Şehriban Aslan / JINHA

AĞRI – In the town near the epicenter of a Turkish military operation over the weekend that ended in the death of one civilian and one Kurdish guerrilla, local people fear further state provocations, says co-mayor Hazal Aras. Hazal says local information conflicts with many of the claims the state has made in its announcement.

On April 11, the Turkish military launched a massive military operation on the slopes of Mt. Tendürek, a guerrilla-controlled area in Ağrı Province, the day before people of the town had planned a tree planting event in a local village. Local people heading for the tree planting, upon seeing the massive military presence, headed for the scene of the clashes in order to stand between the two sides as a human bulwark and prevent shots from being fired. However, soldiers opened fire on civilians, killing former Diyadin Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) volunteer Cezmi Budak as well as a Kurdish guerrilla. Another local was wounded in the clash.

The bellicose state announcements in the wake of the event have strengthened suspicions that the operation was designed to provoke casualties. Official state announcements, presumably designed to garner votes for the ruling AKP by creating a popular perception of threat, are full of errors, say local sources in Ağrı Province.

Hazal Aras, co-mayor of the town in Diyadin in Ağrı Province, says that local eyewitness reports and research contradict a range of the claims made by the AKP and the military.

The army claimed that five HPG guerrillas were killed in the clashes. Hazal says this also conflicts with local information. A delegation of opposition party MPs traveled to the region yesterday to research the incident. They say that one guerrilla was killed and nine Turkish soldiers were wounded.

In addition, local people evacuated wounded soldiers from the scene of the clashes. Soldiers being evacuated indicated that the state had ordered the massive military mobilization suddenly.

She noted the absurdity of the state's claim, made in the governor's announcement, that the tree planting festival would involve guerrillas rounding up local people and threatening them with violence if they didn't vote for the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in the upcoming election.

"These statements are entirely false," said Hazal. "The town is already made up almost entirely of DBP supporters," she said, referring to the Democratic Regions Party (DBP), another opposition party allied with the HDP. She said it would be absurd for guerrillas to threaten a population to vote for a party that they already support on a grassroots level.

Hazal says local people, just a few days ago preparing for the spring tree planting, are now in a state of mourning. Shops have been closed for the last two days in the town and local people are nervous that the state will attempt further operations in the region. They have much to fear from casualties rising in the area.

"They said there were [originally] arrests planned for that same night, but the prosecutor didn't allow it, to prevent the atmosphere from becoming more tense." (In Turkey, prosecutors work directly with police.)

"The state needs to be more sensitive so that there is no further loss of life," said Hazal.

(gk/fk/cm)