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Mines continue to claim lives in Southeast
“This incident has gone beyond an accident that can be tolerated. What was this grenade doing there? How can munitions be left outside the barracks? Who is responsible for the death of this boy? They should all be immediately called to account,” actress and activist Lale Mansur told Sunday’s Zaman.
Data on deaths caused by land mines or unexploded munitions blasts is appalling. According to data compiled by the Human Rights Association (İHD), unexploded ordnance has killed 246 people and wounded many more in the southeastern provinces since 2000. The same data say such munitions have killed 56 civilians in the Southeast over the past two years and left 132 others disabled. The İHD says that in 2009 alone, 41 people, including seven children, died in mine and unexploded munitions blasts.
Speaking to Sunday’s Zaman, İHD President Öztürk Tandoğan said many factors cause the deaths of civilians in such blasts. “First, there are minefields that still need to be cleared in nine of Turkey’s provinces. Second, military barracks are often found in the center of the city in many provinces. They remained in the middle as the cities expanded. Third, the military carries out frequent operations against the [outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party] PKK,” he says.
Explaining the steps that should be taken, he says the government should immediately address the issue. “Regions in which operations have taken place should be searched and cleared of unexploded munitions, military barracks should be taken outside city limits and mines should be removed,” Öztürk told Sunday’s Zaman.
Turkey, a nation signatory to the Ottawa Treaty (the Mine Ban Treaty), is obliged to clear all land mines from its territory by 2014. An estimated 982,777 land mines were buried along Turkey’s borders. While it has defused 2,616,770 mines in its stocks, Turkey failed to destroy them within the specified time period and does not want to run behind schedule in the demining process as well.
Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples (MAZLUM-DER) Chairman Ahmet Faruk Ünsal also calls on the authorities to fulfill their responsibility as stipulated by international treaties. “We have witnessed very upsetting incidents. Our people are being killed. How can a state ignore the deaths of its own people?” he asked in a phone interview with Sunday’s Zaman.
Ceylan case still fresh in people’s memories
In one of the most tragic incidents of its kind, a young girl was killed in an explosion on Sept. 28, 2009 in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır. Ceylan Önkol, 14, was killed while tending sheep. Her family claimed the explosion was caused by a military mortar shell. A criminal report, however, found that Önkol had accidentally detonated an unexploded grenade previously launched by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). The General Staff denied responsibility in the girl’s death and accused the media of attempting to undermine the Turkish military through psychological warfare.
The Önkol family told newspapers that they had waited for six hours for a doctor and prosecutor to show up at the scene, but no one turned up.
The authorities’ lack of interest in the Ceylan case sparked indignation among several human rights activists, who filed a criminal complaint against prosecutors probing the blast. The group accused prosecutors of abusing their powers and obscuring evidence. Among the activists are singer İlkay Akkaya, artist Zeynep Tanbay, lawyer Eren Keskin and Mansur.
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