Date: 10:59 AM 7/10/01 +0200
From: azad
Subject: I: 22-28/7 IN TURCHIA, OLTRE IL MURO
DEL SILENZIO (vers
22-28 LUGLIO IN TURCHIA
OLTRE IL MURO DEL SILENZIO
DA GENOVA, OLTRE GENOVA....
UNA DELEGAZIONE INTERNAZIONALE SULLE ORME DEI
"DESAPARECIDOS" DI SILOPI
E PER INCONTRARE A ISTANBUL MUYESSER GUNES E
LE "MADRI PER LA PACE"
L'Ufficio d'informazione del Kurdistan in
Italia ha diffuso alcuni giorni fa
un appello per una presenza internazionale
nella delegazione che, promossa
dall'HADEP di Istanbul, dall'IHD e dalla
TOHAV, partir da Istanbul il 22
luglio per raggiungere in tre giorni le tre
citt di Sirnak, Silopi e Cizre.
Aderendo e rilanciando questa proposta, che
vediamo in continuit temporale
e ideale con il Genoa Social Forum,
aggiungiamo una ulteriore proposta: che
gli italiani (ed eventualmente gli altri
europei) che parteciperanno alla
delegazione incontrino, al ritorno ad Istanbul
il 27 luglio, Muyesser Gunes
e il movimento delle "Madri per la
Pace" di cui Muyesser presidente.
CHI SONO I PROMOTORI
L'Hadep (Partito della Democrazia del Popolo)
l'unico partito della
sinistra di opposizione legale in Turchia, e
rappresenta largamente la
popolazione kurda. Ha raccolto l'eredit di
diversi partiti sciolti uno dopo
l'altro dal regime, fra cui il Dep di Leyla
Zana e degli altri deputati
incarcerati da sette anni. Amministra da due
anni quasi quaranta citt
turche, fra cui la metropoli Diyarbakir, ed ha
tenuto recentemente il suo
Congresso nazionale ad Ankara con migliaia di
delegati e centinaia di
migliaia di sostenitori confluiti da tutto il
paese. Tenuto sotto la soglia
di sbarramento parlamentare del 10% grazie ai
brogli e al terrore,
minacciato di scioglimento in numerosi
processi da parte dei Tribunali
speciali nonostante il suo ampio sostegno di
massa, o proprio a causa di
esso.
l'Ihd (Associazione per i diritti umani) la
pi grande organizzazione di
questo tipo nel mondo, con ventimila membri.
Il suo ex presidente ,
sopravvissuto menomato a un gravissomo attentato,
anche vicepresidente
della Fdration Internationale del Droits de
l'Homme. Nata
dall'aggregazione spontanea delle famiglie di
migliaia di internati dopo il
colpo di stato militare del 1980, anch'essa
minacciata di scioglimento pur
essendo interlocutrice diretta del Parlamento
europeo e di tutti gli
organismi europei e internazionali di tutela
dei diritti umani, compresa
l'Onu.
La Tohav (Fondazione di studi sociali e
giuridici), fondata da un famoso
avvocato vittima delle squadre della morte,
raccoglie centinaia fra i
migliori giuristi turchi, ed impegnata in
attivit di ricerca ed
elaborazione ma anche nella difesa legale, in
Turchia e a Strasburgo, delle
vittime della repressione e in particolare
della tortura, per le quali ha
aperto anche un ambulatorio di riabilitazione
fisico-psicologica a Istanbul.
PERCHE' A SIRNAK, SILOPI E CIZRE
Sirnak il capoluogo della provincia del
Botan, di cui le altre due sono le
citt principali, lungo il medio corso del
Tigri, all'estremo oriente della
Turchia presso il confine nordirakeno. Per chi
ha visto il film "Viaggio
verso il sole", Cizre la citt in cui
il protagonista scopre con stupore
lo sferragliare dei carrarmati nelle strade...
La provincia di Sirnak una delle quattro
(con Diyarbakir, Hakkari e
Dersim-Tunceli) in cui recentemente il
parlamento, su proposta
dell'onnipotente Consiglio per la sicurezza
nazionale (ossia dei militari),
ha rinnovato per la 43.ma volta di seguito dal
lontano 1987 lo "stato di
emergenza", ossia la sospensione delle
garanzie costituzionali e
l'attribuzione di ogni potere al governatore
locale - nonostante che
l'abolizione dello stato di emergenza (in
sigla turca OHAL) sia stata
richiesta non solo dalla societ civile
raccolta nelle "Piattaforme per la
Democrazia", ma anche dal Consiglio
d'Europa e dal Parlamento europeo.
Essendo zona di confine, la provincia di
Sirnak terra di passaggio di
immensi traffici legali ma soprattutto
illegali (petrolio irakeno in
violazione dell'embargo, armi, droghe,
profughi), gestiti per lo pi dai
mezzi della potente TPIC (Turkish Petroleum
Company) di propriet militare,
dipendente dalla Gendarmeria.
E' infatti la Gendarmeria, e il suo servizio
segreto, il famigerato Jitem, a
detenere il potere reale nella provincia, ed a
rastrellare i profitti dei
traffici di cui non rimane nulla in una
provincia devastata dalla guerra e
dall'esodo. Questo hanno gridato i cittadini
di Sirnak al presidente della
Repubblica Sezer nella sua recente visita a
Sirnak, rivendicando il ritorno
e la ricostruzione delle centinaia di villaggi
distrutti dall'esercito e
rifiutando l'internamento nei
"koy-kent" (citt trincerate come campi di
concentramento) come quella di Basagac, che
Sezer era venuto a inaugurare.
In questo triangolo la repressione durissima
da sempre.
La relativa attenuazione seguita alla proposta
di pace e dialogo del Pkk
stata rotta il 25 gennaio di quest'anno,
quando nella caserma della
Gendarmeria di Silopi sono scomparsi i due giovani
dirigenti locali
dell'Hadep, Serdar Tanis e Ekubekir Deniz. La
loro scomparsa, che va ad
aggiungersi ai 6340 scomparsi
"ufficiali" negli ultimi cinque anni e
probabilmente ai 1964 casi di "omicidio
insoluto" calcolati nello stesso
periodo dall'Ihd (di cui cinquanta nella sola
Silopi), stata la goccia che
ha colmato il vaso. Le grandi manifestazioni
che nel loro nome hanno
percorso in primavera tutta la Turchia, con
scioperi della fame, veglie e
cortei di massa, hanno indotto persino l'Onu a
intervenire, con una lettera
indirizzata al ministro degli Esteri Cem da
Ivan Tosevski, Nigel Rodleuy e
Abid Hussain, rispettivamente responsabili Onu
per gli "scomparsi", per la
tortura e per la libera espressione. Il caso,
a sei mesi di distanza, resta
insoluto.
Nelle altre due citt la situazione analoga.
Basti pensare che Mehmet
Dilsiz, segretario cittadino dell'Hadep a
Cizre, ha dennciato in marzo di
essere stato sequestrato e minacciato di morte
e di sterminio della sua
famiglia da parte di ufficiali della
Gendarmeria, se avesse insistito a
voler aprire una sede locale del partito che
aveva gi preso in affitto. Un
mese dopo Dilsiz stato arrestato insieme al
nipote ed a sette dirigenti
locali dell'Hadep.
Il 7 luglio il Turkish Daily News, quotidiano
ufficiale in lingua inglese,
ha pubblicato una lunga intervista al
responsabile provinciale dell'Hadep di
Sirnak, Resul Sadak, fratello dell'ex deputato
Selim Sadak imprigionato dal
'94 insieme a Leyla Zana. L'intervista, che
qui riproduciamo in allegato nel
testo inglese, stata rilasciata subito dopo
il rilascio di Sadak dalla
locale prigione, in cui era stato rinchiuso in
base a una clamorosa
montatura della Gendarmeria.
DUNQUE LA DELEGAZIONE...
... composta da una trentina di esponenti
delle tre organizzazioni
promotrici, intellettuali, artisti e politici
indipendenti, e da un numero
per ora imprecisato di osservatori europei,
conta di incontrare a Sirnak e a
Silopi le autorit locali (governatore,
vicegovernatore, procuratori
generali), e in tutte le tre citt gli
esponenti dell'Hadep e le famiglie
delle persone colpite dalla repressione - e
dagli strascichi della guerra:
una mina ha recentemente ucciso quattro
persone e ferito altre dieci.
In particolare si insister per ottenere
notizie sulla sorte dei due
dirigenti politici arrestati e scomparsi a
Silopi.
E' evidente, in questa situazione,
l'importanza di presenze internazionali
(specialmente, ma non solo, parlamentari e
giuristi) per verificare la
situazione e dare maggior forza e potere
contrattuale alla delegazione.
Il lungo viaggio in autobus da Istanbul alla
provincia di Sirnak sar fra
l'altro un'occasione insostituibile di
conoscenza diretta e di confronto fra
operatori e giuristi di diversi paesi. Sar
inoltre possibile verificare,
durante il viaggio, i segni della guerra e
dell'esodo e le attese della
popolazione kurda.
In tutte le esperienze analoghe la presenza di
osservatori europei ha reso
pi facile superare i posti di blocco militari
e giungere a un contatto
diretto con le autorit di governo locale.
L'INCONTRO CON MUYESSER GUNES
Siamo grati a Muyesser Gunes per aver
accettato di incontrare la delegazione
italiana, insieme alle sue compagne del
movimento delle "Madri per la Pace",
al ritorno a Istanbul il 27 luglio.
Per questa donna quasi cinquantenne infatti
un momento di immenso dolore.
Immigrata a Istanbul da un villaggio presso
Siirt distrutto dall'esercito,
Muyesser aveva gi perso il figlio primogenito,
ucciso a poco pi di
vent'anni dall'esercito nel corso della guerra
partigiana in montagna. Ne ha
parlato spesso, con commozione, nei numerosi
incontri avuti in una dozzina
di citt italiane, a fine giugno, con
organismi della solidariet, donne e
movimenti femministi, amministrazioni locali.
Al ritorno in Turchia ha avuto la terribile
notizia della morte del suo
secondo figlio Fuat, ucciso dall'esercito in
circostanze ancora oscure con
ventuno suoi compagni nello scorso maggio sui
monti presso Bingol.
Il marito di Muyesser era stato arrestato
subito dopo la morte del figlio,
ed stato rilasciato solo pochi giorni fa. Da
sola, con l'aiuto dell'IHD di
Diyarbakir, Muyesser riuscita ad ottenere
che il corpo di suo figlio fosse
dissotterrato dalla fossa comune in cui era
stato gettato, e le fosse
consegnato per la sepoltura. il
"funerale" avvenuto in piena notte, nel
cimitero di un villaggio diverso dal loro
villaggio natale, con l'unico
accompagnamento di Muyesser e di un drappello
di gendarmi e soldati.
Le sue compagne ci dicono che Muyesser ora sta
meglio, e dopo le
tradizionali cerimonie del lutto familiare (in
cui stata visitata da
migliaia di persone) sta gi ritornando ad
Istanbul per continuare con
maggior forza il suo impegno per la pace.
In Italia il suo incontro pi toccante era
stato quello con le "Donne contro
il G8" a Genova, con dieci minuti di
applausi ininterrotti e tante mani
strette alla sua. In quell'occasione Muyesser
spieg con parole semplici e
vere perch la tenace lotta kurda per il
diritto all'identit confligge con
la globalizzazione.
Anche per questo vorremmo che tanti e tante
raccolgano la proposta di
rivederla a Istanbul all'indomani delle
manifestazioni di Genova, alle quali
parteciper anche la diaspora kurda.
Secondo la ricostruzione fatta per l'IHD da
Osman Baydemir, quello in cui
sono morti 22 guerriglieri fra cui il figlio
di Muyesser stato "un
massacro operato a freddo". I giovani,
trincerati sui monti presso Yedisu
(Bingol) in posizione puramente difensiva (in
coerenza con la scelta di
tregua unilaterale del Pkk), sono stati
assediati a lungo, ed in parte
catturati e torturati, in parte uccisi con il
lancio di bombe chimiche da un
aereo militare. Non un soldato rimasto
ferito, mentre la maggior parte dei
corpi, anche secondo l'autopsia ufficiale,
presenta i segni di bastonature e
dell'avvelenamento chimico e non di ferite
d'arma da fuoco.
L'ORGANIZZAZIONE DEL VIAGGIO
L'autobus della delegazione partir da
Istanbul, alla volta di Sirnak, nel
pomeriggio del 22 luglio.
L'autobus attenderebbe l'eventuale delegazione
italiana, che proponiamo che
parta da Milano (pi vicina di Roma a Genova,
per consentire di partecipare
alla manifestazione del 21 luglio) con il volo
Turkish Airlines delle ore 12
(arrivo a Istanbul alle 15.50).
Con lo stesso autobus sono previste le tappe
di Sirnak (23/7), Silopi (24/7)
e Cizre (25/7), e il ritorno a Istanbul il 26
luglio.
Il 27 luglio previsto l'incontro a Istanbul
con Muyesser Gunes e le "Madri
per la pace" kurde e turche (ed altri
incontri che la delegazione voglia
proporre), per fare poi ritorno, a scelta, a
Milano o a Roma il 28 luglio.
Il costo del biglietto aereo, essendo in alta
stagione, di . 820.000 pi
45.000 di tasse aeroportuali. Le altre spese
di trasporto e alloggio sono
molto limitate.
E' anche possibile, naturalmente, raggiungere
la delegazione direttamente a
Istanbul il 26 luglio per incontrare Muyesser
Gunes. In questo caso per,
per evitare un biglietto proibitivo,
bisognerebbe fermarsi a Istanbul almeno
fino a domenica 29 luglio.
Chiediamo alle/agli interessate/i di
prenotarsi immediatamente, per
consentire le prenotazioni del volo (i posti
sono gi oggi molto limitati),
presso Azad 06.57302933, port. 339.6504639,
fax 06.57305132, mail
ass.azad@libero.it, o presso la Uiki
(06.42013567, fax 06.42013799, mail
uiki.onlus@tin.it).
Allegato - intervista a Resul Sadak
(responsabile dell'Hadep a Sirnak) dal
"Turkish Daily News" del 7.7.2001
"People of Silopi used to losses"
Turkish Daily News
July 7, 2001
by Mert Gozde
Resul Sadak is the brother of Selim Sadak,
former Democracy Party (DEP)
Sirnak
parliamentarian who was expelled from
Parliament in 1994 and placed in
theAnkara
Ulucanlar Prison. Upon losing his chance of
becoming a parliamentarian in
the 1999 general
elections, his party gave him the task of
forming the Sirnak provincial
organization on Feb.
14, 2000. This marked the start of a series of
amazing events. Sadak, just
released from
prison, answered questions for the
Turkish Daily News.
TDN: For which accusation and in what manner
were you put under custody?
SADAK: People's Democracy Party (HADEP) Sirnak
Vice President Selim Bayar,
Central
Administrative Province Chairman Ezgar Osal
and I took off from Sirnak to
Silopi at 9 a.m.
on April 15. Our aim was to visit the families
of our Silopi administrators
who had been
missing for five months.
We were stopped by the gendarmerie for a
search and identity check when we
came to the
Kasrik Pass between Sirnak-Cizre. We weren't
disturbed as we were made to
wait two-three
hours whenever we passed there. While
expecting a normal "wait" again, we
were faced with
different circumstances. The officials who had
stopped our vehicle, after
half an hour, started
turning back vehicles coming in our direction,
closing the workplaces in the
surrounding
area and sending their owners home. Upon
realizing what was going on, I
warned the
members of our party that were next to me and
called the HADEP Center to
inform the party
administrators of what was going on.
A soldier soon approached us and requested us
to switch our vehicle's
direction from Cizre to
where we had come from -- Sirnak. I did what
was wanted. Then a sergeant
approached the
car, made me get out, searched me and then
took me to the hut located at the
search point.
With the order of the station commander Senior
Staff Sergeant Ali Aktas, my
hands were
tied at my back and I was taken to the
station. I was searched a second time
at the station.
Then I was blindfolded and asack was put over
my head. We got in a car and
set off.
After a certain time, we reached the Cizre
State Hospital. I was put through
a checkup there.
I couldn't understand why I was brought to the
Cizre State Hospital whereas
we were closer
to the Sirnak city center. After the checkup I
was brought to the town of
Kasrik. My friends
were waiting there. We were all taken to the
Sirnak Gendarmerie Regiment
Commandership. A sergeant major there recorded
my testimony. He informed me
that the
soldiers who had searched me at the control
point had placed a complaint
about me. They
had stated that I had swore at them using the
words, "The dogs of the
Republic of Turkey." I
was shocked.
I stated that I had made no such insult and
added that there hadn't been any
arguments
between the soldiers and myself. I read my
written testimony and signed it.
After being put
through another checkup at the Sirnak State
Hospital I was brought back to
the gendarmerie.
I was under custody that night.
The next day I was brought in front of Sirnak
Prosecutor Ali Goren. The
prosecutor asked
me whether I accepted my written testimony or
not. I said that I accepted
that the written
testimony was mine but rejected the accusation
that I had insulted the
soldiers. I was taken to
the court on duty and was acquitted by the
judge. I went to the hotel where
I was staying in
Sirnak. The gendarmerie and police came and took me at around 7:30 p.m.
They informed
me that upon rejection by the prosecutor, the
court had issued an arrest
order concerning
myself, with a judgement given in default. I
was taken to see the Sirnak
Gendarmerie
Regiment Commander Col. Levent Ersoz. Col.
Ersoz placed a phone call and
ordered the
person on the other end of the line to put me
in prison. They took me to the
Sirnak
Courthouse at around 9 p.m. The judge and
prosecutor came, issued a warrant
of arrest and
sent it to the Sirnak Prison.
TDN: The judge that arrested you had set you
free before. What was his
accusation this
time?
SADAK: I was arrested by a different judge. I
was accused of "insulting the
security
forces and abusing them." The accusation
of abuse hadn't been mentioned
while I
was testifying at the gendarmerie or at the
Public Prosecutor's Office. It
was put
forth when I faced the judge. I was shocked
when the judge said, "Do you
know that
one of the soldiers that you struck has been
given a report stating that he
cannot work for 10
days and the other for 15 days?" The
sergeant and soldier who were given
doctors reports on
the grounds that they had been physically
abused by me were present at the
scene and did not
look at all "beaten up." But the
judge chose to believe them instead of me.
TDN: Are you physically big enough to beat up
two soldiers? Can you describe
your height
and weight?
SADAK: My height is 1.63 meters and my weight
is around 83-84 kilograms. My
weight
and height aren't directly proportionate. But
I must not only be physically
capable but also
crazy to beat up those soldiers. We are afraid
to cross their shadows, let
alone beat them up.
If I really was to have resisted the soldiers,
I probably wouldn't be alive
now.
TDN: You had been put under custody before.
What had they accused you of
then?
SADAK: We attended the Batman Provincial
Convention on Sept. 23, 2000. We
were
stopped at the gendarmerie control point,
located at the Sirnak border,
while returning the
same day. I understood something would happen
when we were made to wait too
long. We
had never waited there in our former trips.
Extensive security measures had been taken.
All vehicles had been stopped.
When
it was our turn, all sides of our vehicles
were searched. They searched in
the spare tire and
under the couches. They left when they
couldn't find anything.
We didn't come across anything unusual until
Idil. There's a police station
at the exit
of Idil. We were searched and our identities
were checked there as well. We
realized that the
road was blocked by a panzer while approaching
the Duzova Gendarmerie
Station linked to
Cizre. As soon as they took our identity
cards, they wanted us to park our
vehicles in the
station's garden. I wasn't allowed to use my mobile
to inform our party
administrators of
what was going on. They confiscated my
cellular phone, blindfolded us and
put us in a room.
TDN: How many people were in your group?
SADAK: We were 13 people in all and were
travelling in two separate cars.
The others were
friends from our party. We were brought to
Sirnak in blindfolds and were
interrogated at the
gendarmerie station. They only asked questions
concerning HADEP. They told
us that we
would face many problems if we didn't stop organizing HADEP and
threatened
us with
death. We weren't tortured or beaten.
When taken to court the next day, we were
accused of carrying an unlicensed
automatic gun
in our car. But no such gun was found in the
search. No questions had been
asked about the
gun during the interrogation either. They had
just pressured us to sign an
official report they
had prepared while we had our blindfolds on. I
had rejected signing it.
After nine days in custody, we were taken to
court on a Sunday. We were then
arrested and
sent to the Sirnak Prison. After spending two
hours there we were sent to
the Mardin Prison.
We reached Mardin towards dawn. After spending
a month there we were
transferred to the
Siirt Prison. After staying under arrest for 82 days, we were acquitted
on
Dc. 12, 2000, by
the Diyarbakir Second State Security Court (DGM).
TDN: What types of weapons were you accused of
carrying in your vehicle?
SADAK: We were accused of carrying bombs,
detonators, kalashnikovs and
illegal
organization flags. They also said they had found
guns in a search
conducted in my home.
In fact, they made my family wait outside
while putting a gun under my bed
and prepared an
official report stating that a gun had been
found under my bed. They forced
my wife to sign
the report and threatened the neighbors when
she refused. The fearful
neighbors signed it.
TDN: You were taken under custody at almost
the same time as Osman Demir,
the chief
village guardian of the Batuvan tribe and
independent mayor of the town of
Kumcati linked
to Sirnak. Didn't you come across each other
at the gendarmerie or prison?
SADAK: Yes, we did. They arrested Demir the
same day that I was taken under
custody and
sent to court. We shared the same cell for
eight days in the Sirnak Prison.
He was transferred
to the Mardin Prison after being
arrested. He is there at the
moment and
will be taken to
court on July 4.
TDN: Was he offended when taken into custody?
SADAK: You know he is a village guardian. Many
members of his tribe work as
guardians.
They fought against the Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK) for years and lost
many relatives
during the process. He has received many
letters of commendation from many
of the
commanders for his successes. He can't
understand why he has been taken into
custody
despite all his efforts on behalf of the
state.
He said he faced a similar plot and stated
that Col. Ersoz told him he was
working for both
sides and so they weren't going to work with
him anymore. Demir was then
taken into
custody and put in a car. There was also a
weapon called a "docka" in the
car, apparently.
He was taken out to open land where a hole was
dug and the gun placed in it.
Demir's
picture was taken beside the gun. He was put
on trial with the accusation
that he had "hidden
weapons for the PKK" and was then
arrested.
TDN: What did he have to say about being taken
into custody while claiming
to be on the
side of the state?
SADAK: He was very upset and said: "I
received five letters of commendation
from
commanders of the security forces before
today. The sixth was this custody.
I didn't deserve
such treatment."
According to him, Col. Ersoz said: "All
Kurds are the same. Guardian, member
of HADEP
or MHP ... it makes no difference. After Osman
Demir, they brought in the
mayor of the
town of Senoba, Seyhmus Babat. He too claimed
this to be a plot. Babat
reported that a
search had been conducted in his home in which
authorities wrote a report
claiming to have
found 800 grams of hashish -- Babat claims
that officials put this in his
home themselves.
Babat told us that he wasn't into the drug
trade and even if he was, he
would've had more
then 800 grams. He too fought against the PKK
with his tribe and lost many
of his relatives.
He kept saying he couldn't understand what was
going on. The guardian of the
town of
Belveren who is also the mayor, Sait Sidar,
was also taken into custody a
week ago,
arrested and sent to prison.
TDN: In one of your former statements you
claimed that all that had happened
to yourself
and your friends was part of a plan trying to
prevent the organization of
HADEP in Sirnak
and its surrounding. Did similar things happen
in Sirnak?
SADAK: The HADEP chairman of the town Cizre,
Mehmet Dilsiz, was threatened
with
death many times. He went to prison twice and
was accused of carrying drugs
the last time
he was arrested. He was acquitted in his first
trial which was on June12.
Now he is at home
and is still being threatened.
All HADEP administrators have been to prison.
The last incident concerned
the head town
secretary, Mehmet Yumak, who was taken into
custody by soldiers that had
surrounded his
home. He faced a similar plot. Officials put a
kalashnikov gun behind his
refrigerator at
home and acted as if it belonged to him. First
he was taken into custody,
then was sent to
prison with the accusation that he had an
unlicensed weapon.
TDN: Do the ones that take you into custody
reveal to you openly their real
aims?
SADAK: Col. Ersoz openly told us we should
leave HADEP or we wouldn't
survive.
He told this many times every time we were
arrested. He said: "My status and
position are
clear. You can complain to whomever you
want."
Threats are sent via phone calls and messengers.
For example, I set off from
Sirnak to
Diyarbakir on Jan. 3. Our Silopi
administrators weren't lost yet at that
date. A car with a
civilian number plate blocked the road and two
people with civilian clothes
got out. They
stated that they were members of the JITEM and
said Col. Ersoz was waiting
for me in his
office. They insisted even though I told them
I had come a long way and
would be late if I
turned back. Having no other alternative, I
turned back and met Col. Ersoz.
He told me he
would strangle me in the Kasrik Strait if I
didn't stop organizing HADEP. A
captain named
Kemal was present while Ersoz was sayingthese.
All members of our party were
threatened
in the same way. Even people that helped HADEP
were affected by this.
TDN: Why were people who weren't members of
the party threatened?
SADAK: Salih Buldus rented his shop to us in
Cizre. Some soldiers in
civilian clothing took
him out to open land and threatened him. They
even took him to the home of
MHP town
chairman Abdurrahman Ciftci and told him to
rent his shop to Ciftci if he
wanted to do so.
Ciftci replied saying he already had a place
and didn't need another one and
asked why he
was made to confront this person.
TDN: Are you determined to be the HADEP chairman
despite all these threats
and
pressures?
SADAK: Until the end. I want to keep up the
struggle in the name of peace
and
brotherhood. I won't back down no matter what
kind of pressure is put on.
HADEP
is a legal political party and is organized
everywhere in Turkey. If Sirnak
isn't a part
of this country and is being administrated
with different laws, Ecevit
should make an
explanation. Then we can act in accordance to
that.
The reason for our demanding an explanation is
that when two of our
administrators from
Silopi were lost, Ecevit said he had no
information concerning the subject.
However our
Silopi Chairman Serdar Tanis had informed the
head of state, prime minister,
Parliament
speaker, chief of General Staff, justice
minister, interior minister and the
Emergency Rule
(OHAL) mayor and prosecutor, with a petition
saying that he was being
threatened with
death. We constantly get such threats.
I organized the HADEP organization in Sirnak
over a year ago but I only got
the chance to
see the mayor in the newspapers. I have spent
every week this past year
requesting an
appointment but I have been turned down each
time. We haven't been able to
submit the
necessary documents even when we were
establishing the party -- we had to
submit them via
a notary. This is because we aren't perceived
to be people to be addressed.
We had to submit
documents via a notary when we were founding
the organization in Cizre and
Silopi too. Not
a single head of thecivilian administration
spoke to us. No matter what the
obstacle is, I
will go on with my struggle. I know I am not
doing anything wrong or
illegal.
TDN: Are you thinking of applying to court
about the plots you claim to have
been through?
SADAK: I am the chairman of HADEP in Sirnak
but my family and home are in
Idil.
The gendarmerie didn't allow me to enter Idil
before the last bayram. Upon
calling the Idil
Gendarmerie captain and asking him if he knew
of the order, he replied: "Of
course I do. I
issued it so take your home and go wherever
you want." I asked my crime and
received the
reply: "I'm not allowing you into Idil.
You aren't going to spend this
bayram in your home."
He did what he said and I spent the holiday
away from home, alone in Sirnak.
TDN: Are there any developments about the
missing from Silopi?
SADAK: No, there are not. None of the
authorities that we applied to have
said anything.
We shall go on making legal applications
though. It is quite obvious where
they have gone.
The driver of the minibus carrying them
witnessed these people being taken
to the Silopi
Gendarmerie Command. There are other witnesses
as well. However, no one has
witnessed
them exit. Since where they have gone is
obvious, the people there must know
what has
happened to them. We will go on with our
efforts until these people make
explanations to us
and to the public.
TDN: What is the general opinion in Silopi
about these missing people?
SADAK: The people of Silopi are used to lost
people. Over 50 people went
missing in the
past decade in Silopi. Even their bones
haven't been found. The people of
Silopi believe that
the same thing must have happened to the
recently lost ones as had happened
to the previous.