The struggle against forced disappearance under arrest in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan
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We communists, who yesterday turned the struggle against forced disappearance into an organised power and strengthened it even more by making the question public on the international level and make the struggle international, will today play the role of the vanguard at this field.

 

01 June 2009 / International Bulletin / Issue: 82

The method of forced disappearance under arrest as a method of oppression, intimidating and annihilating the social opposition has been applied since the beginning of the 20th century in many countries and applied in masses with the "Nacht und Nebel" decrees and operations during Hitler fascism. Supported by the USA, forced disappearance was applied in masses during the period of military fascist juntas that came to power in many countries of the world, first of all in Latin America, since the 60ies. However, Latin America hasn't only been a continent where the policy of forced disappearance was systematically applied in masses, but also the continent of the organised struggle risen against forced disappearance.
It was firstly officially registered that the people of Turkey and Northern Kurdistan got to learn forced disappearance since the 1915s, which is at the same time the last stage of the Ottoman state. Among the victims of the genocide started against the Armenians on April 24, 1915, there were also Armenian writers who had been arrested in masses. Forced disappearance then continued to be registered as single cases, but increased after the military fascist coup in 1980 and after 1990 brutally applied against communists, revolutionaries and those who had joined and supported the Kurdish National Movement
When the colonial fascist dictatorship kidnapped our comrade Hasan Ocak on March 21, 1995 and let him disappear under arrest, we rendered account with the fascist dictatorship for all disappeared in the name of our comrade at this field and made us raise the struggle against forced disappearance up to an organised level. We managed to find the body of our comrade Hasan Ocak on May 17 in the same year, to expose the state and develop the struggle against forced disappearance. The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo in Argentine became the Saturday Mothers in Turkey. The 1st International Conference Against Disappearance gathering on May 17-19, 1996 in Istanbul created an organisational struggle on the international level as well as the International Weeks Against Disappearance from May 17-31.
The International Weeks Against Disappearance must be considered as the weeks during which the struggle against forced disappearance is being increased and it must not be forgotten that the struggle against forced disappearance under arrest isn't limited with only these weeks. The struggle against forced disappearance that is led with different means and ways every year in many countries was displayed with a huge program and many events in Turkey and Kurdistan this year. During this period the communists organised actions on their own on the one hand and developed common plans together with other forces. In different cities actions such as marches, press statements and discussion panels were organised by ICAD and the IHD , and supported by YAKAY-DER , ESP , EHP , SDP and the other democratic forces. Among those, there were also the commemorations of our comrade Hasan Ocak and Ridvan Karakoc at their graves in the Istanbul borough Gazi on May 19. At the commemoration, the MLCP militia was present, too, commemorating the disappeared with an action and saluted our comrade Hasan Ocak. The "Court for Justice" set up on May 31 at Istanbul was the final event of the actions during the International Weeks Against Disappearance.
At the "court" that was organised by the Turkey Section of ICAD at Bilgi University under the slogan "Those responsible for forced disappearance must be convicted" between 10am and 7pm the topic "The fact of forced disappearance as a method of the dirty war and the policy of forced disappearance in the world" discussed. The policy of forced disappearance that was started before the foundation of the Turkish state and lasted throughout its history was analysed at different periods. The event was actively joined by writers, journalists, lawyers and families of disappeared as well as experiences told about the Saturday Mothers in Turkey, the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentine and GAM in El Salvador. Besides the speakers telling about their experiences about the struggle, anyone who wished to share experiences and ideas on this question could walk on the stage and talk. At the event it was emphasized that forced disappearance is a policy of imperialist and fascist states and said that there will be no disappeared left without demanding an account for and left without a grave. It was promised to strengthen the struggle. At the end of the event, the final declaration was declared which demanded an end of the one-sided explanation of the understanding of the massacre and forced disappearance which is considered equal with the forced emigration of the Armenians in history books. In addition, it was also demanded that an independent group shall be founded that will define the number of the disappeared as well as expose their fates; that the archives of the Ottoman Empire and Turkey will be accessible; and that the places of mass graves and cemeteries for people without family will be told and the graves excavated.
There are currently conditions to raise the struggle in order to achieve the excavation of the wells where the disappeared had been thrown into after having been killed and the mass graves so that the fate of the disappeared under arrest can be clarified. There are also conditions to convict all responsible forces so that there will never happen any case of forced disappearance again. By exposing the rage accumulated, organising and adding it to the struggle, by leading the struggle until the revolution, that will send the colonial fascist dictatorship to the dump of history, and that includes to demand an account for our disappeared, this all will mean to have realised the ideals of our disappeared that gave their lives for that. We communists, who yesterday turned the struggle against forced disappearance into an organised power and strengthened it even more by making the question public on the international level and make the struggle international, will today play the role of the vanguard at this field.

 

 

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The struggle against forced disappearance under arrest in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan
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We communists, who yesterday turned the struggle against forced disappearance into an organised power and strengthened it even more by making the question public on the international level and make the struggle international, will today play the role of the vanguard at this field.

 

01 June 2009 / International Bulletin / Issue: 82

The method of forced disappearance under arrest as a method of oppression, intimidating and annihilating the social opposition has been applied since the beginning of the 20th century in many countries and applied in masses with the "Nacht und Nebel" decrees and operations during Hitler fascism. Supported by the USA, forced disappearance was applied in masses during the period of military fascist juntas that came to power in many countries of the world, first of all in Latin America, since the 60ies. However, Latin America hasn't only been a continent where the policy of forced disappearance was systematically applied in masses, but also the continent of the organised struggle risen against forced disappearance.
It was firstly officially registered that the people of Turkey and Northern Kurdistan got to learn forced disappearance since the 1915s, which is at the same time the last stage of the Ottoman state. Among the victims of the genocide started against the Armenians on April 24, 1915, there were also Armenian writers who had been arrested in masses. Forced disappearance then continued to be registered as single cases, but increased after the military fascist coup in 1980 and after 1990 brutally applied against communists, revolutionaries and those who had joined and supported the Kurdish National Movement
When the colonial fascist dictatorship kidnapped our comrade Hasan Ocak on March 21, 1995 and let him disappear under arrest, we rendered account with the fascist dictatorship for all disappeared in the name of our comrade at this field and made us raise the struggle against forced disappearance up to an organised level. We managed to find the body of our comrade Hasan Ocak on May 17 in the same year, to expose the state and develop the struggle against forced disappearance. The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo in Argentine became the Saturday Mothers in Turkey. The 1st International Conference Against Disappearance gathering on May 17-19, 1996 in Istanbul created an organisational struggle on the international level as well as the International Weeks Against Disappearance from May 17-31.
The International Weeks Against Disappearance must be considered as the weeks during which the struggle against forced disappearance is being increased and it must not be forgotten that the struggle against forced disappearance under arrest isn't limited with only these weeks. The struggle against forced disappearance that is led with different means and ways every year in many countries was displayed with a huge program and many events in Turkey and Kurdistan this year. During this period the communists organised actions on their own on the one hand and developed common plans together with other forces. In different cities actions such as marches, press statements and discussion panels were organised by ICAD and the IHD , and supported by YAKAY-DER , ESP , EHP , SDP and the other democratic forces. Among those, there were also the commemorations of our comrade Hasan Ocak and Ridvan Karakoc at their graves in the Istanbul borough Gazi on May 19. At the commemoration, the MLCP militia was present, too, commemorating the disappeared with an action and saluted our comrade Hasan Ocak. The "Court for Justice" set up on May 31 at Istanbul was the final event of the actions during the International Weeks Against Disappearance.
At the "court" that was organised by the Turkey Section of ICAD at Bilgi University under the slogan "Those responsible for forced disappearance must be convicted" between 10am and 7pm the topic "The fact of forced disappearance as a method of the dirty war and the policy of forced disappearance in the world" discussed. The policy of forced disappearance that was started before the foundation of the Turkish state and lasted throughout its history was analysed at different periods. The event was actively joined by writers, journalists, lawyers and families of disappeared as well as experiences told about the Saturday Mothers in Turkey, the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentine and GAM in El Salvador. Besides the speakers telling about their experiences about the struggle, anyone who wished to share experiences and ideas on this question could walk on the stage and talk. At the event it was emphasized that forced disappearance is a policy of imperialist and fascist states and said that there will be no disappeared left without demanding an account for and left without a grave. It was promised to strengthen the struggle. At the end of the event, the final declaration was declared which demanded an end of the one-sided explanation of the understanding of the massacre and forced disappearance which is considered equal with the forced emigration of the Armenians in history books. In addition, it was also demanded that an independent group shall be founded that will define the number of the disappeared as well as expose their fates; that the archives of the Ottoman Empire and Turkey will be accessible; and that the places of mass graves and cemeteries for people without family will be told and the graves excavated.
There are currently conditions to raise the struggle in order to achieve the excavation of the wells where the disappeared had been thrown into after having been killed and the mass graves so that the fate of the disappeared under arrest can be clarified. There are also conditions to convict all responsible forces so that there will never happen any case of forced disappearance again. By exposing the rage accumulated, organising and adding it to the struggle, by leading the struggle until the revolution, that will send the colonial fascist dictatorship to the dump of history, and that includes to demand an account for our disappeared, this all will mean to have realised the ideals of our disappeared that gave their lives for that. We communists, who yesterday turned the struggle against forced disappearance into an organised power and strengthened it even more by making the question public on the international level and make the struggle international, will today play the role of the vanguard at this field.