AF/ATS: Turkey massacres Kurds in S

[PeaceNet Middle East Team]

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: AF/ATS: Turkey massacres Kurds in S

/* Written  1:17 pm  Sep  7, 1992 by aforum at moose.uvm.edu in cdp:misc.activism. */
/* ---------- "AF/ATS: Turkey massacres Kurds in S" ---------- */
posted by: AF/ATS

21 August 1992

URGENT

MASSACRE BY TURKISH STATE IN CITY OF SIRNAK CONTINUES

Since 18 August 1992 the Turkish military forces have been
massacring Kurdish civilians non stop. As in the terrible events
of Newroz, the Turkish government has claimed that the PKK had
occupied the city and they were forced to intervene. This was used
to legitimise the massacre they are committing. They claim the
guerrillas are still in the city and therefore "the conflict
between the army and guerrillas continues."

There is not one guerrilla in the city of Sirnak. This is merely
an excuse to kill Kurdish civilians. An inhabitant of Sirnak
managed to make a telephone call to the Human Rights Association
in Diyarbakir saying that the Turkish government was using
helicopters and German made Panzers to bombard the city and destroy
it. He also said "In the attack, which has now lasted more than 48
hours, more than half of the city has been destroyed. The house of
the mayor, and the shop underneath are burning. There are large
numbers of dead. The massacre is continuing. The international
media has to be informed."

Another inhabitant said:"Now the areas of Guzelyurt, Gazi,
Imetpasa, Cumhuriyet, are all burnt and destroyed. The soldiers are
pouring petrol on the shops and houses, then firing from 5 to 6
metres away and setting them on fire. Special counter insurgency
teams are now taking the electrical goods from the shops and
loading them on the military vehicles. A fridge which was too heavy
for them was destroyed by fire from M16 machine guns. For two days
there has been no water, no electricity, and no food."

We call on all progressive and democratic governments and peoples
to stop the massacre which is being perpetrated by the Turkish
government against the Kurdish people.

Kurdistan Committees in Europe


21 August 1992

LATEST NEWS FROM SIRNAK

Hundreds of civilians have been killed by the Turkish troops in
Sirnak. We cannot get exact numbers because of the information
embargo which has been put on the city. People are forbidden to
move in or out of the city centre, or leave their houses. Telephone
lines have been cut. No journalists have been permitted to enter
the city except for the Hurriyet (Turkish newspaper) correspondent.
Villagers living near Sirnak have informed the Human Rights
Association of Diyarbakir that the nearby villages of Hestan, Dehla
Biye and Zorova have been bombed. The Turkish troops have refused
to allow the injured to be moved to hospitals outside Sirnak, and
many of them are dying for lack of treatment. The Human Rights
Association is gravely concerned about the lack of water, food and
electricity in the city. Their latest bulletin lists terrible
scenes:

30 dead bodies of civilians dumped in the garden of the hospital

9 bodies buried by police this morning 

100 houses set on fire by police officers

All shops and cars destroyed by police

List of identified dead and wounded to date

Hezni Erkol
Zehra Koval
Halime Kurtel
Suleyman Kurtel
Mahmut Attaman - house destroyed, whole family mortally wounded
Salih Balik - house destroyed, whole family wounded
Salih Ozgur pinar - house destroyed

The Human Rights Association is calling on all journalists and all
who respect the right to life to take steps against this massacre
immediately and send delegations of foreign observers to the
region. The presence of foreign observers is absolutely vital as
it is the only way of deterring the Turkish army from continuing
their attack.


PRESS STATEMENT

NO GUERRILLA RAIDS ON SIRNAK - TURKISH STATE COMMITS MASSACRE

On 18 August 1992 Turkish forces claimed that the PKK had raided
the city of Sirnak. Sirnak was put under siege. All roads in and
out of Sirnak were blocked. The true events of the next three days
including their atrocities were covered up by the Turkish state.

The crime which was committed in Sirnak was not only committed
against Kurdish people but against all the people of the world,
because Kurdish people are fighting for human dignity, human
values, and to establish a republic in which these values are
respected. It is our duty to tell people the truth about what
happened in Sirnak.

Although no guerrilla unit raided the city of Sirnak on 18 August
the Turkish state used its media to tell the world that government
and military buildings in Sirnak had been raided by 1000-1500 PKK
guerrillas. The Turkish military used this as an excuse to attack
the city with Helicopters, tanks, Panzers, APCs, and counter
insurgency and commando forces. The areas where a majority of
Kurdish patriots live was totally destroyed. The commandos and
police shot at random at women, children, youths, elders, killing
and wounding them by the hundred. Houses of Kurdish patriots were
marked and inhabitants were dragged out and shot without attempt
at arrest or trial. The regional governor and Minister of the
Interior made a statement that the army was fired at from inside
the houses in order to legitimise their massacre.

We must stress that if there had been up to 1000 guerrillas in
Sirnak the regional governor and Minister of the Interior would
have had to think twice about flying in to Sirnak by helicopter.

An eyewitness reported:"The areas of Guzelyurt, Gazi, Imetpasa,
Cumhuriyet, have been destroyed. The soldiers are pouring petrol
on the houses, then firing form 5 to 6 metres away and setting them
on fire. Special counter insurgency teams are now taking the
electrical goods from the shops and loading them on the military
vehicles. For two days there has been no water, no electricity, and
no food."

WHY MASSACRE THE PEOPLE? WHY IN SIRNAK?

The Kurdish people have reached the stage where they are able to
govern themselves. With their leadership and guerrilla army they
will be able to live freely and independently, and to establish
their unity as a people. They are in the process to establish a
National Assembly and national army, and this means an end to the
Turkish state in Kurdistan. The massacres were committed by the
Turkish state to prevent this historical step.

They have tried the same trick twice in Sirnak, now and during
Newroz. It will never work. It can't stop the struggle of the
Kurdish people for freedom and independence.

There was a bloodbath in Sirnak. The press and independent
observers are still being prevented from seeing the inhabitants and
the damage done to the city. Houses are still full of the corpses
of innocent civilians and the streets are full of dead animals.
Seventy per cent of the city has been destroyed. The damage to the
city runs into millions of pounds. People have been left homeless
and in dire poverty.

We repeat the call made by the people of Sirnak to the
international governments and media to send independent observers
to the area to investigate.

ERNK EUROPEAN REPRESENTATIVE


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