JINHA

ŞIRNEX – Residents of the Kurdish town of Cizre, Turkey, under severe assault by Turkish security forces since September 4, have declared that they have no intention to yield to attempts to force them to abandon the town.

From September 4 to September 12, Turkish security forces maintained a 24-hour curfew in the largely Kurdish town of Cizre. Security forces killed at least 21 civilians over the course of the nine days of the siege. Police blockaded hospitals and ambulances while soldiers deployed heavy ammunitions and explosives against civilian neighborhoods. Cizre residents could barely walk freely on the streets for 24 hours before police declared another curfew from 7:00 last night to 7:00 this morning.

The residents of the town have expressed a determination to continue their everyday life, even though doctors, teachers and other professionals have abandoned the besieged town. Cizre residents said that since the Turkish state first began seriously targeting Kurdish civilians in the 1990s, they have become accustomed to these tactics of war.

“God damn these people. Don’t they know that civilians live here?” said Semiha Culum, who lives in the devastated Cudi neighborhood. She denounced the government for attacking Cizre, an important trade center, and pushing its own citizens into poverty. While similar attacks had forced many Kurds to emigrate from their native land in the war of the 1990s, Semiha said this won’t happen again.

“We absolutely will not leave our land,” said Semiha. “I’d rather live one day with dignity than 10 years without it.”

Resident Fatma Bağlam, condemning the Turkish government’s silence at the death of a tiny infant during the blockade, said that Kurds would continue to resist. “Even demonstrations with pots and pans are an example of resistance,” said Fatma, referring to the frequent noise demonstrations that civilians have used to protest the police attacks.

Cizre resident Mahyettin Cevaz’ 10-year-old son Muhammed has leukemia. As soon as the blockade was lifted, the Cevaz family rushed to the hospital, but they could not find a doctor.

“Doctors left their work and fled,” said Mahyettin. “This kind of cruelty is impossible. If my son dies, the only party responsible is the state.”

(ekip/gc/cm)