34 People Who Lost Their Lives in Roboski Massacre Commemorated
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It has been seven years since the Roboski Massacre, which claimed the lives of 34 civilians, including 19 children in Turkey's southeastern province of Şırnak. The ones who lost their lives in the village of Roboski were commemorated on their graves today (December 28).
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Families from Roboski carried the photographs of their children and loved ones, whom they lost in the massacre seven years ago, and gathered in front of the village mosque, hanging the photographs of the deceased on the walls of the mosque. They also distributed sweets to children.
After the snow subsided, the families visited the graves of their relatives. Veli Encü, who lost several of his relatives and his brother Serhat Encü in the massacre, read out the statement for the press on behalf of the families.
As reported by Mezopotamya Agency, Encü stated:
"Massacre sentenced to darkness"
"For 2,558 days, we have been coming together on the graves of our relatives to demand justice. However, the more we say 'Justice', the more insults we face; our houses are being raided and we are being arrested.
"Though it is known how and by whose order the massacre was committed, the promises to find the perpetrators have not been kept, the massacre is being sentenced to darkness.
"As difficult as resurrecting a dead person"
"In the current situation, reviving the Roboski Case has become as difficult as resurrecting a dead person.
"The case file was acquitted by the court breathing under the shadow of politics. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) also chose to see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil in the face of the massacre.
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"Our voices cannot go out of this village"
"We are saying other things as well and when we are saying all these things, our voices hit a wall, which becomes higher with the silence of the ones who are on our side. Unfortunately, our voices cannot go out of this village.
"When the case was concluded in a scandalous manner, we saw none of the ones around, who acted as the owners of the Roboski Case with the aim of gaining political and social fame or having a share in the compensation.
"Let the justice be served"
"The people of Roboski did not choose to be the oppressed; but, it is you who choose to be the oppressors.
"36 of our brothers and sisters were massacred by the soldiers subject to your government, you can never escape from this reality.
"Do not whitewash the perpetrators and the responsible ones, restart the judicial process in a transparent manner.
"Let both the people of Roboski and whole Turkey learn the truth. Let the price of the truth be paid. Let the justice be served."
What happened?On December 28, 2011, 34 people were hit by fighter jets in the village of Roboski in Uludere district of Şırnak province in southeastern Turkey. On June 11, 2013, Public Prosecution of Diyarbakır issued a decision of non-jurisdiction on the case due to "reckless homicide" and sent the case to Military Prosecution of General Staff. Military Prosecution decided not to prosecute the case further on January 7, 2014. Lawyers of the victims' families objected to the decision, but they were rejected. Following this, the case was brought before the Constitutional Court. In a preliminary administrative examination of the application and its attachments, the court demanded some missing documents in the application be submitted yet the application was rejected on February 24, 2015 due to "outstanding documents not being submitted in time". The 281 applicants affected by Roboski Massacre made an application to the European Court of Human Right on August 23, 2016 claiming human rights violations and particularly the right to life. |
(EKN/SD)
* Photograph: Mezopotamya Agency