Emine Ocak, a prominent figure among the Saturday Mothers/People who have gathered in İstanbul’s Galatasaray Square since May 27, 1995, to demand justice for their disappeared children during the Kurdish conflict, was laid to rest today at the age of 89.
The square, closed to the Saturday Mothers/People since 2018 despite a Constitutional Court ruling,
Despite being closed to the Saturday Mothers/People since 2018 despite a Constitutional Court ruling recognizing the violation of rights. In front of her coffin, a banner was placed quoting her own words, "If we give up, this country will remain a paradise for the perpetrators," followed by a message of defiance: "You didn’t give up, and neither will we."
Relatives, loved ones, and fellow activists placed red carnations on her coffin, draped in black, and wore the symbolic jewelry she was known for. They chanted, “We’re here, Mother,” in a final farewell.
Hundreds of people attended the ceremony, including Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party İmralı Delegation member Pervin Buldan, DEM Party Spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan, Republican People’s Party (CHP) Diyarbakır MP Sezgin Tanrıkulu, CHP İstanbul Chair Özgür Çelik, Human Rights Association (İHD) Co-Chair Eren Keskin, Saturday Mothers, civil society representatives, human rights defenders, and Peace Mothers.
'She became everyone’s Mother Emine'
Speaking on behalf of “all her children,” Sebla Arcan, from İHD’s Commission Against Disappearances in Custody, said, “She came to Galatasaray as Hasan’s mother, but became a hero who never surrendered to injustice, someone who challenged the official history, she became everyone’s ‘Mother Emine.’”
“Injustice, denial, and erasure turned her into more than a mother, she became a symbol of resistance,” Arcan added. “Emine Ocak was the conscience of this country. She was the voice of the disappeared, the silenced, the ignored. She did not just mourn her son with tears, but with resistance. Her struggle showed us this: when a mother falls silent, history falls silent. But when a mother rises up against oppression, history opens its cleanest page to her. Like all the Saturday Mothers we’ve lost, Emine Ocak has taken her place on that page.”
Her daughter Maside Ocak said her mother “carried not only Hasan, but the pain of thousands who disappeared in custody.” Addressing her directly, she added, “Mother, you weren’t just our mother. You became a beacon of hope for millions. Even in sorrow, you found hope. Even in darkness, you never wavered.”
Her son Hüseyin Ocak said, “Emine Ocak was born in the very heart of pain.” He recounted that she was born in 1937 in Dersim during a period of massacres. “Even as a baby, death surrounded her,” he said, recalling how a tribe fleeing into the forest considered killing her and her twin to avoid detection. “From that day on, death never left her side.”
He also reflected on her deep love and colorful jewelry: “She may not have explained it philosophically, but she lived her philosophy fully. Her life said this: ‘Only the body dies, the soul never does.’ Today, we are not saying goodbye. We are sending her into a new life.”
İkbal Eren, sister of Hayrettin Eren, who was disappeared in custody, remembered her own mother, Elmas Eren, who died six years ago: “Today, we send her to join the mothers who went before her. We’re sending ‘Boncuklu Anne’ to ‘Boncuk Anne.’ Mother, send our greetings to them all.”
“This is always a hard place to be, but today is especially hard,” she added. “We’re saying farewell to the symbol of resistance, determination, and persistence. She taught us how to resist, to demand justice. Her voice will continue to rise from here. She never saw the square reopened, but she remained committed to justice. She kept coming every week, as long as her health allowed. Thanks to her, I gained many mothers and siblings when I came here searching for my brother.”
#CumartesiAnneleri'nden #EmineOcak'ın cenazesi Galatasaray Meydanı'ndaki anmanın ardından Gazi Cemevi'ne götürülerek oğlu #HasanOcak'ın yanına defnedilecek.
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'This square belonged to Mother Emine'
DEM Party’s Pervin Buldan said, “This square belonged to Mother Emine. She was not just Hasan’s mother, but also Rıdvan’s, Abdullah’s, Savaş’s. She became the grandmother of our children. Her legacy will lead millions to keep walking the path of truth and justice. Rest easy, dear Mother Emine. The perpetrators will be brought to justice, and truth will prevail. Send our greetings to Hasan, Savaş, and all the disappeared.”
İHD Co-Chair Eren Keskin said Ocak’s resistance forced even the state to retreat: “Some people are born into struggle. Mother Emine was part of resistance from the day she was born. She led what may be the world’s longest-running civil disobedience movement. Her struggle was so strong it opened this square even to those who opposed us. We owe her so much. She taught us so much. Rest in peace, Mother Emine.”
Chanting “Mother, we are here,” mourners carried her coffin from Galatasaray to the Gazi Cemevi. She was then buried in Gazi Cemetery next to her son Hasan Ocak and her husband Baba Ocak.
About Saturday Mothers/People
The Saturday Mothers/People first gathered in Galatasaray Square in Beyoğlu, İstanbul, on May 27, 1995, to demand justice for individuals who disappeared while in state custody during the conflict in the country's Kurdish-populated regions. The protests began following the discovery of Hasan Ocak’s body in the Cemetery of the Nameless. Ocak had been taken into custody on Mar 21, 1995, and was later found dead, bearing signs of torture.
For the next several years, the group held weekly silent sit-ins at the square. However, after facing increasing police intervention, the protests were halted on Mar 13, 1999.
In 2009, the Saturday Mothers/People resumed their gatherings at Galatasaray Square, continuing their weekly protests until Aug 2018, when police intervened during their 700th sit-in. Officers used rubber bullets to disperse the crowd and detained several relatives of disappeared persons. The detainees were released after providing their statements later that day.
After the 2018 crackdown, authorities have not permitted the Saturday Mothers/People to assemble at Galatasaray Square for more than five years, until Nov 2023.
(AB/TY/VK)
