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Diyarbakir -- A mass grave was uncovered in an
arable field of Kulp, in Diyarbakir province. It is
claimed that the corpses belong to villagers taken
into custody during an operation by Turkish Army
forces in 1993.
No information about these people has been received
since their arrest. The remains and contents of
thegrave have been delivered to the public
prosecutor.Inhabitants of Alacakoy village notified
the Diyarbakir brach of the Human Rights Association
(IHD) on 2 November that they had found the grave of
relatives who disappeared after being taken into
custody by the Turkish Army in 1993 during an
operation in which villages were burned to force
thevillagers to leave the area. A delegation
organized by the Human Rights Association to
investigate the claims went to the aforementioned
area on 4 November and attained the remains and
clothing of those buried at the site.
The delegation documented with photographs and video recordings.BRUTALITY
According to the statement of Süleyman Yamuk, who
filed the applicatuion to IHD, troops from the Kulp
Gendarmary Commandary raided the village in October
1993.The villagers called: Mehmet Sah Atala,
Nusrettin Yerlikaya, Turan Demir, Behçet Tutus,
Bahri Simsek, Serif ve Hasan Avar, M. Salih Akdeniz,
Celil Aydogdu, Umit Tas and Abdi Yamuk were taken
into custody.
The 11 detained villagers were taken to Keper arable field, far from the
village -- almost 20 minutes, and held for ten days
with their hands tied and not allowed to stand up.
During those ten days the relatives were allowed to
take some food to the eleven persons . The last day
the soldiers ordered not to bring food anymore.
Subsequently, another military operation occurred
and the village was burnt and the villagers forced
to flee.
Some of the villagers were not able to take
belongings from their buildings.No further contact
was made with the 11 detained villagers. And the
Alacakoy authorities pronounced the region a
forbidden military zone until 2001, during which
timeIt was impossible to discover their fate or find
their bodies. Eventually the villagers applied to
the European Court of Human Rights in Strassbourg.
After the Court examined the case, Turkey was convicted and sentenced. But
the fate of the villagers was still not clear.THE
FAMILIES DIAGNOSEDOne IHD official, Mehdi Perincek,
who participated in the delegation says: “We were
confronted with a shocking sight.
There were human remains and clothing. When we
removed the remnants of a shirt perceptible under
the soil, onefamily member with us said that her
husband was wearing the shirt when he was detained
REMAINS IN THE GRAVE DELIVERED TO PUBLIC
PROSECUTORPerincek said, “We met Public Prosecutor
Hakan Ali Erkan and gave him the remains and
clothing we found in the grave. He said he would
send them to Mus (nearest city) with arequest for
DNA testing.
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