The proposals brought the enforced disappearances and unsolved murders of the 1990s back onto the agenda of the Turkish parliament. In particular, Ceylan Akça Cupolo highlighted cases allegedly linked to Gendarmerie Intelligence and Anti-terror Unit (JİTEM), village guards and special operations units, as well as files in which no investigation was launched despite witness testimonies.

 

The motions separately recalled enforced disappearances reported in Amed (Diyarbakır), Şirnex (Şırnak), Mêrdîn (Mardin), Êlîh (Batman) and other cities across the region.

 

Among the questions raised in the 100 separate motions were:

 

*“What happened to the individuals who were forcibly disappeared? Where are their graves or burial sites?”

 

*“Have the perpetrators, instigators and state-linked paramilitary actors involved in these incidents been identified, prosecuted and punished?”

 

*“In a crime that continues uninterrupted until the fate of the disappeared person is clarified, under which legal provision can the statute of limitations protect perpetrators while imposing a deadline on the lifelong search for justice by families?”

 

*“Why have no new investigations been opened, and why have no concrete steps been taken to punish perpetrators in cases where the European Court of Human Rights found Turkey responsible for violations of the right to life, effective investigation and the prohibition of torture?”

 

“Will a Directorate for Investigating Enforced Disappearances in Custody be established alongside the existing Department for the Investigation of Unsolved Murders, including cases where the perpetrators are already known?”