Mass Grave in Turkish Military Installation

A soldier who served in Semdinli Derecik Internal Security Brigade during 1994-1995 came out about an event in which 12 korucular (government paramilitary forces used against PKK and Kurdish people) were tortured, shot, and buried in a mass grave in the garrison.

The soldier even provided a schematic of the mass gave and alerted the prosecutor's office and spoke to Taraf daily. You can read the full article in Turkish.

The soldier stated that the commander of the brigade then was Lt. Colonel Ali Çamurcu, a known member of JITEM who is known to kill a lot of civilians after having them kidnapped.

The soldier who came out talks about the details of the encounter of how the korucular we tortured nonstop with allegations that they were helping the PKK while in fact they were not. The poor korucular were screaming for days that they were fighting against the PKK.

Some could say these 12 korucular met their demise but I feel sorry for them. Because the korucular are stupid enough to think that the fascist state will actually value them for betraying and killing their own people. The fascist regime will never forget that korucular betrayed their own people and so they can betray her too. That's why they have no value for the fascist regime.

A reporter has found the relatives of the killed and they described what happened. It appears that after a clash between the PKK and the military, the military raided the village, set the homes on fire, tortured people, beat up a pregnant woman and killed her baby, incinerated a person alive and took these 12 korucular to the military installation for torture and later killed them.

After the story hit the news construction work started in the military post where the mass grave is supposed to be located. It wouldn't surprise me though that the remains of the people have already been removed and incinerated. JITEM's professional killers have reported in the part that they were professional enough not to leave any body parts behind.

When the families of the "missing" complained, the government refused to investigate. Later when the matter was taken to the European Human Rights Court, Turkey simply said that the "disappeared" must have joined the PKK and the atrocities were committed by the terrorist organization.

It seems to me that Turkey conveniently omitted specifying the fact that the terrorist organization was the Turkish State.

Êdî Bese!

Enough already!

Turkish State Massacre

44 people were murdered in Zangirt (Bilge) Village of Merdîn (Mardin) province by government paramilitary forces, village guards (korucular) on 5 May 2009. The attackers used heavy weapons. 1200 rounds were fired. The weapons belonged to the state, so did the bullets.

The interesting thing is that the village which was attacked was only 5 minutes from the Gendarmerie station. A person survived the attack (later a few wounded survived too) and ran to the soldiers at the station. The soldiers simply said they couldn't go to the village. The military knew about this attack.

What did the military want, really? If there were no survivors, it would be bullseye because then the state could blame the massacre on the PKK. Especially now that there is pressure on Turkey to try and work for finding a solution to its Kurdish Question, a massacre blamed on PKK would give Turkey the upper hand in the international community. Does anyone remember Guclukonak massacre of 1996? You can read Who Committed The Guclukonak Massacre? by Bernice Ruben. Guclukonak massacre, committed by the state, was used as an excuse to end the ceasefire and was used to gain support for Turkey in the international community. Even the secretary of state then Adnan Ekmen has been saying for a while that it was the state who committed the massacre. Back in 1996, like today, there was a good chance for peace.

So you can say that the state didn't get what it wanted. Not quite true... Unfortunately, the state still won because it had 44 Kurds killed and the families of those who committed the murders are having to move out of Kurdistan. So, the state got some Kurds killed, some migrated, still a win.

So, what to call this Zangirt massacre? Hasan Bildirici, in his recent article, reasons:

Name of Massacre

Hasan Bildirici
6 May 2009

What would the headlines say in both Turkish and Kurdish media if PKK sympathizers, militia, or militants were to raid a village in Erzincan, Sivas, Yozgat, or Urfa and killed 44 people including pregnant women, children, and elderly?

"PKK massacre!"

What would be name of massacre if the Greek paramilitary, who are on government's payroll, raided an Aegean Turkish village and killed 44 people?

"Greek massacre!"

If a group of Armenian militia or soldiers were to raid an Azeri village in Karabag region and killed 44 people, what would be name of this massacre?

"Armenian massacre!"

How would Turkish media and its indecent satellites would weigh it when Turkish state's paramilitary who are on payroll (korucu) raid a village with guns belonging to the state and kill 44 people including children, pregnant women, and elderly with 1200 rounds?

Custom murder, feudal rule, culture of violence, lack of gun control... etc, etc...

If a PKK commander threw a civilian into an acid-well, this would be a PKK murder. When higher-ups of the state kill 17 thousand Kurdish civilians, they face the charge of "misuse of authority".

So, the state is clean; if those who commit murder in the name of state are exposed, they are bad... Turkish state, like God, cannot be criticized, touched, cannot be blamed for being a murderer...

Let's ask our question again:

What would be name of the the massacre in which 44 people were murdered if those who pulled the trigger were from PKK and the bullets were PKK bullets"

"PKK massacre!"

In Bilge [Zangirt] village massacre where 44 people were killed, the murderers who pulled the triggers are on pay from the Turkish state, the guns belong to the Turkish state, the bullets they used belong to the Turkish state; what is the name of this massacre?

"Turkish state massacre!"

Honest people, people who face events honestly and without cheating name the massacre right.

Bilge [Zangirt] village massacre is simply Turkish state massacre.

Those who are after destroying Kurds and everything about Kurds, those who arm the most uneducated with lowest morals and the most greed are the directors of massacre scenes.

There, in that village, ordinary Kurdish people met at a wedding.

There, in that Kurdish village, it could have been 44 Kurdish intellectuals and politicians left to the mercy of Turkish race barrels. A confident politician, trusting his friends around him, could have stood up to one of the korucular. Right then, 1200 korucular bullets would have hit 44 Kurdish intellectuals and politicians:

What would be name of this murder?

"Feudal Kurdish pride"?

The fact is this: Kurdish nation is unprotected against the Turkish race barrels. Kurdish nation is helpless enough to sit and watch pregnant women be massacred.

The truth must be told for the sake of 70 Kurdish children who were orphaned and for the sake of Kurdish fetus who died in their mothers' wombs:

This is a Turkish state massacre... Even if it's korucular shooting korucular...

Unless Kurdish people are protected from the Turkish state which arms the society's and state's bandits, such massacres will continue...

Turkish state massacre it is.

Denial and Destruction

Nusret Demiral recently spoke to Turkish media (see Sabah daily, April 10, 2009) recently and stated his regrets that he wasn't successful in having Kurdish parliamentarians executed. Demiral was referring to Leyla Zana and her colleagues who took their parliamentarian oath in Kurdish. Leyla Zana served a ten year prison sentence for that oath alone. Mr. Demiral goes on denying existence of Kurds and Kurdish language. He says Kurds are Turks. Same old military propaganda. Remember the post on if you tell a lie often enough you will end up believing in it yourself? The delusional ex-chief prosecutor of High Tribunal Court has certainly got his brain washed clean with fascist lies. This is the man who ordered the police to surround the Turkish Parliament for 18 hours in 1991. He goes on saying he wanted to protect the lives of Kurdish Parliamentarians (so why in the earth he would say they should have been executed, it beats me) but he makes sure they serve ten years in the prison. How sad is that such an old man expresses "his regrets" so bitterly. Nusret Demiral belongs to an interesting species. If you were to amputate his index fingers, he would go mute.
This old crook has directed torture too. Below is an excerpt from Erol Ozbolat's statements published in Kurtulus, Issue: 29, May 7, 1999. Mr. Ozbolat was detained in Ankara on February 11, 1991.

During the late days of my custody, I was taken to a lonely field and asked to run away. They were aiming to murder me and later claim that I was shot while escaping. During these tortures, the conspiracy was tried to be supported piece by piece by the testimonies taken torture. From the beginning, the torture interrogations were directed by the DGM prosecutors who, themselves, came to the torture center. The DGM prosecutors who came to the torture center and joined the interrogations were Nusret Demiral, Talat Salk, Nuh Mete Yuksel. I was subjected to torture every time they wanted to make me sign the scenarios prepared by the DGM prosecutors. In the last 9- 10 days of the 1-month-custody, I was not tortured. They waited for the wounds of torture to heal. On the 30th day, I was taken to DGM and arrested on March 11, 1991, depending on the testimonies, which I was made sign by torture. Directing the tortures were not the only little masterpieces of the DGM prosecutors, they prepared fake documents as well. These documents are available in the trial file. As a result of this conspiracy I have been sentenced to death penalty.

So, another example of denial, which more subtle. Well, look at the picture below. It shows Beşir Atalay, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Turkey, who recently made racist remarks against Kurds due to DTP's victory in North Kurdistan, and his Iraqi counterpart Jawad al-Bulani after signing an agreement against Kurds. They shake hands on drinking Kurdish blood. How ironic is that the folders are colored red??

Beşir Atalay said "We expect both the central Iraqi government and the regional administration in the north to undertake concrete steps". This man would rather choke than use the term Kurdistan Regional Government. He is in Iraq and KRG is clearly spelled out in the constitution. He is not respecting Iraq's constitution and shaking hands on it. Well, Arabs love it as long as something is against Kurds. Good luck to KRG in pleasing their Arab and Turkish and Persian brothers.