Erdogan Questioned on Mass Grave
Sirin, in a question motion handed to the presidency of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM), asked if allegations in the media by Suleyman Atalay, that the mass grave is of the villagers who got lost 11 years ago, had been investigated.
Sirin asked what the related ministries, army and the paramilitary police officers found as a result of their investigations, and demanded to know whether the officials had the intention to investigate these allegations if they already had not.
Emin Sirin answered bianet's questions about the issue. He said he had read the allegations in the "Ulkede Ozgur Gundem" (Free Agenda in the Country) newspaper about ten days ago and decided to hand the parliament a motion since no official statement had been made.
Sirin, who resigned from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) after being elected a lawmaker, wants to know if the Interior Ministry, National Defence and Justice Ministries, the General Staff, Paramilitary Police Commandership, and the National Intelligence Agency (MIT) has investigated whether Suleyman Atalay's allegations are true.
According to media reports, Atalay said: "They raided the village in 1993. There were about 300-350 soldiers. They held us for five days. They picked some people among us and took them away. We never heard from those they took away again."
"If the related institutions have investigated the issue, what are their findings?" asked Sirin. "If these allegations have not been investigated, do they have the intention to do so?"
Sirin said the feeling of brotherhood he had for Turkey's 70 million people and his sense of citizenship led him to be sensitive about the issue. "Such sensitivities have nothing to do with nationalism," said Sirin. "If we, 70 million people, are going to live in a democratic country governed by the rule of law, we definitely have to investigate such claims, set light on them and punish those who are guilty, even if they are among senior state officials." (BB/YS/EA/YE)