Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions

Item 2 : Implementation of the General Assembly Resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006 entitled “Human Rights Council”. Joint spoken statement CETIM, MRAP and LIDLIP.

The right to life is under threat for the Kurdish people in Turkey

There are conflicts all around us. Many rights are violated during these conflicts. Many do this in the name of power and sovereignty. States assume their power over society under the pretext of the general protection of populations and culture. For this reason, they form armies and develop nationalistic sentiments.

For ages, Turkey pretends that Kurds are considered as equal citizens. However, in practice, we see a much contradictory picture. The most underdeveloped region of Turkey is the region where Kurds live. This region is deprived of any economic undertakings that could benefit the people.

However, what is important to be underlined is the fact that the right to life for the Kurdish people is at risk. We see a continuous conflict in the region and extra-judicial killings. On 21 November 2004 Ugur Kaymaz (12) and his father Ahmet Kaymaz (30) were killed in Kiziltepe-Mardin by unknown assailants. Ugur Kaymaz had 13 bullets on his young fragile body, while his father had 8. On March 2, 2006, Ferho (85) and Fatma Akgül (80) were killed in Midyat-Mardin by unknown assailants; the perpetrators are yet to be found. The son of Ferho and Fatma Akgül, Medeni Freho (Akgül) is the President of the Kurdish Institute in Brussels.
Recently, there was also another extra-judicial killing case: Rozerin AKSU (7 years old) and her father Selahattin AKSU (30) were killed in their home on June 3, 2006, by unknown assailant(s) in Yasar village, in Kiziltepe-Mardin. All assailants are yet to be found. Mardin is a very small city compared to Istanbul. There have been over 3 known extra-judicial killings in this year alone, yet no assailant has been captured. No regular investigation has ever been initiated. The Turkish security forces are very quick in finding criminals; however, the government has not shown the same readiness in the case of these vile incidents perpetrated by unknown state circles, who continue to kill.

In view of these developments, we call the Human Rights Council to contemplate upon the harsh reality that the Kurdish people faces on a daily basis and to act promptly taking into serious consideration the poor human rights record of Turkey. For this, we propose the renewal of the Special Rapporteur’s mandate and to urge him to visit the Kurdish region in order to examine and evaluate the situation of the Kurdish people as well as its living conditions.
We extend the same proposal for the Special Representative of the Secretary general on IDPs, Mr. Walter Kälin.

We urge the Human Rights Council to exercise pressure on the Turkish government towards the creation of a standing impartial and independent national inquiry commission tackling with issues of extra-judicial killings. What has to be addressed clearly is the fact that these commission should be independent from military in order to ensure impartiality of investigations.

Finally, we strongly condemn the “shoot-to-kill” policies adopted by the Turkish state. Such policies are not only counter-productive, but also inhumane. “Shoot-to-kill” policies, which are used as an excuse in what is called today “war against terrorism”, constitute a real and concrete threat to the internationally acknowledged human rights standards. And these standards should be respected by all States.