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The Central Executive Committee of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) has released a written statement to mark the fifth year of the period of curfews and military operations in Turkey's Kurdish-majority southeastern province of Şırnak and its district Cizre.
The statement of the party has underlined that "the period of city sieges undertaken in the name of curfews in the years 2015 and 2016 has gone down in history as one of the most unlawful acts, gravest human rights violations and most dreadful pictures in this geography."
"The curfews which first started in Muş/Varto on August 16, 2016 took on a new dimension with the siege of Şırnak/Cizre on December 14, 2015. Afterwards, it caused a deep humanitarian and social destruction by being imposed in 11 provinces and 49 districts including Silopi, İdil, Derik, Nusaybin, Yüksekova, Varto, Silvan and Sur," the statement has read.
What happened in Cizre?While the curfew declared in the district of Cizre in Turkey's southeastern province of Şırnak on December 14, 2015 was still in effect, Minister of Interior of the time Efkan Ala announced on February 11, 2016 that the operations of blockade were ended. However, the curfew in Cizre was rearranged in a way to be in force at nights as of March 2, 2016 and entry to/ exit from the district was prohibited until March 2, 2016. After the curfew was lifted in the neighborhoods of Cudi and Sur in Cizre, 177 dead bodies, 25 of which belonged to children, were found in the wreckages and debris of mainly 3 buildings and the houses in their vicinity. While the 103 of the deceased could be identified, 74 people were put to rest without being identified. The total number of the dead has been announced as 189. According to the report of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), almost all of the dead bodies were beyond recognition because they were either burned or decomposed. The remnants of human bones and military ammunition were found in the basements. Forensic Experts also found remnants of human bones of children in the basements. |
Europe, UN reports mention it as well
HDP has indicated that the reports issued by several international institutions and organizations as well as the United Nations (UN), European Parliament, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) have revealed the unlawfulness that unfolded in the region during the period of curfews:
"The Opinion on the Legal Framework Governing Curfews report released by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe on June 13, 2016 concluded that 'serious violations of human rights occurred, fundamental rights and freedoms were suspended and the curfews were not based on the Constitutional and legislative framework.'
"The report which was prepared by a commission chaired by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zaid Raad al Hussein on March 10, 2017 also indicated that 'nearly 2,000 people lost their lives during the operations that continued for 18 months in this period.'
"According to the studies conducted by the independent human rights organizations in that period, 1 million 500 thousand to 1 million 800 thousand people were deprived of their several fundamental human rights, especially the right to freedom, security and life.
"During the sieges sporadically laid in Kurdish cities and aiming to destroy the cities' entire socio-cultural, socio-economic and political structures, along with their memories of resistance, and thereby redesigning a geography from scratch, all tools of atrocity were utilized to achieve this aim.
"Though it has been more than five years since the months-long sieges in Şırnak, Cizre, Silopi, Sur, Nusaybin, Yüksekova, Silvan, İdil and Dargeçit, no progress has been made in the lawsuits filed over the grave violations of human rights, most of the lawsuits have ended in non-prosecution and several families have been unable to even reach the deceased. The current judiciary has tried to cover up the destruction and atrocity."
Concluding its statement, the HDP has expressed its belief that what happened in Cizre will be convicted before the law. (AS/SD)
