply with the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, especially its Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, as well as Article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”; v. More generally, ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international and regional human rights instruments ratified by
Turkey. Addresses: · President of Turkey, Mr. Abdullah Gül, Cumhurbaskanligi 06100 Ankara, Turkey; Fax: +90 312 468 5026; Email: [email protected] · Prime Minister, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Office of the Prime Minister Basbakanlik 06573 Ankara, Turkey, Fax: + 90 312 417 0476; [email protected] · Deputy Prime Minister Responsible for Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights, Mr. Beşir Atalay, Email : [email protected], Fax: 00 90 (312) 422 13 98 · Interior Minister, Mr. Idris Naim Şahin, 06644 Ankara, Turkey; Fax: + 90 312 418 17 95 / +90 312 418 7696 · Justice Minister, Mr. Sadullah Ergin, Ministry of Justice/ Adalet Bakanligi, 06659 Ankara, Turkey; Fax: + 90 312 414 62 26 · Foreign Minister, Mr. Ahmed Davudoglu, Office of the Prime Minister, Basbakanlik, 06573 Ankara, Turkey; Fax: +90 312 287 88 11 · Ambassador, Mr. Oğuz Demiralp, Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations in Geneva, Ch. du Petit-Saconnex 28b - CP 271, CH-1211, Geneva 19, Switzerland, E-mail : [email protected], Fax: +41 22 734 08 59 · Ambassador, Mr. Selim Kuneralp, Diplomatic Mission of Turkey to the European Union in Brussels, Avenue des Arts 36-38, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 511 04 50. Please also write to the embassies of Turkey in your respective country. *** Paris-Geneva, June 7, 2012 Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply. To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line: · E-mail: [email protected] · Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80 · Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29
05 Janvier 2011 Les ossements d'au moins 12 personnes,
pour la plupart des civiles, ont été découverts dans une fosse commune au Kurdistan de Turquie, à l'occasion d'une enquête sur le sort de Kurdes portés disparus depuis des années 1990. Plus de 30 fosses communes ont été découvertes jusqu'à présent, selon les organisations des droits de l'homme. Neuf jeunes avaient quitté leurs familles en 1999 pour rejoindre les rangs du Parti des Travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK) dans la région de Bitlis, mais ces jeunes sans armes, tués par l'armée turque, ont été trouvés 10 ans après dans un terrain de décharge publique, une atrocité déniée par les autorités jusqu'à ce jour. Mais pendant une enquête, saisi par des familles de disparus, sur 36 combattants disparus du PKK, le procureur de Mutki, une ville de la province de Bitlis, peuplée de Kurdes, a ordonné mercredi le 5 janvier le lancement de recherches dans un terrain vague servant de décharge publique à la sortie du bourg. EXECUTION EXTRAJUDICIAIRE Les corps de douze personnes, dont neuf jeunes sans armes et trois guérillas du PKK, ont été exhumés dans la première zone où des excavations ont été effectuées, selon l'Association des droits de l'homme (IHD). "Les ossements ont été mis en sécurité", a déclaré de son coté le président du barreau de Bitlis, Enis Gül, qui était présent sur les lieux en qualité d'observateur. "Pour le moment des excavations ont été effectuées sur une seule zone. Nous avons faits des recours pour différents lieux. Mais on ne sait pas encore s'il y aura des nouvelles excavations" a souligné Serdar Celebi, l'avocat membre d'IHD. La délégation d'IHD présente sur les lieux a qualifié la découverte de cette fosse commune d"exécutions extrajudiciaires" UNE POLITIQUE DE L'ETAT Des fouilles similaires ont abouti à l'exhumation en 2009 d'ossements humains et de vêtements dans la province de Sirnak, ville kurde. Elles ont conduit à l'ouverture en septembre du procès de sept prévenus, dont un colonel de gendarmerie, accusés d'avoir participé aux exécutions sommaires de 20 personnes dans les années 1990. Plusieurs plaintes ont été déposées par des familles de disparus et l'Association des droits de l'homme contre les anciens dirigeants turcs, dont l'ancien président turc Suleyman Demirel, l'ancien premier ministre Tansu Ciler, à la suite des aveux de Atilla Kiyat, vice-amiral d'escadre en retraite. "Les meurtres politiques non élucidés (faili meçhul en turc) étaient une politique de l'Etat entre les années 93 et 97" avait-il dit. PLUS DE 30 FOSSES COMMUNES DECOUVERTES Au moins 31 fosses communes ont été découvertes par les organisations de défense des droits de l'homme et les habitants de la région kurde avec l'aide de PKK. Les habitants ont découvert en septembre 2010 deux fosses communes à Diyarbakir, chef lieu de la région kurde, où des vêtements et des ossements de membres du PKK avaient été trouvés. D'après des témoins, les corps ont été brulés et abandonnés par l'armée après des violents combats entre 1993 et 1998 près de Zera, un village dans la région de Diyarbakir. Mais la justice n'a pas encore ordonné pour des travaux d'exhumation. TEMOIGNAGE SUR LES ATROCITES Onze autres corps, tous des membres du PKK, ont été exhumés le 9 juin 2010 dans un village de Gercus, une ville de la province de Batman. Ils avaient été tués en 1995 lors d'un affrontement avec l'armée turque. "L'armée turc a attaqué aux quinze guérillas avec des milliers de soldats, appuyés par des tanks, avions de combats et des hélicoptères. Le combat a duré pendant plusieurs heures et au début, quatre guérillas ont perdu la vie. Ces derniers ont été trainé, puis écraser par des tanks. Des hélicoptères de type Cobra ont été dépêchées de la ville de Sirnak, et onze guérillas ont perdu la vie au bout de 11 heures de combat" avait-il dit Numan Amed, un témoin, combattant du PKK. Son témoignage avait permis la découverte de la fosse commune et l'identification des corps. Mais en total quinze guérillas kurdes ont perdu la vie et ils ont été enterrés dans trois différents lieux, selon Amed. "Sari Selim, un guérilla comandant de la région Mardin, a perdu aussi sa vie lors de cet affrontement. Sa tête a été coupée par un soldat et son corps sans tête a été trainé par terre attaché derrière un véhicule militaire dans les villages Silebin, Midelbe et Baminire de Gercus " avait poursuivi le témoin. RUISSEAU DES BOUCHERS La Turquie a connue les fosses communes en 1989, révélée en par un journaliste kurde. Kasaplar Deresi (Ruisseau des Bouchers), un lieu de décharge de l'armée, dans la province de Siirt, a été la première fosse commune découverte, dans la quelle neuf personnes ont été exhumées selon les autorités, mais les noms d'au moins 73 autres personnes enterrées dans cette fosse commune ont été révélés. Les guérillas tuées lors des affrontements ou des gens enlevés par les forces de l'ordre ont été jeté avec leurs vêtements à Kasaplar Deresi, parfois par des véhicules d'ordures, selon des témoins. Plus de 100 corps qui se trouvent dans cette fosse commune, attendent l'exhumation depuis plus de 20 ans. Maxime Azadi
GENEVA .
(9 November 2012) –
The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances* examined 17 reported cases of enforced disappearance under its urgent action procedure, as well as more than 400 cases, including newly-submitted cases and previously accepted ones. During its 98th session held in Geneva, from 31 October to 9 November 2012, the independent human rights experts studied cases, including urgent actions, concerning Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Central African Republic, Chile, Colombia, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Egypt, Georgia, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kenya, Laos, Libya, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Spain, Sri Lanka, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe. “The Working Group deals with cases of enforced disappearances wherever they occur,” the experts said at the end of the Group’s session, expressing their “deepest concern that after 20 years since the adoption of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, enforced disappearances continue to occur in many countries, often in a persistent manner.” On 30 and 31 October 2012, the Working Group held an event to mark the 20th anniversary of the Declaration. The event focused on the impact of enforced disappearances on women as well as on the role of women as actors of change. The second day of the event was devoted to an open dialogue between the Working Group and States concerning the challenges and best practices in implementation of the Declaration. During its session, the group of independent experts focused on, among other issues, reparations, specific country situations, in particular regarding the obstacles encountered in the implementation of the Declaration, methods of work, past and potential country visits, as well as future activities. The members also adopted two general comments: one on women affected by enforced disappearances and the other on children and enforced disappearances. The experts examined allegations submitted by credible sources regarding obstacles encountered in implementation of the Declaration. The Working Group also reviewed responses from various Governments to prompt intervention letters, urgent appeals and general allegations. The expert panel held meetings with representatives of the Governments of Guatemala, Japan, Spain, Sri Lanka and Togo to exchange views on individual cases and on the issue of enforced disappearance in general. It also met with non-governmental organizations and family members of disappeared persons. Members of the Working Group also held informal bilateral meetings with States to exchange information with a view to enhancing cooperation. The Working Group met with the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, established in 2006 in accordance with article 26 of the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, to exchange information on their respective activities and discussed about the coordination of common initiatives. Finally, in the context of the session, the Working Group’s official missions to Libya and Spain were confirmed for 2013. The Working Group also finalized and approved its 2012 annual report, which includes chapters on 97 States and two general comments. It also reports on all new cases and those already under consideration, and the Working Group’s major concerns and observations. The report will be presented at the 22nd session of the Human Rights Council, in March 2013, together with the report on the Working Group’s official missions to Chile and Pakistan undertaken in 2012 and follow up reports on El Salvador and Morocco. All these documents will become public at the beginning of 2013. The 99th Session of the Working Group is scheduled for 11 to 15 March 2013, in Geneva. The Working Group was established by the UN Commission on Human Rights in 1980 to assist families in determining the fate and whereabouts of disappeared relatives. It endeavours to establish a channel of communication between the families and the Governments concerned, to ensure that individual cases are investigated, with the objective of clarifying the whereabouts of persons who, having disappeared, are placed outside the protection of the law. In view of the Working Group's humanitarian mandate, clarification occurs when the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person are clearly established. The Working Group continues to address cases of disappearances until they are resolved. It also provides assistance in the implementation by States of the United Nations Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. (*) The Working Group is comprised of five independent experts from all regions of the world. The Chair-Rapporteur is Mr. Olivier de Frouville (France) and the other members are Mr. Ariel Dulitzky (Argentina), Ms. Jasminka Dzumhur (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Mr. Osman El-Hajjé (Lebanon), and Mr. Jeremy Sarkin (South Africa). Mr. Sarkin was unable to attend the 98th session.
Irina Krasovskaya paid a working visit to Switzerland
On October 28 — November 2 We Remember Foundation President and ICAED Steering Committee member Irina Krasovskaya attended several events in Geneva, Switzerland, dedicated to the issue of the involuntary disappearances, including Steering committee meeting, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances side event and the ICAED special event. During the Steering Committee working meeting issues related to the mandate of the Coalition and Charter alteration were discussed and new members were admitted, among them two organizations from Belarus: Charter`97 and Dmitry Zavadsky Foundation. During its 98th session held in Geneva from 31 October to 9 November The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances studied cases, including urgent actions, concerningAlbania, Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Central African Republic, Chile, Colombia, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Egypt, Georgia, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kenya, Laos, Libya, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Spain, Sri Lanka, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe. “The Working Group deals with cases of enforced disappearances wherever they occur,” the experts said at the end of the Group’s session, expressing their “deepest concern that after 20 years since the adoption of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, enforced disappearances continue to occur in many countries, often in a persistent manner.” On 30 and 31 October 2012, the Working Group held an event to mark the 20th anniversary of the Declaration. The event focused on the impact of enforced disappearances on women as well as on the role of women as actors of change. The second day of the event was devoted to an open dialogue between the Working Group and States concerning the challenges and best practices in implementation of the Declaration.ICAED members were invited to attend as experts in the field. During its session, the group of independent experts focused on, among other issues, reparations, specific country situations, in particular regarding the obstacles encountered in the implementation of the Declaration, methods of work, past and potential country visits, as well as future activities. The members also adopted two general comments: one on women affected by enforced disappearances and the other on children and enforced disappearances. The experts examined allegations submitted by credible sources regarding obstacles encountered in implementation of the Declaration. The Working Group also reviewed responses from various Governments to prompt intervention letters, urgent appeals and general allegations. The expert panel held meetings with representatives of the Governments of Guatemala, Japan, Spain, Sri Lanka and Togo to exchange views on individual cases and on the issue of enforced disappearance in general. It also met with non-governmental organizations and family members of disappeared persons. Members of the Working Group also held informal bilateral meetings with States to exchange information with a view to enhancing cooperation. The ICAED submitted cases and general allegations to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. On October 31 in the Palace of Nations a side event of the ICAED took place where experts of the ICAEDand the UN in the field of disappearances had a word and exchanged their relevant experience with each other. The International Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances was founded in 2007 with the goal to lobby ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. We Remember was one of the founding organizations. Since then We Remember is a member of the Steering Committee of the ICAED, along with Amnesty International (AI); Asian Federation Against involuntary Disappearances (AFAD); Collectif des Families De Disparus en Algerie (CFDA); FEDEFAM; FEMED;Federation Internationale de l’ACAT/ International Federation of Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (FIACAT); Federation Internationale des Droits de l’Homme (FIDH); Human Rights Watch (HRW); International Committee for Justice (ICJ). At the moment 46 organizations are ICAED members with the 4 organizations admitted on the resent session. Enforced Disappearances: UN experts study over 400 cases, 17 under their urgent action procedure
"I’ve lost four members of my family, but I’m still hopeful"
Interview by Emrah Gürsel The victims of unresolved murders, extrajudicial executions, and the policy of disappearance carried out at the hands of state officials has been repeated thousands of times over. Given that the state has not accepted its responsibility and that the necessary steps have not been taken, one would expect that there would be hundreds of civil society organizations working for the rights of the relatives of the victims. However, the number of institutions that work on these problems is very low, as a result of which an incredibly heavy load falls on the shoulders of existing institutions. Velat Demir is the president of YAKAY-DER, one of the most important institutions in this field.
YAKAY-DER went to Geneva on 30-31 October for a work visit organized by FEMED, which is a federation composed of institutions established by the relatives of the disappeared in the Europe-Mediterranean zone. Velat, who went to Geneva representing YAKAY-DER, brought the files of 150 cases of disappearance and met with international organizations. [1] They convened meetings with, notably, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance (WGEID), as well as with the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Human Rights Committee, the Permanent Representative of France, the Committee Against Torture, the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, and the International Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances (ICAED). We met with Velat Demir in YAKAY-DER’s office in Fatih, Istanbul, following his trip.
Velat, first of all, thank you for agreeing to speak with us. We’re curious about what you did on your recent visit to Geneva, could you explain a little bit?
We have been working with FEMED since 2006. FEMED and organizations connected to it held a two-day visit for the purposes of meeting with the UN Working Group on Disappearances and other institutions and organizations in Geneva. The Red Cross was also among these organizations. We shared information concerning rights violations that occurred in the past. This information, of course, is not just the result of YAKAY-DER’s documentation efforts, but also of efforts by İHD, Mazlum-Der, and many other organizations.
Various institutions and officials have claimed that there are over 17.500 unresolved murders in Turkey. We know that in a 24-year time span, nearly 600 children were murdered in Turkey. Most of these children lost their lives in mine fields, as they were playing ball or feeding animals in the mountains. The evidence that we have collected from the press and various civil society organizations illustrates that, since 2002, when AKP came into power, 186 children have died.
So the information that you brought to the meeting concerned which human rights violations?
First of all, we brought the files of 150 cases of disappearance that we have translated from Turkish into English.
Disappearances from which era?
They were related to the disappearances that occurred between 1990 and 1994. Predictions of the number of disappeared range between 850 and 1.300. Different figures are given because in Turkey there has not yet been a joint effort among civil society organizations to develop a database. Some say 500, some say 5.000 people. We think this is a big shortcoming. We have also spent most of our time on mass graves. Although we cannot be entirely certain, today we can say that there are nearly 300 mass graves. We want to conduct scientific projects like those done in Argentina, Morocco, and Bosnia in order to open the mass graves with bulldozers, to take them into protection, and to keep from losing the evidence, in line with the Minnesota protocol. What exactly are the demands that came from the organizations you met with aimed at accomplishing? Some steps were taken toward changing the September 12 Constitution; some changes happened. But for our purposes, we stated that this was not enough. There is still the problem of impunity and the 20-year statute of limitations. The cases of the people murdered in the 90s are about to collapse. We won’t be able to subject these sorts of murders or injustices to the process that we have initiated with the September 12 Constitution. Their path to the court seems invisible. The most concrete example of this was how Kenan Evren was judged and to what degree our claims for rights were reflected. Let me elaborate. During the term of the former General Director of Security, Mehmet Ağar, from 1993 to 1996 alone, we determined that there were nearly 850 incidents of unresolved murder and disappearance. Ağar was punished, but not because of this. He is currently being held in a high security prison. He was given what seems to us a ridiculous conviction of two years. Beneath all of this lies the constitution of the military dictatorship. There have been many positive developments but we do not think that they are enough.
While some of the conflict situations in other countries seem to be, in comparison to Turkey, in a more resolved state, in others, the conflicts continue. The first that come to my mind are Morocco, Cyprus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Kosovo. When you compare these cases to Turkey and the Kurdish question, what sorts of differences are there between them? Are we further behind in terms of resolving the problem?
The question you’re talking about has had a big impact on me. I attended a conference by ICAED. I developed some impressions there. There is a lot missing from civil society organizations in Turkey. The same thing has certainly occurred in other countries, but some steps have also been taken. The current reigning king of Morocco, Muhammed IV, changed the names of streets in order to address the human rights violations that occurred under the reign of his father, Hasan II. In Turkey, however, the families of the disappeared were invited to Dolmabahçe Palace in 2011. The Prime Minister picked just one of these cases; not too much came out of it. There is still state continuity. We are speaking to the state. In the international cases, the ideas and recommendations of the families of victims are taken into consideration when establishing a truth commission. Unfortunately, in the country in which we find ourselves, a sub-commission was founded in parliament under the command of political parties. Although we have been working in this field since 2001, nobody has asked our opinions or ideas.
Even if the current government confronts the human rights violations not experienced under its rule, even if it takes steps concerning them, though it won’t have a very big effect, but instead will create a positive atmosphere. The government would be praised both internationally and domestically, from Kurds, Alevis, and other oppressed groups. Could this be one of the reasons that they haven’t done so?
That definitely has an effect. But we approach it from a different perspective. Look, in 2007, the UN’s Convention Against Disappearance appeared. Unfortunately, that hasn’t even been signed. By signing the convention, the disappeared people in Cyprus will be accounted for; the state of the girls who disappeared in Dersim will come to light, and the realities of the Armenian deportations will be revealed. These all lie beneath the resistance to signing the convention.
Is there anything you want to add…
We also have difficulty with the Institution of Forensic Medicine. In contemporary, modern countries, the Institution of Forensic Medicine isn’t made up of only three people; it’s made up of universities, of independent boards. We are concerned that the Institution of Forensic Medicine is linked to the Ministry of Justice.
What kind of structure do you recommend?
First of all, we want it to be linked to the Ministry of Health. It must be implemented with a structure composed of universities, experts, and civil society organizations like TİHV (Human Rights Foundation of Turkey). When one party becomes the majority and appoints people close to its ideology and philosophy, the project cannot be scientific. We believe the project that would be carried out there could not be scientific.
With the KCK operations that started in 2009, many members of civil society organizations, journalists, and students who are Kurdish are currently in prison. The operations have had an impact on you as well. Some members of YAKAY-DER whom we know are currently in prison. How many of your people are currently in prison? How does this situation impact your work?
The AKP was a new government. They were inexperienced. Without a doubt there was much anguish during the rule of Çiller and of Demirel. However, this government has done the things that happened in the past in a different way. Nearly twenty activists who work generally in Turkey on disappearances, unresolved murders, and mass graves have been arrested. On 4 October 2011, two of our directors, Cemal Bektaş and Selahattin Tekin, and two of our members, Kemal Aydın and Zekiye Anık, were arrested. Recently, Zekiye Anık was released by the court pending a trial. Currently, three of our colleagues are in prison. As I said at the beginning, the government has not accepted taking steps toward the past, nor has it signed several conventions. By preventing our colleagues who are conducting projects on these issues, they aim to stonewall efforts at sharing documents with the world and Europe and circulating this information with the public. The approach of, “Well, I’m going to solve this problem. Whether you like it or not I’m going to research them with some people I’ve organized and with the sub-commission I established in parliament. I cannot accept someone else’s efforts to document these problems and share them with the public.” This was the basic goal. Our colleagues were arrested with flimsy evidence and a copy-paste logic. None of our colleagues have ever participated in any illegal activities. In the accusation, actions like attending the Saturday Mothers’ commemoration at Galatasaray Square, visiting a political party, and using the word “martyr” in their petition to intervene in the Ergenekon case, are considered crimes. Our friends are in prison for false charges.
Has the situation reached a point where it will go toward something like hunger strikes?
We don’t want the suffering to get any larger. We don’t want to get the news from prison that one of our colleagues is dead. Because the families have not yet met with their relatives we don’t currently have any information. We hope that the suffering of the past and those that continue come to an end as soon as possible. We shall live in a democratic country based on human rights. YAKAY-DER will be successful in their efforts. Call it an accident or call it organized, but so much has happened in this country. I’ve lost four members of my family. But in spite of it all, I’m still hopeful. As the families and individuals who have lost relatives, we must meticulously and patiently pursue truth and justice. By embarking from the experiences around the world, we are not approaching from the desire for revenge. We aspire for a Turkey that is prudent, conscientious, and scientific, for the democratic and modern country that we could not live in for the future generations of all the peoples that live in Turkey. A country where everyone can live with their religion, language, dress, and song… This will happen. For us, “hopelessness” is an indescribably word. We are hopeful.
19 November 2012
New wave of arbitrary arrests and detention of human rights defenders - TUR 002 / 1011 / OBS 119
25 October 2011
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Turkey. Description of the situation: The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about a new wave of arbitrary arrest and detention which targeted in particular members of associations of families of victims of abusive anti-terrorism policies, which struggle for the right to obtain the truth on enforced disappearance cases and for a peaceful settlement of the Kurd issue in Turkey [1]. According to the information received, on October 4, 2011, several members of the Association for Solidarity and Support of Relatives of Disappeared People “Yakay-der”, an association member of the Euromed Federation Against Enforced Disappearances (FEMED), Messrs. Kemal Aydin, Spokesperson, Selahattin Tekin, member of the Board Council, were arrested in Istanbul as part of a vast operation in which more than 105 activists, mainly Kurdish political activists, were arrested. On October 11, 2011, Mr. Cemal Bektas, President of the same organisation, who had been away from Istanbul at the time, was also arrested as he was leaving Yakay- der’s offices. On October 15, 2011, Ms. Nahide Ormancı, a member of the “Mothers for Peace” association, also member of FEMED, was arrested in the District of Silopi. Mr. Cemal Bektas’ family was only informed two days after his arrest about his situation and whereabouts. The four were later charged with “being a member of an illegal organisation” and have been placed in provisional detention in Istanbul and Silopi. This campaign of arrest and judicial harassment is part of a wide ranged anti-terrorist operation intended to dismantle an alleged terrorist network - the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) - an organisation said to be the “urban branch” of the armed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that in fact target peaceful activists from the Kurdish community who are not related to any terrorist activities. The Observatory denounces the continuing policy of arbitrarily arresting human rights defenders in Turkey, and particularly İHD members, members of trade unions and those fighting against the impunity of serious crimes and calling for a peaceful resolution of the Kurd question, which seems to merely aim at sanctioning their human rights activities. To that extent, the Observatory recalls that several İHD members are in pre-trial detention, notably Mr. Muharrem Erbey, İHD General Vice Chairperson and Chairperson of its Diyarbakir Province branch who had been detained since December 2009, Mr. Arslan Özdemir and Ms. Roza Erdede, İHD members in Diyarbakır, as well as members and executives of İHD Şanlıurfa Branch, the Education and Science Workers Trade Union (Egitim-Sen), the Health and Social Service Workers Trade Union (SES). Other human rights defenders remain in provisional release pending the outcome of criminal trials on alleged terrorism charges. Accordingly, the Observatory calls upon the Turkish authorities to put an end to the continuing harassment against human rights defenders and urges the Turkish authorities to release all human rights defenders currently held in detention immediately and unconditionally, since their detention is arbitrary as it only aim at sanctioning their human rights activities. Actions requested: i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Messrs. Kemal Aydin, Selahattin Tekin, Cemal Bektas, Ms. Nahide Ormancı, as well as Mr. Muharrem Erbey, Mr. Arslan Özdemir and Ms. Roza Erdede as well as all other members of İHD, Egitim-Sen and SES Şanlıurfa Branch and, in general, all human rights defenders in Turkey; ii. Release Messrs. Kemal Aydin, Selahattin Tekin, Cemal Bektas, Ms. Nahide Ormancı, as well as Mr. Muharrem Erbey, Mr. Arslan Özdemir and Ms. Roza Erdede as well as all other members of İHD, Egitim-Sen and SES Şanlıurfa Branch offices, immediately and unconditionally since their detention is arbitrary as it only aim at sanctioning their human rights activities; iii. Put an end to all acts harassment, including at the judicial level, against Messrs. Kemal Aydin, Selahattin Tekin, Cemal Bektas, Ms. Nahide Ormancı, as well as Mr. Muharrem Erbey, Mr. Arslan Özdemir and Ms. Roza Erdede as well as all other members of İHD, Egitim-Sen and SES Şanlıurfa Branch offices and, in general, all human rights defenders in Turkey; iv.Comply with the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, especially its Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, as well as Article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration” v.More generally, ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international and regional human rights instruments ratified by Turkey.
Turquia: solidaritat amb els defensors dels drets humans Monday,
Turquia: solidaritat amb els defensors dels drets humansMonday, July 9, 2012 @ 06:07 AM Author: admin El judici de la Unión de comunitats de Kurdistan (KCK) va començar el dilluns 2 de juliol a Silivri-Istanbul i ha de continuar fins al 13 de juliol. 205 persones apareixen en aquest cas, en el que Cemal Bektas, representant de l’Associació YAKAY-Der i membre de la Junta Directiva de la Federació Euromediterrània contra les desaparicions forçades (FEMED), és acusat de pertànyer a una “organització il·legal”. L’associació de YAKAY-Der lluita des de fa molts anys per a restaurar la veritat i la justícia sobre la pràctica de les desaparicions forçades a Turquia. Per això s’ha convertit en el blanc de repetits atacs per part de les autoritats turques. Aquests atacs són part d’una ona de detencions arbitràries en 11 províncies de Turquia que es dirigeix, des de 2009 i fins a la data, a molts activistes dels drets humans de Turquia. Sota la disfressa d’una operació antiterrorista per a desmantellar la Unión de comunitats de Kurdistan (KCK), el conjunt de la societat civil militant es veu afectada per la repressió: periodistes, advocats, líders de la pau del partit kurd i la democràcia (BDP). El FEMED, a requeriment del MANOUZI Mustapha, de l’oficina de Casablanca (El Marroc) ha assistit al judici com observador. Ha assenyalat nombroses irregularitats. No només la sessió no va ser pública, sinó que fins i tot un gendarme va bufetejar a un advocat, i a un altre se li va impedir entrar en la sala d’audiències. A més, una gran part dels acusats van decidir contestar les preguntes dels jutges en la seva llengua materna, el kurd. La cort va dir que “cap altre idioma més que el turc seria acceptat i si algú parlava en kurd es consideraria absent.” A més, el tribunal va rebutjar el nomenament d’un traductor del kurd al turc. Aquesta arbitrària decisió va causar una protesta, els advocats van prendre a l’assalt la sala i després la van abandonar en signe de protesta. Els acusats han corejat el lema kurd “berxwedane Jiyane” (“resistir és viure”). Una multitud integrada per representants del partit per la pau i democràcia (BDP) va estar present davant el jutjat i també van mantenir tensions amb les forces de seguretat.. El FEMED insta a la Turquia per a detenir l’assetjament judicial dirigit a defensors de drets humans, incloent a aquells que estan lluitant contra les desaparicions forçades i exigir el compliment els requisits per al dret a un judici just. Fet a París, el 06 de juliol de 2012. Per al FEMED. Nassera Dutour, President Contacte: : 00 33 1 42 05 06 22 Secretaria Nassera Dutour, President – 00 33 6 13 07 29 13. – Euromediterránea Federació contra les desaparicions forçades (FEMED). Euro-Mediterranean Federació contra les desaparicions forçades 112 rue de Charenton, 75012 París, França Tel: + 33 (0) 1 42 05 06 22.
They play dirty politics over dead bodies
18:53 04.09.2013 İSTANBUL (DİHA)
In the recent times, the corpse of the members of HPG killed in the battles in different places in the Kurdish region are brought to İstanbul Forensic Medicine Institution, and kept there for long periods. Velat Demir, the director of YAKAY-DER, criticized this practice and pointed out that "a dirty politics is played over the corpse of those who are murdered. The policies, the oppression and the tyranny that are the reasons behind their death are being continued over their families". The corpse of murdered HPG members are sent to İstanbul Forensic Medicine Institution with the pretexts like "advanced DNA test", or "DNA doesn't match", or "the equipment of Malatya Forensic Medicine Institution are out of order". The corpses are kept for long periods at the institution so that the families are re-victimized. The corpse of 7 murdered members of HPG, named Ferdi Dehşet (Botan Hilvan), Fuat Koç (Deniz Bingöl), Vesile Nas (Ülkem İdil), Aydın Engüdar (Fırat Kaniroj), Şaziye Saydut (Nuda Mardin), Murat Topaloğlu (Amed Bingöl), Deniz Gem (Demhat Peyaz), were sent to İstanbul in the last month. The families of Koç, Nas, Endügar ve Gem could finally take away the bodies. However, the bodies of Dehşet, Topaloğlu ve Saydut'un are still kept at the institution with the pretext of "DNA test". The bones of Emine Akyol, who was a member of PKK and killed in the battle in Dersim in 1997, found on 12th of June after an excavation work on demand of her family, were also sent to Forensic Medicine Institution in İstanbul and still being kept at the institution since then. The demand of the families for taking the corpses to the institution in Malatya, or to their own towns, or to a nearer region is generally rejected. "The practice started in 2011" Velat Demir, the director of the Solidarity Association with the People who lost their relatives (YAKAY-DER), states that Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institution treats families in a psychologically violent way and that this practice first started with the burial of 9 HPG members, who were killed in a battle in Bingöl in 2011, to the cemetery of unknown people in Kilyos in Istanbul after they were brought to Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institution. Demir points out that the Institution treats families of killed HPG members differently since then and says: "They started practices of economic, moral and psychological maltreatment of families and have created ever more obstacles for them" The aim is to persecute the families Demir tells that in Turkey, the forensic medicine instutitons are under the direction of Prime Ministry, presidency and the Ministry of Justice and points out: "This proves that the decisions of these institutions are influenced by the political processes or agenda. The forensic medicine institutions decide according to political circumstances. In many other countries, these institutions are under the control of Health ministries". He tells that the families are made face many difficulties and persecuted by this practice of Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institution. They have to be away from their home for long periods. "Many parents even can't go to İstanbul because their illnesses, and if they could, they face all kinds of difficulties. The aim is to alienate the families from the movement and the struggle by persecuting them. Nevertheless, the families honorably don't leave the corpse of their children to the state". "They continue the tyranny over families" Demir underlies that the responsible authorities are practicing against international laws and persist dirty politics over dead bodies. He points out to Geneva Convention and states: "According to the convention, the corpse of those who are killed at war or in a battle are handed over as soon as possible in a moral way. But the aim in Turkey is to continue the oppression through the dead bodies of those murdered, massacred. They make a mother wait 20 days or a month to take the corpse of her child, then they say 'the blood test results don't match, we have to make it all over again'! Or they just delay with unreasonable pretexts. The policies, the oppression and the tyranny that are the reasons behind their death are being continued over their families". (öb)
3ème rencontre euro-méditerranéenne des familles de disparus, Turquie, Décembre 2009
Droits de l’Homme, disparitions forcées et lutte contre l’impunité
En cette journée internationale des droits de l’Homme célébrant l’anniversaire de l’adoption, le 10 décembre 1948, de la Déclaration universelle des droits de l’Homme (DUDH), la Fédération euro-méditerranéenne contre les disparitions forcées (FEMED) et son réseau de 26 associations-membres présentes sur les deux rives de la Méditerranée souhaiteraient rendre hommage à toutes les familles de disparus, les associations de familles, les défenseurs des droits de l’Homme et les organisations non-gouvernementales qui luttent pour faire toute la lumière sur le sort des disparus et contre l’impunité.
Cette journée consacre également le droit de savoir et le devoir de vérité, le droit à la réparation pleine et entière, pour faire en sorte que les crimes de disparitions forcées restent l’apanage du passé, mais qu’ils ne soient pas impunis. C’est ce message fort que les associations membres de la FEMED n’ont jamais cessé de réitérer lors de la Quatrième rencontre euro-méditerranéenne des associations de familles de disparus, qui s’est tenue du 23 au 25 novembre 2013, à Beyrouth au Liban, pays qui compte près de 17 000 disparus du fait de la guerre civile ayant fait rage de 1975 à 1990.
L’année 2013 laisse un goût amer pour la défense des droits de l’Homme et en particulier pour les familles de disparus et les associations qui les représentent. Malgré la ratification par le Maroc de la Convention internationale pour la protection de toutes les personnes contre les disparitions forcées le 14 mai 2013, peu nombreuses ont été les avancées juridiques dans la région euro-méditerranéenne. La Libye, malgré l’adoption le 9 avril 2013 d’une loi criminalisant la torture, les disparitions forcées et la discrimination, n’a guère avancé sur le sujet des réponses à apporter aux familles de disparus, et ce dans un climat sécuritaire très tendu où règne l’impunité la plus totale pour les auteurs de disparitions forcées. Même constat en Irak, où les interventions militaires n’ont pas abouti à la pacification d’un pays en proie à une forte insécurité dont a été récemment la cible notre association-membre en Irak, Al-Ataa for Human Rights.
Ce constat ne pousse guère à l’optimisme. En Algérie, les familles de disparus sont les premières victimes d’une ouverture démocratique en trompe-l’œil, manifestée par un étau qui se resserre autour du libre exercice de la liberté d’expression, de réunion et de manifestation pacifique. Immobilisme également au Maroc où les familles de disparus n’ont trouvé aucune résonance à leur quête de vérité et de justice, et ce en dépit des recommandations de l’Instance Equité et Réconciliation.
Prévenir l’oubli, c’est empêcher une amnésie collective. C’est rappeler le devoir des Etats et de la communauté internationale, les mettre face à leurs responsabilités, et donner aux associations de familles de toutes les victimes le rôle qui leur incombe afin d’interpeller les politiques sur le plan national, les instances régionales et internationales, en vue d’une ratification universelle de la Convention internationale pour la protection de toutes les personnes contre les disparitions forcées. C’est le rôle que la FEMED et ses associations membres entendent poursuivre, au nom des associations de familles de disparus, et en partenariat avec la Coalition internationale contre les disparitions forcées ainsi que les coalitions régionales asiatiques (AFAD) et latino-américaines (FEDEFAM).
Paris, 10 décembre 2013
Pour la FEMED
Nassera Dutour
Secrétariat : (+33) 1-42-05-06-22 Nassera Dutour : (+33) 6-13-07-29-13
Mob.: +33 (0) 7 60 21 06 22 Email : [email protected] Web : www.disparitions-euromed.eu
Facebook : www.facebook.com/disparitions.euromed
SYRIA: Alarming situation after a quadruple abduction
Razan Zaitouneh, Samira Khalil, Nazem al Hamadi and Waël Hamada, Human Rights defenders working at the Violations Documentation Center in Syria (VDC[1] - non-governmental organization) have been abducted, as evidenced by the information received the Euro-Mediterranean Federation against enforced disappearances (FEMED). FEMED strongly condemns this quadruple abduction.
According to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria (LCCS[2] ), these abductions took place on the morning of December 10th, 2013, after individuals whose identity remains unconfirmed, have penetrated the headquarter of the VDC in the area of Duma (North-Est of Damascus, Syria).
Since May 2011 Razan Zaitouneh has lived undercover. Her brother-in-law, Abburahman Hamada, was detained by the Air Force intelligence services in order to encourage her and her husband to surrender. Her husband, Waël Hamada was then himself imprisoned for several months before being released.
FEMED recalls that Razan Zaitouneh has struggled for Human Rights in Syria since 2001. In 2011, she has received the Anna Politkowskaya Award for the Defense of Human Rights and the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict, she hasn’t stopped to condemn and criticize those responsible for the Human Rights violations, regardless their affiliation. She is the principal coordinator of the VDC. She recently received, in March 2013, the International Woman of Courage Award.
FEMED acknowledges the courage and the determination of those individuals, who have, despite the pressure, threats, and multiple imprisonments, continued to struggle for Human Rights in the field. FEMED denounces all arbitrary detentions and all acts of repression carried out against Human Rights defenders by the Syrian authorities and armed groups in Syria.
FEMED fears for the physical and psychological integrity of these four Human Rights defenders.
It calls on the international public opinion:
It urges the perpetrators:
Paris, December 12 2013
On behalf of the FEMED
Secretariat: (+33) 1-42-05-06-22 Nassera Dutour: (+33) 6-13-07-29-13
ECHR: Uğur Kaymaz’s Right to Life Violated
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Turkey violated the right of Uğur Kaymaz (13) and Ahmet Kaymaz who were killed by a police raid in Mardin province in 2004.
Çiçek TAHAOĞLUİstanbul - BIA News Desk
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found Turkey guilty of violating the right to life (Article 2) in the case of Kaymaz where Uğur Kaymaz (13) and Ahmet Kaymaz were killed by a police raid in Mardin 2004.
Following the incident, the mainstream media initially covered the incident as “two terrorists were killed” according to a first statement by the Mardin Governor’s Office.
ECHR ordered Turkey to pay for damages to the following applicants: Makbule Kaymaz (65,000 euros as pecuniary damages and 50,000 as non-pecuniary damages), Emine Kaymaz (5,000 euros as pecuniary damages and 15,000 as non-pecuniary damages) and Reşat Kaymaz (5,000 euros as pecuniary damages and 15,000 as non-pecuniary damages).
The court ruled that the raid operation has not been held in a fashion where casualties could be minimized and it didn’t require any lethal intervention.
The court also cited the police logs which said that there were no activities in the past 24 hours of incident and the police log didn’t mention of any details of the raid which occurred between 4pm and 4:30 pm.
It was also noted that police didn’t find any findings neither about hiding terrorists or plans for a terrorist plot.
“In the light of all the information, the court has not been convinced that the law enforcement took the necessary precautions to minimize the casualties.”
ECHR also ruled that the local court in Turkey constructed the incident plot only through the statements of suspect policemen. “The suspect statement were taken with a 10 day delay. This alone proves how authorities did not take precautions on the issue,” the verdict said.
It also stated that suspects changed their statements and told two different stories which contradict each other, especially on the location of bullets.
“The authorities must have considered the different aspects before taking contradicting suspect police statement for granted,” the verdict said.
When Kaymaz family lawyers applied to the ECHR, they underlined the following issues:
* According to the case file and suspect statements, the apartment of Ahmet Kaymaz and Uğur Kaymaz was under police surveillance for the past 24 hours. They were checking the entries and the surveillance continued until the raid. Therefore, it is not realist to say that suspect policemen met the deceased all of a sudden.
* Even though the hearings were held in the assumption that there was an armed clash, the positions of deceased and the way they were dressed (they were wearing home slippers) fundamentally challenge this claim.
* The incident took place in a 6 meter square room. No bullets were found in the truck. The location of bullets hint that no clash actually took place:
* Suspect M.K. stated that he fired 7 bullets. However, only 2 bullets have been found from the scene.
* Suspect S.A.T. stated that he fired several times during the clash, but no bullets have been collected.
* Another unidentified police suspect stated that he fired 6 times, no bullets have been collected. When compared with expert reports, it is obvious that suspects have obscured evidence.
* Suspect Y.A. stated that he clashed with two people. He also said that he ducked during the clash and then hid under the truck during the clashes. But one of the bullets fired from Y.A.’s gun was found in front of Kaymaz family apartment. This alone proves that suspect didn’t tell the truth. (ÇT/BM)