The conference on "Facts about Mass Graves in Turkey" was organized by the Diyarbakır Human Rights Association (İHD) in cooperation with the Turkish Human Rights Foundation (TİHV), the Mesopotamia Association of Relatives of the Missing (MEYADER), the Association for Solidarity and Support of Relatives of Disappeared People (YAKAY-DER) and the Democratic Society Congress (DTK). A concluding report about mass graves was issued on Tuesday (26 July), the closing day of the conference held in Kasaplar Deresi (Newala Qesaba) close to Siirt in the predominantly Kurdish region of south-eastern Anatolia.

ID check at mass grave

Lawyer Serdar Çelebi, member of the İHD Central Steering Board, read out the declaration of results on the "Facts about Mass Graves in Turkey". In an interview with bianet, Çelebi summarized the three main headings and demands respectively. These are "The state's apology to the relatives of the disappeared", "Establishing a Facts Research Commission" and "Opening of Mass Graves according to the Minnesota Protocol".

"Mass graves have to be put on Turkey's agenda", Çelebi claimed and said that this had not been notably reflected by the Turkish government yet.

İHD member Çelebi explained that the conference pursued the aim to provide a step to be taken by the government in this regard and to create awareness for easing the pain of the relatives of the disappeared.

When he read out the concluding report in Kasaplar Deresi, Çelebi summarized the process by saying, "When we came to Kasaplar Deresi, many police officers filmed us. We read out the final report and subsequently dozens of police officers gathered around us and took our IDs for a GBT (General Information Gathering) check. I gave them my lawyer's ID but they did not accept it and asked me in a threatening manner to hand over my 'ID of the state of the Turkish Republic'".

"An apology at least"

Çelebi noted that there was nothing left to discuss about the fact that the disappeared had been killed by the state. In his opinion, it is time for the government to face this truth. "What was the purpose of the state killing these people? Where did they aim to arrive at by killing these people? We want to share these state policies with the public", Çelebi said and emphasized that they were expecting an apology to the relatives of the disappeared.

These people were Turkish citizens and made victims by the Turkish Republic, Çelebi said. He deemed necessary an apology at least as a compensation for the victimization.

"Better keep it closed rather than using diggers

Çelebi underlined that the opening of mass graves had to be based on the Minnesota Protocol. He pointed out the mass graves should rather not be touched at all instead of carrying out excavations with diggers.

"We want to determine who was killed when, how and by whom", Çelebi added.

"Independent commission is a must"

Çelebi said that a Facts Research Commission consisting of independent persons and delegations had to be established under the guarantee of the constitution in order to face the past. In his opinion, this commission should possess sufficient authority to obtain all necessary information for an effective investigation.

"Also organizations and witnesses outside the country should be authorized to give evidence", Çelebi remarked and added that the commission should be authorized to visit the scenes of the mass graves and to issue public reports. (EKN/VK)