Turkey Allows: Bury Where You Kill

Reacting to the wave of incidents that swept through Southeast Turkey during and after the March 28 funeral ceremonies conducted for PKK militants killed in clashes, the government has launched its new practice of burying dead suspects where they are killed without bringing them back home for a proper autopsy.

The first example of the policy change was witnessed recently in the Southeast province of Sirnak although it was decided upon during a Counter-Terrorism Supreme Commission meeting earlier this month following the Southeast unrest.

Professor Doctor Sebnem Korur Fincanci who previously headed the Istanbul University Forensic Medicine Department told Bianet in an interview that the practice itself was a violation of international human rights and that Turkey could be convicted at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for it.

Human Rights Association Chairman Yusuf Alatas said that aside from being in clear breach of the European Convention on Human Rights, burying the dead where they were killed should also be seen as "one of the greatest blows that can be delivered to the unity of the country."

Fincanci: Autopsy is a must

Fincanci told Bianet that in each and every death resulting from clashes, a formal autopsy needed to be conducted and that only this could reveal the true reason of death.

"Only an autopsy can answer questions such as whether a person was killed in a clash, or was he killed while running away, or was the death result of torture after being captured. If international regulations of conflict are being violated, these can only be revealed by an autopsy."

She argued that bodies of the dead could not be buried where they were killed and added "an autopsy must certainly be carried out at a center, by forensic medicine experts."

She referred to the international Mennesota Autopsy Protocol covering the effective investigation of extrajudicial killings saying, "the conditions of an autopsy are clearly stated in this protocol accepted by the United Nations. Because these conditions are not being met, Turkey could be sentenced at the ECHR for failing to conduct an effective investigation".

Fincanci added that according to the Turkish Penal Code, no matter who the deceased was, respect had to be shown to their funerals and the bodies had to be surrendered over to their families.

Alatas: How are suspicious deaths going to be revealed?

IHD Chairman Alatas recalled on his part that there were numerous allegations related to the killing of PKK militants in the recent months and stressed that almost no one knew what was going on in the conflict zone.

"There are claims that the bodies are being mutilated, that their organs are being cut off, that even if they are caught alive, they are tortured and killed as well as allegations that chemical weapons are being used. How are these going to be investigated?" he asked.

"This comes to the same meaning as the state saying, I have the right to kill you without being monitored" Alatas added.

The IHD Chairman argued that the practice also meant punishing those relatives and families that had a right to the bodies and noted, "this is something that does not even happen in wars. It is a general rule to respect those bodies of the deceased and to surrender them over to their families. What happens to the body is an issue that concerns the family".

Pointing out that this new practice effectively meant violation of article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which governs respect towards family and private life, Alatas concluded, "in essence this is a practice to punish the Kurdish people. It is a practice that provokes enmity and hatred, which means the cutting off of sentimental feelings between the people and their state. This is one of the greatest blows that can be delivered to the unity of the country. (TK/II/YE)