'What happened in Konya was a premeditated massacre’

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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The Democratic Alevi Associations Central Office has released a written statement about the racist armed attack that claimed the lives of seven people from the Dedeoğulları family in Konya province.

"What happened in Konya is not an incident, but a premeditated massacre," the statement has read, briefly adding:

"Whenever the monist mindset comes to a point where it cannot manage the politics and faces a state of chaos and crisis, this manner of doing politics, which has always had pressure and oppression in stock in order to diverge from the agenda, hinder criticisms and make people forget the failures, has always been in circulation as the dominant mentality."

The statement has noted that this situation was previously exemplified by what happened in Maraş, Sivas and Gazi in the 1990s and in Gezi, Roboski, October 10 Ankara and Suruç massacres in the 2000s.

"There is currently a deep crisis in the socio-economic sphere, especially in the context of forest fires," the statement of the Democratic Alevi Associations has said, criticizing that "the failure to offer solutions while the future of forests and all types of living beings and humans in the country is burning down has led to the efforts to change the agenda."

The associations have also questioned the reason why people's participation in the firefighting efforts in the west is allowed by the authorities while people were prevented from joining the firefighting efforts to put out the fire that broke out in Dersim-Hozat region in the east.

The associations have asked, "Is there something being hidden? From what kind of a mindset stems this confidentiality? We know the murderers. The language of hate and monist mindset, especially that of the Interior Ministry, are the perpetrators of this massacre."

"Pitting peoples, beliefs and different cultures against each other, creating a language of hate and targeting cast a shadow on the culture of unity and solidarity," they have said, noting that "the failure to tolerate Kurds shows that the discourse of Kurdish fraternity is nothing but a lie."

"Hate crime, discrimination and massacre are crimes against humanity," the associations have underlined, calling on "all public authorities, especially the Minister of Interior, who did not intervene in the incident at the right time and place, to resign from office and be brought to account before the law." They have also said, "The perpetrators of the massacre must be identified as soon as possible and the instigating mindset must be revealed."

What happened?

Armed assailants raided the house of Dedeoğulları family in the Hasanköy Neighborhood in Konya's Meram in the evening hours on July 30. They shot seven family members to death, set the house on fire and ran away.

Several police and paramedic teams were referred to the scene of the incident upon reports. The dead bodies of Yaşar Dedeoğulları, Barış Dedeoğulları, Serpil Dedeoğulları, Serap Dedeoğulları, İpek Dedeoğulları, Metin Dedeoğulları and Sibel Dedeoğulları were found at home which was first raided by the group, then set on fire before leaving.

Living in the same neighbourhood for 24 years, the Dedeoğulları family was subjected to the racist attack of nearly 60 people on May 12. "We are [ultranationalist] idealists, we will not let you live here," a racist group threatened the family and severely wounded 7 family members, including four women. Of the 7 people arrested after the attack, 5 were released. (AÖ/SD)