Human Rights Association (IHD) Amed (Diyarbakır) Branch and relatives of the disappeared gathered in front of the Human Rights Monument in Koşuyolu Park in Rezan (Bağlar) district of Amed in the 812th week of their protest demanding “Let the disappeared be found and the perpetrators be tried”. The participants attended the statement with photographs of the disappeared and a banner with the photographs of the disappeared was unfurled in the area. 

 

Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), Co-Mayor of Amed Metropolitan Municipality Doğan Hatun also participated in the statement this week. At this week's demonstration, the story of Mehmet Salim Acar, who disappeared in custody on August 20, 1994 in the Ambar neighborhood of Amed's Bismil district, was read.

 

'WHERE IS NARİN GÜRAN?'

 

Speaking at the statement, Amed IHD Branch Chair Ercan Yılmaz called on all social and democratic mass organizations to participate in tomorrow's World Peace Day rally. Yılmaz said: “Peace can only be achieved by confronting the past. It is not possible to talk about a healthy peace in an environment where there is no confrontation with the past.” Yılmaz then wished patience to the family of 8-year-old Narin Güran, who went missing on August 21 in the Çulî rural neighborhood of Rezan district, “Where is Narin Güran?” he asked. 

 

'THEY TOOK MY FATHER IN FRONT OF MY EYES'

 

İhsan Acar, whose father was disappeared in detention 30 years ago, spoke next. Acar said: “No one should ignore this truth. The truth needs to come to light. I call out to those who witnessed this atrocity; Where did you take our disappeared? Where did you make them disappear? My father had six children. They took my father in front of my eyes. This struggle of ours will continue from generation to generation and no one should doubt this.” 

 

'THEY SAW HIM BLINDFOLDED AND GAGGED'

 

Then Fırat Akdeniz, member of IHD Amed Branch Disappearance Commission, read the story of Mehmet Salim Acar's disappearance. The story of Acar's disappearance is as follows: “Mehmet Salim Acar, 31, was a farmer living in the Ambar village of Bismil. On August 20, 1994, he was working in the fields around the village with his thirteen-year-old son and a farmer. At around noon, armed men who came in a gray Taurus without license plates and identified themselves as police officers demanded the identity cards of Acar and the other farmer. Then they forced Acar into an automobile and took him away. Acar's daughter and neighbors, who were washing clothes by the river, saw Acar in the Toros approaching the river with his hands, eyes and mouth tied. They also witnessed the Toros being accompanied by another car with five people in it waiting by the river and the vehicles driving away towards Bismil. 

 

NO RESULT

 

Upon receiving information that the vehicles in question had entered the Bismil Gendarmerie Battalion, the family applied to military, judicial and administrative authorities to find out where Mehmet Salim Acar was and why he was detained. The Acar family appealed to the Presidency, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice and other relevant national authorities, demanding immediate action to ensure Acar's safety. The family applied to the Silvan Public Prosecutor's Office and filed a criminal complaint against Bismil District Commando Battalion Commander İzzet Cural and gendarmerie officer Ahmet Babayiğit on the grounds that they were responsible for the abduction of Mehmet Salim Acar. However, on January 23, 1997, the Provincial Administrative Board decided not to prosecute them on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence against them. Despite all the pressure and threats, the family struggled for years to find Mehmet Salim Acar and failed to get any results from domestic law.”

  

ECHR CONVICTED IT

 

The case was taken to the ECHR. Turkey told the ECtHR: 'Our Government regrets the anguish caused to the family by the disappearance of M. Salim Acar. We recognize that the failure to carry out effective investigations into the alleged disappearance constitutes a violation of Articles 2, 5 and 13 of the Convention'. It offered the applicant an amicable settlement. The Acar family rejected the friendly settlement offer and asked the court to determine the violation they had suffered. Thereupon, the Court examined the case on its merits and unanimously convicted Turkey with its judgment dated April 8, 2004 on the grounds that Acar's right to life had been violated due to the lack of an adequate and effective investigation into his disappearance. The judgments of the ECtHR are binding on the state. According to the case law of the ECtHR, the state is obliged to carry out an effective investigation into disappearances in custody with the aim of uncovering the material truth about how the disappearance took place, identifying the location of the body of the disappeared, and prosecuting and punishing the perpetrators. On the 30th anniversary of his disappearance, we call on the political and judicial authorities to fulfill their obligation to conduct an effective investigation into the case of Mehmet Salim Acar. No matter how many years pass, we will not stop demanding justice for Mehmet Salim Acar and for all our disappeared.”

 

The statement ended with a sit-in.

 

ÊLIH 

 

In Êlih (Batman), relatives of the disappeared and IHD gathered in front of the Human Rights Monument on Gülistan Street for the 648th week of their protest. During the demonstration where photographs of the disappeared were carried, the story of missing Ali Gündüz, who left his home in Helanê village in Kercews (Gerçüş) district of Êlih on August 22, 1998 and was never heard from again, was read.

 

THREE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN MISSING SINCE THAT DAY

 

Gündüz's story was read by Hüseyin Elçi, the director of IHD Êlih Branch. Gündüz's story is as follows: “The son of missing Ali Gündüz tells the story as follows: My father was working in the garden of his house in the village on August 22, 1998 when a young man around 18 years old came to him. He told him that he had a problem with a relative and that he had come to settle it. They got into a car together and drove to Êlih. In Êlih they went to Mustafa Kaya's house. After talking there, they got in the car with Mustafa Kaya and his son Fatih Kaya and left. It is not known where they went. Since then there has been no news of Mustafa Kaya, Fatih Kaya and Ali Gündüz. When my father didn't come home, we called everywhere. Then I applied to the prosecutor's office in Kızıltepe, where I reside. The prosecutor's office did not find any results. We waited for our father every hour of every day during all this time, but we did not receive any news from him. The people who disappeared with my father were also not heard from. It is thought-provoking that three people suddenly disappeared and no news has been heard from any of them until today.”

 

Elçi emphasized that they will continue their protest until the perpetrators are found. 

 

The statement ended with a sit-in protest.

 

COLEMÊRG 

 

IHD Colemêrg (Hakkari) Branch and relatives of the disappeared gathered at Art Street in Gever district in the 138th week of their protests with the slogan “let the disappeared be found, let the perpetrators be tried”. In this week's protest, the perpetrators of Sait Akın, who lost his life on September 25, 1995 in the village of Befircan (Karlı) in Gever as a result of the fire opened by soldiers during an operation, were asked. 

 

The protest was supported by DEM Party and Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Gever district organization executives, Peace Mothers Assembly members and many citizens. Sibel Çapraz, Co-Chair of IHD Colemêrg Branch, read the text of the statement.

 

'WE WILL CONTINUE TO RAISE OUR VOICE'

 

Çapraz said: “There was a period when the concept of law was abolished with massacres that could have amounted to genocide under the so-called ‘fight against terrorism’. This situation brought with it the domination of paramilitary forces and the disregard for the right to life. The 'Yüksekova gang', led by Mehmet Emin Yurdakul, murdered many of our people and made their fate unquestionable. We will continue to raise our voices in our 138th week to break the wall of immunity built around the members of the Yüksekova gang, who have never been brought before a proper legal system despite dozens of facts, testimonies and confessions of the perpetrators of violence.” 

 

Asking about the perpetrators of Sait Akın, “We will never stop searching for our disappeared and we will never stop fighting until the fate of the last disappeared is revealed” she said.  

 

IZMIR

 

IHD Izmir Branch held its biweekly protest “Find the Disappeared, Put the Perpetrators on Trial” in front of Konak old Sümerbank. IHD Izmir Branch Executive Ahmet Çiçek shared the story of Mehmet Salim Acar (31) who disappeared on August 20, 1994 in Bismil district of Amed.