5th International Conference Against Disappearances Held in Diyarbakir
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The 5th of the International Conference against Disappearances, the 1st one was also organised in Istanbul on 17-19 May 1996, has been realized in the Northern Kurdistan's city of Amed (it is officially called as Diyarbakir by the colonial Turkish state). In the conference -which was held in success despite the prohibitions, attacks and arrests of the Turkish state in 1996- relatives of the disappeared people and human rights defenders from 14 different countries of the world had came together, realised the need for an international organisation and had founded ICAD , International Committee Against Disappearances. ICAD organised the 2nd Conference in 1997 in Bogotá (Colombia) in association with ANDAS, the 3rd in 1999 in Manila (Philippines) in association with Karapatan and the 4th in 2002 in Nurnberg (Germany).

On 16-20 May 2006, ICAD has organised the 5th International Conference Against Disappearances together with YAKAY-DER (Help and Solidarity Association with the Families Whose Relatives Gone Missing) that is founded by the Kurdish relatives of disappeared people. The conference announcement and preparations was started in May 2005, and in total, about 300 people (48 of them were international delegates) from 20 different countries participated. The conference, which was held under the main heading "War and Occupation: Human Rights Violations, Torture and Disappearances", has once more revealed the relations between the disappearances, human rights violations and the existing capitalist system of repression and exploitation through workshops that were organised under "Human Rights Violations, Disappearances and the Struggle Perspectives", "War Strategies and the Middle East Reality in our day" and "Policies of Neo-liberal Economy and Militarism" subtitles.

Although the Turkish state tried to weaken the participation in the conference by refusing to give visas for delegates who wanted to attend from some African countries and Iraq, by banning the open-air concert in the conference programme, by making video-recording during the conference, by taking the ID details of the speakers and trying to arrest them, the conference participants have bravely shown the high level of wildness of disappearances and human rights violations.

The conference begun with a vigil organised in commemoration of the disappeared people in detention and continued with many activities such as press conference, an exhibition for disappearances, tree planting, film shows, speeches of the relatives of the disappeared people, main conference, workshops and a commemoration of Vedat Aydin, who was one of the directors of IHD (Human Rights Association) and killed by the state, by his grave. During the conference, which was started on the street and ended on the street, the relatives of disappeared people have always put forward their demands such as finding out the whereabouts of disappearances and opening of mass graves. In spite of the police uneasiness regarding some words such as "Kurdistan", "Guerrilla", "Uprising", "Killer State" and their threats over mentioning of these words, many relatives of disappeared insistently continued to use these words in their speeches, and this represented a slap on the face of the colonial Turkish state.

Organising the 5th International Conference Against Disappearances in Amed, which is a door opening to Middle East where the wars, occupations, disappearances and human rights violations are happening at most in the last years and is in the centre of disappearances, massacres and methods of dirty war that applied and recently re-concentrated in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan, has represented the reply of workers` and labourers` front to the fascist Turkish state and imperialism. The conference has called for support to the resistances of the peoples of Middle East, at first in Palestine, Iraq and Kurdistan, against imperialism, Zionism, occupation and colonialism, and for advancement of the common struggle of peoples. It stressed its support to the struggle of the Argentinean people and the mothers of Plaza de Mayo, the struggle of Mabuchi people in Chile and the struggle of Colombian people. The conference, where solidarity and greetings for the political prisoners also were expressed, became a tool for building of the international solidarity.

The other indication that revealed the importance of an international conference was the fact that the number of disappeared people is nearly 400 more of the number which officially recorded. These new numbers are brought to light during the preparatory works for the conference.

Marxist Leninist Communists -who started to fight against the state's policy and offensive of disappearances through Hasan Ocak campaign, initiating the foundation of Saturday Mothers and taking the struggle to the international arena by organising the 1st International Conference Against Disappearance- took the 5th International Conference Against Disappearances to Kurdistan by mobilising their forces during the preparatory process, for the mass work and by their efforts and contributions at the conference.

 

 

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5th International Conference Against Disappearances Held in Diyarbakir
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The 5th of the International Conference against Disappearances, the 1st one was also organised in Istanbul on 17-19 May 1996, has been realized in the Northern Kurdistan's city of Amed (it is officially called as Diyarbakir by the colonial Turkish state). In the conference -which was held in success despite the prohibitions, attacks and arrests of the Turkish state in 1996- relatives of the disappeared people and human rights defenders from 14 different countries of the world had came together, realised the need for an international organisation and had founded ICAD , International Committee Against Disappearances. ICAD organised the 2nd Conference in 1997 in Bogotá (Colombia) in association with ANDAS, the 3rd in 1999 in Manila (Philippines) in association with Karapatan and the 4th in 2002 in Nurnberg (Germany).

On 16-20 May 2006, ICAD has organised the 5th International Conference Against Disappearances together with YAKAY-DER (Help and Solidarity Association with the Families Whose Relatives Gone Missing) that is founded by the Kurdish relatives of disappeared people. The conference announcement and preparations was started in May 2005, and in total, about 300 people (48 of them were international delegates) from 20 different countries participated. The conference, which was held under the main heading "War and Occupation: Human Rights Violations, Torture and Disappearances", has once more revealed the relations between the disappearances, human rights violations and the existing capitalist system of repression and exploitation through workshops that were organised under "Human Rights Violations, Disappearances and the Struggle Perspectives", "War Strategies and the Middle East Reality in our day" and "Policies of Neo-liberal Economy and Militarism" subtitles.

Although the Turkish state tried to weaken the participation in the conference by refusing to give visas for delegates who wanted to attend from some African countries and Iraq, by banning the open-air concert in the conference programme, by making video-recording during the conference, by taking the ID details of the speakers and trying to arrest them, the conference participants have bravely shown the high level of wildness of disappearances and human rights violations.

The conference begun with a vigil organised in commemoration of the disappeared people in detention and continued with many activities such as press conference, an exhibition for disappearances, tree planting, film shows, speeches of the relatives of the disappeared people, main conference, workshops and a commemoration of Vedat Aydin, who was one of the directors of IHD (Human Rights Association) and killed by the state, by his grave. During the conference, which was started on the street and ended on the street, the relatives of disappeared people have always put forward their demands such as finding out the whereabouts of disappearances and opening of mass graves. In spite of the police uneasiness regarding some words such as "Kurdistan", "Guerrilla", "Uprising", "Killer State" and their threats over mentioning of these words, many relatives of disappeared insistently continued to use these words in their speeches, and this represented a slap on the face of the colonial Turkish state.

Organising the 5th International Conference Against Disappearances in Amed, which is a door opening to Middle East where the wars, occupations, disappearances and human rights violations are happening at most in the last years and is in the centre of disappearances, massacres and methods of dirty war that applied and recently re-concentrated in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan, has represented the reply of workers` and labourers` front to the fascist Turkish state and imperialism. The conference has called for support to the resistances of the peoples of Middle East, at first in Palestine, Iraq and Kurdistan, against imperialism, Zionism, occupation and colonialism, and for advancement of the common struggle of peoples. It stressed its support to the struggle of the Argentinean people and the mothers of Plaza de Mayo, the struggle of Mabuchi people in Chile and the struggle of Colombian people. The conference, where solidarity and greetings for the political prisoners also were expressed, became a tool for building of the international solidarity.

The other indication that revealed the importance of an international conference was the fact that the number of disappeared people is nearly 400 more of the number which officially recorded. These new numbers are brought to light during the preparatory works for the conference.

Marxist Leninist Communists -who started to fight against the state's policy and offensive of disappearances through Hasan Ocak campaign, initiating the foundation of Saturday Mothers and taking the struggle to the international arena by organising the 1st International Conference Against Disappearance- took the 5th International Conference Against Disappearances to Kurdistan by mobilising their forces during the preparatory process, for the mass work and by their efforts and contributions at the conference.