Rights groups demand examination of resurfaced bones in Van
Photo: İHD
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Rights groups and lawyers filed a petition with prosecutors regarding the resurfaced human bones in the eastern Van province.
After water levels in a dam reservoir on the Zilan river dropped, human bones resurfaced early this month.
Thousands of people were killed in what is known as the Zilan Massacre in 1930 when the army responded to an insurgency in the region.
Members of the Human Rights Association (İHD) Van Branch, the Van Bar Association Human Rights Center, and the Freedom for Lawyers Association (ÖHD) Van Branch filed the petition after examining the bones in the area.
The groups want the authorities to examine the bones and determine whether they belong to people.
Zilan MassacreIn the Zilan massacre which started on July 13, 1930, five thousand villagers died and 44 villages were wiped off the map. The Cumhuriyet Newspaper was announcing the massacre on July 16, 1930 saying, "Our planes are bombing the bandits on the hills of the Ağrı Mountain forcefully. The iron eagles of the Turk are punishing the rebels. The Ağrı Mountain is crying with explosions and fire continuously. The Zilan river is full of dead bodies." Yusuf Mazhar, correspondent of the Cumhuriyet newspaper reported that 15 thousand people were killed in the Zilan river. According to some sources, 47 thousand people were killed. The properties of the people of the region were confiscated after the massacre. In 1950 the villagers going to court at the Erciş criminal court could not get any results. |
(AS/VK)