Yeni Şafak’s Fehmi Koru does not agree that the massacre in Mardin can be explained simply by referring to traditions in the region. In consideration of the fact that the assailants were state-sponsored village guards, who were given weapons by the state to protect their villages against terrorism, Koru says these guards would not have dared to commit such a violent act if they had not known they would be defended by the state, regardless of what they do and that nobody would have tried to ask them to account for their actions so insistently. “These individuals, who were constantly protected, whose wrongdoings were always ignored and who were always praised, were terribly caught out this time. Nobody gave them a pat on the shoulder this time. The state does not intend to tolerate the brutality of the village guards under the pretext of fighting against terrorism. This is the important message that has been given in the past few days,” explains Koru. He says the village guards, who took the lives of the 44 people, cannot hide behind the state this time although they had been protected by the state up until then. “Their masks have fallen and all their ugliness has been exposed. They will give an account of each and every brutal act they have committed,” remarks Koru. Star’s Mustafa Karaalioğlu says that whatever needs to be done, either through education or the abolition of the village guard system, should be done as soon as possible in order to prevent similar tragedies from happening again. “With such brutality in Mardin, we need all available solutions, but the solutions are insufficient. A group of murderers in Bilge village in Mardin has created such a fire in the heart of Turkey and damaged it, no matter what we do and think, it’s not enough,” Karaalioğlu laments.
Bugün’s Erhan Başyurt thinks the environment of violence, which has continued in southeastern Turkey for years due to the fight against Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorism, and its adoption by the region’s public as normal, paves the way for such cruel acts. “Adopting violence facilitates committing massacres,” he says. Başyurt also suggests that Turkey needs to handle the village guard system and take the necessary steps in order to prevent it from being a source of violence.
According to Akşam’s İsmail Küçükkaya, the Mardin massacre should be taken as a “wake-up call” for Turkey, and no matter what the reasons behind the attack, radical changes regarding the region should be brought to the agenda. “There is no patience for tolerance. The government, opposition, nongovernmental organizations, media and the military should work hand-in-hand to mobilize the dominance of universal law against the brutal violence of these traditions,” he contends.
