Roboski Villagers: Incensed, Disillusioned and Aggrieved

Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Deputy Ertuğrul Kürkçü and People's Democratic Congress (HDK) Executive Board members Prof. Fatma Gök, Bircan Yorulmaz, Garo Paylan and Kadir Akın issued a press statement on Wednesday, following a visit they paid to the village of Roboski on Aug. 27-28.

Ertuğrul Kürkçü and Prof. Fatma Gök shared their views on their visit during the meeting at the Cezayir Meeting Hall that began at 11:00 in Istanbul.

Kürkçü said the locals' pain was still fresh and that their political views were transformed after the event:

"This disaster has entirely politicized the villagers. They are quite incensed that politics has covered up the deaths of their children, their brothers and sisters. I can say that both the people of Uludere and Şırnak have drawn an immediate connection between the government and the massacre. In other words, while Roboski villagers' relationship to politics used to take shape over [the institution of hired local guards,] this has now turned into the politics of dissidence," Kürkçü said.

Prof. Fatma Gök then took the floor and said the local youngsters believed they had been wronged and were saddened by the indifference to their plight in western Turkey.

"I could advise everyone to go to Roboski and speak to the locals to see their determination in waging this struggle. In this way, it would be possible to observe the political stance assumed by the youngsters of Roboski who are barely out of childhood," Prof. Gök said.

Kürkçü finally concluded the meeting by stressing the fact that most of the victims were minors, adding that this was not just a massacre of smugglers.

On Dec. 28, 2011, Turkish Air Force jets launched an ill-fated strike in the district of Uludere in the southeasten province of Şırnak. Some 34 civilians from the villages of Roboski (Ortasu) and Bujeh (Gülyazı,) 28 of them being from the same family, lost their lives in consequence of the botched air strike.

The HDK delegation then summarized the views and feelings of Roboski locals as follows:

*Roboski villagers are incensed and disillusioned because the people responsible for the massacre have still not been exposed. The fact that no other official besides the Uludere Gendarmerie Regiment Commander has yet been discharged, even though an order for a cross-border air strike could only come from the highest echelons, has led them to think the investigation will be covered up.

*The villagers also demand an apology from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan because of his accusatory remarks toward them after they refused to receive the compensation offered by the government. They believe that it is the prime minister who is preventing the individuals responsible for this incident from being called to account for the deaths of their children.

*Roboski locals agree that the parties in Parliament have all but forgotten them, and that Parliament's Human Rights Commission is also putting off their investigation.

*The families are sad and disappointed that military and administrative officials are preventing them from visiting the scene where their sons had lost their lives.

*The people of Roboski expect human rights defenders, legal experts, intellectuals and public opinion leaders to take on an active role in defending their rights, and they want us to give voice to their demands. (ZA/HK)