The Saturday Mothers met for the 710th time on Saturday to demand justice and truth for their children and relatives who disappeared under the custody of Turkish security forces.
According to a report by pro-Kurdish Fırat news agency (ANF), the Saturday Mothers staged demonstration despite the police blockade. Hasan Karakoç, who was a participant, said that “We are reclaiming our right to bury our dead but we get no answers from the authorities. Mothers want a grave of their children that they can visit.”
The Saturday Mothers, who have been fighting for 23 years for the truth about the fate of their relatives who disappeared while in detention to be revealed and for the perpetrators to be punished, had to meet in front of the Human Rights Association (İHD) İstanbul Branch, while both sides of Çukur Çeşme Street were cut off and blocked by police.
The deputies of pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP) Hüda Kaya and Oya Ersoy, Turkey main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Ali Şeker, actress Nur Sürer took part in this week’s action, supported by a large number of political parties and democratic mass organizations.
During the meeting on Saturday, also Nazım Gülmez was commemorated. 61-year-old Nazım Gülmez disappeared on October 14, 1994, after being taken into custody in Hozat district of Tunceli (Dersim).
Gülmez, the father of 9, lived in the village of Taşıtlı. He was working in agriculture and animal husbandry and was much loved. On October 14, 1994, the soldiers of the Bolu Commando Brigade, during an operation they were carrying out in the region, entered the village of Taşıtlı. The soldiers forced Gülmez out of his house telling him he should guide them on the field.
Thus, Gülmez and three more villagers were taken. Eventually the village headman and all the villagers confirmed the events. The three people who had been taken with Gülmez, were released after a while and returned to the village. Gülmez did not return.
The response of the military authorities to his wife, Garip Gülmez had been “Soldiers took him to Tunceli and left him there.” So, the Gülmez family applied to Hozat Prosecutor’s Office, but no progress was made in the case because the prosecutors’ office did not show the effort and diligence required for the enlightenment of the incident.
Emphasizing that they will continue to be the voice of Nazım Gülmez, human rights defender Sebla Arcan said that “Garip Gülmez has not been able to come here today because she is in intensive care.”
Arcan demanded an end to the impunity of those responsible for the disappearance of so many people.
Meanwhile, Fatma Kırbayır told the story of her brother, Cemil Kırbayır, who disappeared while in custody in 1980. “My mother even met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to find her son. He promised her they will find her son, but years went by and not a word was said. The state accepted that he was lost in custody. I’m calling the President: Give me the body of my brother. He has no grave”.
Rıdvan Karakoç’s brother Hasan Karakoç has also recalled the story of his brother who disappeared after being taken in custody 23 years ago. “We have been here every week to demand the truth and justice for our loved ones. – he said – We are here to reclaim the right to bury our dead.”
