Children's Day in the Shadow of Violence

The Children's Day on 23 April is celebrated only in Turkey, even though neither the state nor the legislation protect children effectively. They are imposed to violence, sexual abuse and rape; they die from injuries caused by un-cleared land mines. As bianet, we publish our tally of violence and abuse against children on 23 April, the Children's Day.

1,486 children disappeared in March

Justice and Development Party (AKP) Istanbul MP Halide İncekara, Head of the Missing Children's Research Commission in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM), announced on 4 April that a total of 1,486 children disappeared throughout the month of March 2010. According to MP İncekara, 1,085 children could be found, 401 children are still being searched.

29 March

Torture in prison: 14 children detained under provisions of the Anti-Terror Law (TMK) in the Maltepe Children and Juvenile Prison in Istanbul started a hunger strike in order to force the transfer of two of their friends to hospital due to their poor health conditions. The prison guards are claimed to have raided the cell and beaten the children because of the hunger strike.

2 April

Suicide because of debt at private tutoring institution: A juvenile from Fethiye (western Mediterranean coast) who was preparing for the national entry exam for university committed suicide. The alleged reason for the suicide was the juvenile's private situation. The student's mother had to go to prison because the family was not able to pay their debt to the private tutoring institution. (The vast majority of students attend this kind of teaching institutions besides school to prepare for the national entry exams as part of the Turkish education system.)

6 years, three months, eleven days prison sentence: The Adana 7^th High Criminal Court sentenced a 15-year-old to imprisonment of six years, three months and eleven days on the grounds of the child's alleged participation in a demonstration on 27 December 2009 in Adana. The juvenile was found guilty of "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization" according to the Anti-Terror Act and "committing a crime on behalf of a terror organization", "resistance against the police" and "harming public property" based on the Turkish Criminal Code (TCK).

7 April

Child tortured at home: A four-year-old child was tortured at home in the city of Patnos in the province of Ağrı in eastern Anatolia. Neighbours had taken the child to hospital. The child was supposedly beaten by his/her step mother. As a result of the hitting, the four-year-old lost 80 percent of its sight of the right eye.

Shot while doing homework: A 13-year-old child was shot during a conflict between two groups in the Tarlaşaşı Çukur district of Istanbul. The fifth grade student was doing homework in an internet café when the groups opened fire and the child was hit at the head. The 13-year-old died in hospital.

13 April

Children in detention: Nine children have been taken into detention in the city of Didim in the province of Aydın on the Aegean cost because they protested against the fist attack against Ahmet Türk, Co-Chair of the banned pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP).

Dragged along the ground: A 14-year-old boy was dragged along the ground when the police in Hakkari (south-eastern tip of the country) arrested him in the course of a protest against the attack on Ahmet Türk. The child's cheek bone broke as a result of beating. Another 12-year-old child who was arrested in Hakkari was taken to the Van Training and Research Hospital for medical treatment.

20 April

Slapped at school: A six-year-old child was severely beaten by a teacher because of talking during the lesson. A trainee on duty in the class at the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) Primary School in Antakya in the province of Hatay (eastern Mediterranean coast) recorded the incident with a mobile phone and sent it to the nationwide Turkish news channel NTV, where it was published the same day.

Seven girls raped in Siirt: Seven girls were raped for the duration of two years at a primary school in Siirt in south-eastern Turkey. The incidents came to light when a 14 year-old student had claimed to have been abused by deputy principle F.K. Statements of more than 100 men aged between 16 and 70 years old from all social stratums have been taken in the course of the investigation. 25 of the interrogated males were detained.

22 April

Beaten by the principle: A 14-year-old child was beaten by the school principle in the 70^th Year Primary School in Erzurum in central Anatolia. The child was injured at the head. The child's family filed a criminal complaint at the prosecutor's office.

Death of a child one day prior to Children's Day: A 14-year-old child who was grazing a herd of animals in the rural town of Yeşilli in the province of Mardin (south-eastern Turkey) was killed by an un-cleared landmine. The mine apparently belonged to the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). The prosecutor's office launched an investigation. (SP/VK)