“Free Soldier Hostages Without Operations”

"There are ceremonies for the dead soldiers, people are singing laments; but no one is doing anything for the eight soldiers who are alive and in the hands of the PKK,” says Diyarbakir MP Akin Birdal, referring to the eight soldiers taken hostage after the PKK attack in Daglica, Hakkari, on 21 October.

 Three of the eight missing soldiers’ families have appealed to Birdal for help. He is the former president of the Human Rights Association (IHD) and also a member of the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission.

Inconclusive discussion 

 Birdal said that the fate of the eight soldiers was discussed yesterday  (1 November) in the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission (PHRC), but that the only thing the commission did in the end was to refer the case to the Parliamentary Petitions Commission.

 Commission President Zafer Üskül said after the meeting of the PHRC that the appeal of soldier Mehmet Senkul’s father Ali Senkul had been transferred to the Petitions Commission because it fell into that commission’s area of responsibility.

"Their right to life must be protected" 

Birdal criticised the way the case was being handled and recounted of the meeting of the PHRC:

“It was never discussed what could be done to free the eight soldiers although that should be our priority. This is a question of conscience. In order to free the soldiers, all kinds of initiatives must be tried. Their right to life must be protected because battles are continuing. At the same time, the PKK must also respect all the rights of the soldiers.”

Families are not informed 

Birdal said that the families of Irfan Beyaz, Ramazan Yüce and Mehmet Senkul had appealed directly to him, saying that they could not get information about their sons from officials and that they were worried: “They want information about their sons and initiatives to free them.”

Call for civilian initiatives 

Birdal opposed military operations as a means of freeing the soldiers, saying, “There is no justification for such an operation in terms of human rights or international law. It would also mean sending thousands of people into death to save the life of eight.”

The release of the soldiers could be achieved with humane initiatives. This has happened before. Delegations went and took the soldiers back,” added Birdal, referring to a delegation in 1996 which he was part of as president of the IHD. The delegation was able to free eight soldiers the PKK had taken hostage.

Similar case in 1996 

“Again it was eight soldiers in their hands. Again it was an area where fighting was going on. The families had appealed everywhere without results. Then Fethullah Erbas, then MP for the Welfare Party (Refah) and the IHD and the MAZLUMDER association had formed a delegation. With the help of the [Northern Iraqi] Peshmerga we contacted the organisation. At first we did not achieve anything, but two months later the soldiers were brought back.”

First put on trial for initiative 

“When we first started the initiative a trial was opened against us for ‘aiding and abetting’ the PKK. But the day we brought the soldiers back we were acquitted. In summary, the soldiers could be freed with civilian intervention.” (TK/NZ/AG)