Saturday Mothers: "Turkey Does not Recognize ECHR Decision"

The Saturday Mothers/People came together on Istanbul's centrally located Galatasaray Square for the 269^th time. The Saturday Mothers/People are relatives of political activists who disappeared. About 100 people gathered, holding up pictures of their disappeared relatives and red carnations. They reiterated their call for justice once again and posted banners reading "The perpetrators are known, where are the disappeared ones?"

Dancer and human rights activist Zeynep Tanbay read a press release and put the case of the İpek brothers to the agenda. Tanbay pointed out that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found Turkey guilty of burning down a village and make people disappear.

İkram İpek, Servet İpek and Seyithan Yolur were taken into custody in the Türeli village in the district of Lice (south-eastern province of Diyarbakır) on 18 May 1994 and were never heard of again. Tanbay addressed the government, "The perpetrators are known, the committed crime is clear, what are you waiting for!"

Tanbay demanded the prosecution of the major who directed the operation together with the Türeli village headman, of the lieutenant colonel who concealed the operation with his reports, the Lice Gendarmerie Commander, the Tepe Gendarmerie Police Commander, the sergeant major in charge of security in the Türeli village and General Yavuz Ertürk whose name appears in a decision made by the European Court of Human Rights.

We demand the prosecution of the perpetrators

Fatma Karabıyık, sister of Cemil Karabıyık who disappeared in custody, said in her speech, "We are coming together here for years to make our voices heard to the officials".

"My brother was serving in the military for this country, he was a revolutionist who loved his country. One day, soldiers came and took him with them. We never heard from him again. When my father went and asked for his son he was told, "Your son is an anarchist". I want a funeral for my brother. I demand the prosecution of the perpetrators. I want justice to be fulfilled", Karabıyık claimed.

The Saturday Mothers/People started their ongoing protest action on 27 March 1995 after a dead body had been found in January the same year. Since then, they come together at Galatasaray Square on the European side of Istanbul every Saturday at noon time and voice their demand: "Stop the disappearances, disclose the fate of the disappeared, find and prosecute the responsible people". (SP/VK)