Villas being built in Newala Qesaba, a site of mass graves in eastern Turkey

* Photo: From the "Dead and Alive" documentary

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

New buildings will reportedly be constructed in Newala Qesaba, a site of mass graves near Turkey's Kurdish-majority eastern province of Siirt.

As reported by Fethi Balaman from Mezopotamya Agency (MA), Newala Qesaba, which literally means "the Butchers' Stream" in Kurdish, is a mass grave of several people, including the ones killed in unidentified murders and the killed members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

According to the Human Rights Association (İHD), Newala Qesaba covers a 405-decare area. It is known as a place where several Armenians who lost their lives in the genocide in 1915 were buried. It is also a place where thes ones killed in unidentified murders were buried.

The first excavation was carried out in the stream on April 22, 1989 and the bones of eight people were found in a few hours. The excavation works were stopped on the same day upon the instruction of the governor's office. Since then, no work has been undertaken in the stream.

The stream, Newala Qesaba, has been opened to construction over time. Turned into a dump site, a double highway was first constructed. Afterwards, a building permit was issued for a wedding hall.

Swimming pool will be constructed

In the area where the mass graves are considered to be located, a Police Academy was established.

Buildings and villas will now be constructed in the area which was once used as a mass grave for hundreds of Kurds and Armenians.

At the entrance point of the stream, a placard with the details of the project was put up. As part of the project to be undertaken by the War Yapı construction company, dozens of villas, 8-storey buildings and a swimming pool will be constructed. A sales office has been set up in the area where the buildings and villas are to be constructed and the office is fenced off.

Criminal complaint filed

Human Rights Association (İHD) Siirt Branch's former chair and journalist Zana Aksu, who has been working on what happened in Newala Qesaba for years, has said that they made an application for the preservation of the stream in February 2011 and filed a criminal complaint against the then officials by applying to the Siirt Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

According to the data obtained thanks to their applications, Zana has said, the estimated number of deceased bodies in the mass graves is nearly 300: "However, despite numerous official applications, no action has been taken against anyone and Newala Qesaba has not been taken under protection. The fate of eight extracted dead bodies has not been brought into light".

A request for a memorial

Commenting on the construction works in the stream, Aksu has defined them as "yet another shame" and briefly added the following:

"There was a request for building a memorial. But, instead of this, a police academy, a double highway and a wedding hall have been built. And, lastly, multi-storeyed buildings and villas are being constructed.

"There are the bones of hundreds of people under the buildings that have been constructed and are currently being constructed. There is the pursuit of Saturday Mothers. While people are searching for their bones, it is remorseless to construct a building in this area. This decision should be withdrawn immediately". (EMK/SD)