Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan's "Call for Peace and Democratic Society", which was made public on 27 February, continues to be discussed in Kurdistan, Turkey, Europe, the USA, China, Russia, Arab and African countries. However, no concrete step has yet been taken by the government and the state, the interlocutors of the call. Citizens who have lost their relatives in the last 50 years of conflict also want the state to take steps as soon as possible.

 

The family of Mehmet Yaşar, who was disappeared in 1994 in Gever (Yüksekova) and whose fate is still unknown, demanded the support of all segments of society for the success of the process.

 

'WE SEARCHED FOR MEHMET IN EVERY POLICE STATION'

 

Mehmet Yaşar's 82-year-old mother Rihan Yaşar said that they were born and raised in Oremar and that her son Mehmet was known by everyone. Reminding that her son's friend was murdered by the dark forces of the state, Rihan Yaşar said that her son was targeted during his friend's funeral and said, "After the funeral, our house was raided by soldiers. We tried to hide Mehmet but we couldn't succeed. We saw Mehmet for the last time that day. We visited all the police stations and all the police stations, we searched for Mehmet on every hill and in every field. But in every police station we went to, they made up the story that 'your son is not here, he has joined the PKK'."

 

Rihan Yaşar said that after her son was murdered, his body was taken by helicopter to an unknown place and thrown out of the helicopter. 

 

Rihan Yaşar said, "One of the people who carried out these massacres during that period said it with his own mouth. He said, 'They threw him to Mount Kato. There are thousands of unsolved murders like my son Mehmet. Mehmet became one of them. For 32 years we have known nothing about the fate of my son. They didn't even give us a single bone. We were asked to go and look under every mountain and stone. We looked in orphan graveyards, we searched everywhere, but we could not find even a single bone of his."

 

HISTORIC CALL

 

Drawing attention to the 27 February call, Rihan Yaşar underlined that there is no other way other than the road map Abdullah Öcalan presented to the peoples. Rihan Yaşar added that this path is the path of peace and freedom and said, "If this call is not taken into consideration, if the state does not take a step, we will continue to hold mevlits, we will continue to hold condolences. In order to stop this war, the state needs to take a step to support this blessed path. We have lost thousands of flowers, we do not want to lose these flowers anymore. After this peace process is built, we want the perpetrators of our children to be tried. We want to be atoned and confronted."

  

Stating that the Saturday Mothers will be relieved with this peace, Rihan Yaşar said: "Every day we see mothers, fathers and siblings embracing the photographs of those who were disappeared and asking for their bodies and the location of their graves. We want the perpetrators of these unsolved deaths to be exposed, what happened to our children whose fate we do not know? We want to know where their graves are. We believe in this process, we believe in those who offer us this path. We are now waiting for the state to take steps to fulfil our demands. Despite the great costs, we embrace peace. Even if my neighbour's child dies, it is my child. We want peace for everyone. We want our rights, we want our human rights. We want them to offer us another life other than death. If peace is not achieved, we will defend this peace even if there are more deaths."

 

Underlining that the importance of the process should be recognised by everyone, Rihan Yaşar said that all states support this process and are watching it meticulously. Rihan Yaşar added that they want to see the construction of peace before they die and said, "International states attach importance to Abdullah Öcalan's ideas and they do not believe that peace can be established in any other way than this way. Let's give strength to this path and we want the state to sit at this table in a concrete way. We are partners in this peace and we want this peace to be achieved through concrete steps."

 

STORY OF MEHMET YAŞAR

 

Mehmet Yaşar was 32 years old when he left his home to inquire about the fate of Mehmet Zeki Yılmaz, who was abducted and murdered on 28 February 1994 and never returned. Yaşar attended the funeral of his close friend Yılmaz, who had been murdered in custody. During the funeral, Yaşar was put under surveillance and started to be followed. Yaşar took refuge in the house of a relative and the house was blockaded. At around 20:00 pm local ime in the evening, police officers questioned Yaşar's identity and detained him saying "you will come with us to the police station". A confessor named Kahraman Bilgiç stated the following about the detention and murder of Yaşar: "Mehmet Yaşar was taken by the instruction of Mehmet Emin Yurdakul, the battalion commander, and brought to the battalion. He was severely tortured, his elbow bones were visible due to torture. Then they took him away in a helicopter and I witnessed that he was not brought back, most probably he was thrown out of the helicopter."

 

MA / Ruken Polan - Mazlum Engindeniz