ISTANBUL - Stating that the state owes a debt to the Saturday Mothers, relative of the disappeared, Ikbal Eren, said: "They have to tell us the fate of our missing people and prosecute the perpetrators."

 

Following the 1980 military coup, known as Turkey's dark years, thousands of people were murdered in the streets, kidnapped, detained and disappeared by the state's counter forces. Especially between the 1990s and 2000s, making people disappear while in custody became a state policy. After thousands of people were murdered and disappeared by unknown assailants over the years, relatives of the disappeared and human rights defenders staged a sit-in protest in Galatasaray Square for the first time on Saturday, May 27, 1995, demanding "End the disappearances in custody, reveal the fate of the disappeared, find those responsible and bring them to trial." At this point, this action of the relatives of the disappeared and human rights defenders has been continuing for 963 weeks, despite pressure, torture and all obstacles.

 

This insistence of the Saturday Mothers, who see Galatasaray Square as a "place of memory" for themselves, has been blocked for 23 weeks on the grounds of "ban", despite the "violation" decision of the Constitutional Court (AYM).

 

İkbal Eren, brother of Hayrettin Eren, who disappeared in custody on November 20, 1980, evaluated the ban on demonstrations given by the government for Galatasaray Square.

 

43 YEARS OF STRUGGLE

 

Stating that they are still looking for his brother, who was lost 43 years ago in Istanbul Gayrettepe Police Station, Eren said: "All their searches and applications from yesterday to today have been inconclusive. We knew that he was taken into custody, his name was in the custody records, but after the investigation was opened, that page in the notebook containing my brother's name was not there. My brother and his 5 friends were detained together, and even my brother's car was in front of the police station. At that time, we heard that many people were killed there. In the following periods, my brother's friends asked for my brother many times in the court they were brought to. Every time we got the answer 'They are not here, we didn't take them'. "

 

'WE REALIZED THAT WE ARE NOT ALONE'

 

Recalling the first Galatasaray Square protest launched for Hasan Ocak, who was murdered after 58 days of torture in custody on March 21, 1995, Eren said: “We realized that we were not alone with that protest. We realized with these demonstrations that there was so much loss in the country. As participation in the protests increased, we realized how many missing people there were. That's when we learned the state's policy. The protests in the square then hit the country's agenda like a bombshell."

 

DISTURBANCE OF THE STATE

 

Noting that they continued their demonstrations in the Square until the 700th week, Eren said: "Our actions were arbitrarily banned after the then Minister of Internal Affairs, Süleyman Soylu, targeted them. The square has been banned since then. That square was very important for us. The square is a place of memory in order not to let us forget our losses, but the state banned it so that we can remember our losses and also so that the Saturday Mothers will be forgotten, disappear and give up, the search for truth will disappear and the phenomenon of 'disappearance' will be removed from the country's agenda because we were holding the state to account and that's why the state was disturbed. We lost many mothers, including my mother (Elmas Eren), in this struggle. We have neither forgotten our mothers nor our losses. We will not give up. My mother lost her life, I continue the struggle today, and my children will continue the struggle after me. We will not give up on someone's arbitrary practices. We will definitely continue to be there."

 

'THE STATE OWES US'

 

Underlining that the demonstrations they took were a Constitutional right and that they went to the square within the scope of this right, Eren said: “Every time we are detained there, we think that they are committing a crime once again. I don't care if I'm being detained. Yes, I am disturbed by torture, but those who do it are committing a crime. Let them block it as much as they want. The state owes a debt to me, my mother and my family. They have to tell us the fate of our missing people and prosecute the perpetrators."

 

Stating that there were no other losses as a result of the Saturday Mothers' demonstrations, Eren said: "People in this country owe a debt to the Saturday Mothers. The struggle for the missing is a struggle for everyone. The necessity of social support to take back Galatasaray Square. Support the struggle here. Everyone who demands democracy in this country should continue this struggle. The path to democracy in this country goes through Saturday Mothers."

 

MA / Ergin Çağlar