Landmines: Fresh Threat For Kurdish Locals
Balci pointed out that the mines in the region continue explode and that many people fall victim to this serious threat. He added that they started their campaign on December 7 in 2000 with the support of the Turkish Human Rights Association (İHD) and the Swiss anti-mine campaigners.
"Every year, many people lose their life and many others are seriously injured. Without any serious measures, many villagers will lose their life or be injured in increasing numbers wit the rise in the number of displaced people who want to go back to their land and villages," Balci told bianet.
They have prepared some booklets about the mine risk in the region and have sent them to parliamentarians and others organisations to request that the mines should be cleared from the region immediately and must not be used ever again, he added.
The campaigners claim that during the conflict between the PKK and the Turkish Army in the 1990s, the depopulated villages had mines laid all around them to block the return of the villagers.
Mainstream media neglects landmine accidents
According to Balci, Turkish media provides little space for mine explosions and accidents related with them.
"Particularly children are the main victims of mine accidents," he says. "Last year, 18 people lost their lives when mines exploded and six of them were children. In the same period 33 people were seriously injured in landmine explosions of whom 23 were children.
"On the other hand, many accidents happened this year in the southern cities of Turkey such as Bingöl, Erzurum, Lice and Şemdinli, but they were not reported by the Turkish media although foreign newspapers and news services picked up the story."
Balci explains that in the last ten year at least 600 people in Turkey have lost their lives due to landmine explosions and over a thousand others have been seriously injured. The majority lost a foot or limb and were doomed to disability for the rest of their lives.
"We are campaigning to stop this massacre," he says.
Turks are only recently informed of the mine threat
Balci further notes that unfortunately Turkey has only recently been informed of the dangers posed by land mines and the extent of the threat for people's lives.
"It is the duty of politicians and human rights organisations to stop landmine accidents. Last year, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit explained that Turkey should clear these mines but this reality should be known by all other organisations and Turkey should sign the Ottowa Agreement for the Banning of Landmines as soon as possible," he said.
Mines in Turkey
* There is no reliable information for the kinds of mines used in Turkey and the number of people who have been killed in mine accidents.
* The majority of the dead and injured are from along the Turkey-Syria border.
* There is no official report or information in the hands of the state about what kind of and how many mines there are in Turkey but it is known that Turkey produces lots of different mines so the figure is calculated to be very high.
* With the beginning of the armed conflict between the Turkish army and the PKK, numerous mines were laid in different areas and the majority of them have not been cleared yet.
* Scores of villages in the south-east have been mined to block the return of displaced villagers.
* Also, scores of unexploded bombs are reported abandoned on the countryside by both the Turkish army and the PKK and these are generally found by children and many have suffered serious accidents as they played with them.
* There is no clear information about how many mines the PKK used and which places have been mined by them. On the other hand it was not explained by the PKK whether or not they re-use them.
* There is no information about how many mine victims there are in Turkey and also there are no organisations or programmes dedicated to the rehabilitation of these victims.
Some positive developments
Balci also noted that in spite of lots of accidents, there are some positive developments in Turkey about mines.
He said that thanks to some recent agreements signed with Syria, Turkey has decided to clear the mines along the Turkey-Syria border.
According to former Interior Minister Sadettin Tantan Turkey and Greece as signatories to Ottowa Agreement, will clear mines along their borders.
Complying with some other agreements the mines along Turkey-Bulgaria borders will also be cleared in the near future, he added.
