JINHA

AMED – Between August 16, 2015 and January 10, 2016, 170 citizens have been killed and 145 wounded in curfews declared in Kurdistan, according to a new report by the Diyarbakır branch of the Human Rights Association (İHD).

“The European Court of Human Rights is responsible for what happens next,” said the organization’s branch chair Raci Bilici, reacting to the European Court of Human Rights’ lack of censure against Turkey for the round-the-clock curfews that the Turkish state has now declared 59 times in 19 separate districts of Kurdistan. 170 citizens have been killed and 145 wounded in the curfews to date, according to the report. In Diyarbakır alone, 37 have died, among them 10 children and three women.

Raci said that the organization has informed state authorities in the region at all levels that the declaration of curfews is not sustainable and that it violates international legal agreements, but the practice has continued.

“It turned out that the problem was not the trenches,” said Raci, referring to the trenches that locals have dug in many cities against police. “We see that the trenches have been used as an excuse for the increasing annihilation of what the Kurds have achieved.

“In the historical Sur [district of Diyarbakır], which has been under blockade for 43 days, very serious things are happening. It’s no longer possible to live a normal life here. In areas with demonstrations and clashes, there are summary executions occurring,” said Raci. “Law enforcement in the region is blatantly abusing its authority. This cannot continue.”

Raci reported that the İHD has met with the UN, European Union and European Court of Human Rights regarding the situation. He called all human rights organizations to emergency action regarding the situation.

“Humane law is being razed to the ground,” said Raci.

“Dead bodies have been lying in the streets for days; no one is being permitted to retrieve them. Family members who go to retrieve them are shot at.” Raci noted that yesterday, when the families of the individuals slain in Sur went to retrieve their bodies, they were told by police that they could only retrieve the bodies if they brought alleged ammunition located on the bodies to the police. He called the police’s approach to dead bodies “entirely arbitrary.”

Raci also noted that although the state claims to have lifted the curfew in the town of Nusaybin, a de facto curfew continues to endanger residents’ lives.

“There needs to be an end to the isolation of Mr. Öcalan,” said Raci, referring to the jailed leader of the PKK. “There needs to be a return to the dialogue and negotiations table. Violence needs to be off the table. The state needs to stop operations and lift the blockades. And the PKK needs to avoid clashes and return to negotiations.”

Raci criticized the European Court of Human Rights’ for a decision today that Raci said “lacked discouraging measures” as the court dismissed the suit calling for Turkey to lift the curfews. He said that the Court was “responsible for the loss of life that will occur after this. Not to stop this is to be party to the crime.” He called the court’s decision “ominous.”

(de-şa/gc/cm)