Berfo Kırbayır Marked with Her Letter

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Saturday People/Mothers commemorated Berfo Kırbayır (Mother Berfo) in Ankara today (May 17) within the scope of the International Disappearance in Custody Week.

Berfo Kırbayır looking for her son for 33 years, Cemil Kırbayır who disappeared in custody had lost her life aged 105 on February 21, 2013. Cemil Kırbayır was not heard of after he was taken into custody on October 8, 1980 following the 1980 coup. No lawsuit has been brought as to him being disappeared in custody.

Saturday People marched to the Minister of Justice and staged protest there, and asked for the aftermath of their relatives disappeared in custody.

The protesters wanted to hang the letter written by Kırbayır four years ago to Minister of Justice, Sadullah Ergin but they were prevented by police.

The commemoration went on at the Berfo Ana (Mother Berfo) park and that the letter was read here.

“Now you have a grave. We’ve brought these cloves to the ones who don’t have their graves mother”, said Berfo Kırbayız’s daughter, Fatma Gülmez.

What had she written in the letter?

Berfo Kırbayır was calling out to the then Minister Ergin in her letter as follows:

“I’ve been looking for my university student son Cemil Kırbayır for 32 years who disappeared in custody by the state.

“There is no single post left to which we haven’t applied, state’s response to us has always been pressure and threat. I met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on February 5, 2011, I got my hopes up…

“Then, the commission has been set. According to the commission’s report, Cemil was killed in custody and his body was lost.

“Names of the torturers of my son took place in the report as well. Nevertheless, almost a year has passed, neither my son’s bones were found nor the murderers brought to justice.

“Unlawfulness has gone on for 32 years.

“I wanted to talk to the minister responsible for justice and say ‘what kind of justice is this’. He said ‘I have important works, have no time to spare her’. What more important works do you have than solving our problems?”

Those responsible for killing of Cemil Kırbayır have still not been brought before justice. (AS/TK)