Motion For Parliamentary Investigation of Roboski Massacre in Its 6th Year Anniversary
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Marking the sixth year anniversary of Roboski massacre, Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Şırnak MP Aycan İrmez has made a motion for a parliamentary investigation of the massacre Turkey's southeastern province of Şırnak, where 59 mules along with 34 people were hit and killed by fighter jets on December 28, 2011.
In the motion, İrmez pointed to the impunity regarding the massacre and asked who gave the fighter jets the orders to hit the village and demanded an explanation for the following points mentioned in the motion:
* On May 23, 2012, then Minister of Interior İdris Naim Şahin stated that the commanders who examined the images [of smuggling activities at the border] at Ankara Air Forces base, gave orders for the bombardment.
* On August 5, 2012, Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed a report by Wall Street Journal, reporting that images were taken by drones ahead of the incident and that villagers could be identified in these images.
* The fact that National Security Council had held a meeting on the day of the incident and that the National Intelligence Service had informed the General Staff ahead of the massacre constitutes an evidence, that the massacre was planned and the orders were carried out within the chain of command.
* On January 7, 2014, the General Staff's Military Prosecutor's Office issued a verdict of non-prosecution regarding the murder of 34 civilians by bombs. As a reason, the prosecutor's office cited that "the Turkish Armed Forces staff had taken action in accordance with the decision taken by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) and the Council of Ministers, and had acted by consent from the General Staff.
What happened?
On December 28, 2011, 34 people were hit by fighter jets 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. (AS/DG)