Eleven years on, wounds of Roboski massacre yet to heal

[Anthea]

Roboski massacre ten years on

Ten years after airstrikes by the Turkish military killed 34 Kurds, in an incident known as the Roboski massacre, families of the victims remain furious at the Turkish government's inaction and lack of prosecution of the perpetrators

The victims were mostly children between the ages of 13 and 18, smuggling cheap petrol and cigarettes on the Kurdistan Region-Turkey border, drawn from the village of Roboski in Turkey’s Sirnak province.

The wounds of the event have yet heal, 10 years later.

"Not just 10 years, if 10,000 years pass, we won't forget our children. They [Turkish authorities] thought they would carry out the massacre and eliminate the Kurds," said Halime Encu, the mother of victim Bilal Encu.

Felek Encu, the mother of victim Erkan Encu, recalled the massacre. She said "it has been ten years since the incident. No document has been issued and we haven't been given anything. We are oppressed because our children have been killed. Some of the mothers have died from their suffering."

Ferhat Encu, the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair in Istanbul who lost 28 relatives in the massacre in Turkey's Sirnak province, has accused the Sirnak Bar Association of negligence regarding the killings.

"We handed our dossier to the Sirnak Bar Association. We asked them to follow up on the case. It is up to them to respond and investigate.

"Unfortunately, this has not been accomplished and has been neglected," said Encu.

The former head of the Sirnak Bar Association responded to Encu's statements, instead blaming HDP's Commission on Law Affairs and Human Rights.

"There is no clear criminal; if there is one, it's the HDP's Commission on Law Affairs and Human Rights, because they used to manage the dossier. I am ready to hold a discussion regarding this matter [to clarify this]," said Nucirvan Elci, the former head of Sirnak Bar Association.

The area around the site of the massacre had been the focal point of clashes between the Turkish Army and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Kurdish armed group fighting for increased rights for Turkey's Kurdish minority since the 1980s.

The Turkish government has yet to apologize for the incident but has offered compensation to the victims' families. The families of 15 victims have accepted compensation, Ferhat Encu told Rudaw English last year.

Turkey's public prosecutor investigated the massacre under the premise of "death due to negligence", but to no avail, as the case was closed in June 2013 and referred to a martial court.

"The Turkish Army has not been negligent," the Turkish military court ruled, and suspended its investigation of five officers.

The families resorted to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to investigate the perpetrators, which dismissed the case, citing "lack of evidence".

The Human Rights Watch in 2012 blasted Turkish authorities for their inaction, asserting that the government was yet to open an "effective and transparent" investigation into the attack.

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Victims of Roboski massacre remembered

Masses commemorated the 34 civilians massacred in a Turkish air raid in the village of Roboski in Şırnak province eleven years ago, vowing that the struggle for justice will continue until those responsible are held accountable

Victims of the 28 December 2011 massacre were remembered in Roboski on Wednesday. Near the village in the district of Uludure, province of Şırnak, 34 Kurds, including 19 minors, were killed eleven years ago by a targeted air attack by the Turkish army. To this day, no one has been punished for the cruel crime.

The commemoration ceremony took place at the Roboski cemetery. Many people had travelled from other provinces, including HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party) Chairperson Pervin Buldan, DBP (Democratic Regions Party) Chairperson Saliha Aydeniz, DTK (Democratic Society Congress) Chairperson Berdan Öztürk and Bar Association President Erinç Sağkan. The turnout was larger than in previous years, with the slogan "Şehîd namirin" (Martyrs are immortal) being chanted repeatedly.

Many speeches were made at the commemoration. HDP Istanbul provincial co-chair Ferhat Encü, who lost several relatives in the massacre, spoke about the struggle for justice that has been going on for eleven years. The president of the Şirnak Bar Association, Rojhat Dilsiz, stressed that the struggle would continue until those responsible for the air strike were brought to justice. Erinç Sağkan, President of the Bar Association of Turkey (TBB), said in a speech that he felt shame every time he visited Roboski: "In a way, we all have a part in the fact that justice has not been achieved until today and the pain continues unabated.”

Pervin Buldan said in her speech that the unpunished Roboski massacre was a disgrace for Turkey: "No effective investigations have taken place and the perpetrators have not been punished. Yet it is clear who the commanders and perpetrators are."

“The same mentality is behind the massacre as behind countless other massacres,” Buldan stated and continued: "Yesterday, a single person was convicted for the murder of Deniz Poyraz in Izmir. Those behind the murder, who commanded and financed the murderer, were not charged.

The conviction of a single perpetrator is an attempt to close the case. However, none of these massacres were committed by a lone perpetrator. The killers have certain forces behind them. Therefore, we promise the bereaved families that we will continue to fight until those responsible are brought to justice. You are not alone; millions of people are behind you."