Civil society organisations are also trying to contribute to the steps taken towards a democratic and peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue with the Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan's “Call for Peace and a Democratic Society” and the PKK's decision to disband and disarm through various activities. 

 

In this context, the İHD brought together the families of PKK members and soldiers who lost their lives in the conflicts at a meeting titled “The Road to Peace: Memory and Justice” on 21-22 June. 

 

 

Among those attending the meeting was Fahriye Çukur, the mother of Rozerin Çukur (17), who was killed by snipers on 8 January 2016 during the curfew imposed in the Sûr district of Amed (Diyarbakır). She said they wanted peace and an end to the oppression: "No more tears, no more crying mothers. We raise our children, they are killed, they are imprisoned, they are exiled. If the state takes one step, we take two. Kurdish and Turkish mothers came together today. We were very sad for them. We wanted this to happen. We called out when our children were killed. Let the mothers of soldiers and police officers come to our side. Let us be one, why are our children being killed? They come and kill us, saying, ‘You are terrorists.’ My daughter was a student, she was in high school. When she was a student, she was a student of the state, but when she was killed, she became a ‘terrorist.’ We want peace, we want goodness. Let's come together, let's unite, police, soldiers, guerrilla families. Let our hearts be one. When we are all united, there will be peace." 

 

'ONLY MOTHERS CAN BRING PEACE'

 

 

Peace Mother Kudret Eryılmaz, one of the participants in the meeting who said, “Blood cannot be washed away with blood,” said that even if it takes years, the end of the war will be peace. 

 

Referring to previous processes that did not reach the desired outcome, Kudret Eryılmaz said: "Hopefully, the Kurds will not be left empty-handed again, as they were in previous years. Enough is enough. The hearts of Kurdish mothers are burning, the hearts of soldiers' mothers are burning. We want a solution for our country, we want this bloodshed to stop. If we join hands with Turkish mothers today, I am sure this dirty war will end sooner. Because it is the mothers whose hearts are burning. That is why mothers are ready for anything. Turkish mothers should not be afraid of this peace."

 

'FAMILIES WANT TO LIVE IN PEACE'

 

 

Şerafettin Işık, one of the participants who said that his son Feyzullah Işık was killed in 2008 in Alemdağ, Istanbul, under the guise of suicide while serving in the military, said that the window of a restaurant near the Forensic Medicine Institute in Istanbul was broken and that he was blamed for the crime. 

 

Işık stated that his son's funeral was held hostage until the restaurant's expenses were paid. Expressing that they welcomed the resolution process, Işık emphasised the importance of families who have suffered on both sides coming together, saying, "No one else should die, justice should be served. Kurds are sometimes killed unjustly because they are Kurds. People who are not involved in the conflict are also being killed. The families of those killed unjustly want to live in peace. No other mothers should cry." 

 

CALL FOR CONFRONTATION FOR ROBOSKΠ

 

 

Veli Encü, who has many relatives among the 34 people killed in the bombing of Roboskî village in the Qileban (Uludere) district of Şirnex (Şırnak) on 28 December 2011, stated that the families of Roboskî consider the peace process to be very valuable and support it. 

 

Encü said that Abdullah Öcalan's historical responsibility is very important, adding that the Kurds have taken steps by fulfilling their responsibilities, but the state has not taken any concrete steps to gain the trust of the Kurds. Encü stressed that the state must take the necessary steps as soon as possible, saying, “If this process is wasted again, if it does not take the steps it is responsible for taking, unfortunately, the same results may be experienced as in similar processes.” 

 

Encü said that not only the Kurds but also the Turks must take ownership of the process: "There has been a lot of suffering, and there have been huge losses over the years. Now, in order to prevent these losses and suffering from happening again, we must all work together to support and take ownership of this peace and resolution process. As the families of Roboskî, even after the Roboskî massacre, we have always called for justice and peace. As families who have experienced great pain, we have never approached this with revenge or hatred. Of course, the Roboskî massacre, which was a test for the government and the state, is also a source of shame for this land. Unfortunately, the state did not do its part, especially regarding this great massacre. They did everything in their power to acquit the perpetrators and those responsible for the massacre through legal means. We, as families, never accept this. Our pain is still fresh. Our demand for justice has not yet been met. Our struggle for justice continues."

 

Encü said that the promises made to them in the previous process were not fulfilled: “So if they really want to pass this test, if the state and the government want to show their sincerity to the Kurdish and Turkish peoples in this process, they first need to look at Roboskî, they need to resolve Roboskî.” 

 

'THE STATE MUST HEAR THE CRY'

 

Emphasising that he found the meeting very valuable, Encü said: ‘The state officials should listen to the cries here with their hearts. As the Roboskî families, we have never marginalised our pain. We always believe that sharing pain, not seeing pain as separate from one another, is a method that will pave the way for peace.” 

 

'THE KURDISH LANGUAGE SHOULD NOT BE X'

 

 

Cihan Sincar, wife of Mehmet Sincar, a member of parliament for the Democracy Party (DEP) in Mêrdîn (Mardin) who was murdered in Êlih (Batman) on 4 September 1993. She said: "The Kurdish language and identity should not be ‘X (Unknown language)’. As Kurds, we have fought hard for peace and paid a heavy price. My husband was a deputy, and they murdered him in Êlih. Forces within the state that did not want peace did this. They said, ‘Let's not open the way for democracy, let's eliminate those who work for democracy.’ But killing does not eliminate the Kurdish people or democratic people."

 

Referring to Turkey's attacks on Federal Kurdistan, Cihan Sincar said: “We are all waiting for peace. But we do not want anyone to wage war in the name of peace. First, they should stop the wars, stop killing our people. What is this ongoing war? If their intentions are pure, they should first stop this war.”

 

Emphasising the need for more meetings between families from both sides, she stressed: "Let's talk about our problems face to face. We want our existence, our identity, our prisoners. We want them to apologise for killing our unarmed, civilian people. We want an honourable peace. We have been talking about the path to peace for 40 years. We are all working for an honourable peace. You are making peace, you are waging war. First and foremost, we want faith. Our faith has been broken many times. The more steps they take, the more our faith will grow." 

 

'THE GREATEST RESPONSIBILITY FALLS ON THOSE WHO HAVE PAID THE PRICE' 

 

Adding that the greatest responsibility in this process falls on the families of the victims, Cihan Sincar concluded: "Both sides need to express their wishes. They are also at fault; most of them don't even know why they died. They say, ‘May our homeland be safe.’ May everyone's homeland be safe, but not in this way. Our call to them is to come and unite our ideas and minds. The system that built this country does not accept anyone within itself. Your children were killed, thousands of our people were massacred, and our villages were emptied. We have witnessed thousands of things. The leader of the Kurdish people took a very big step towards peace. The responsibility falls on us who paid the price for this. We want peace, but we stand by our existence and the sacrifices we have made. Peace means apologising when you do something wrong. We are not giving up on peace, nor are we forgetting our values. Our values come before our lives, and everyone should know this."

 

MA / Rukiye Payiz Adiguzel