ŞIRNAK- Relatives of Temer Temel, who evaluated the death of Temer Temel after the armed attack in Setkar, which was under military siege, as an assassination, said, "If a bird flies from here, the Turkish state will know. Who did this?" 

 

The 1990s, one of the darkest periods in the history of Turkey, was recorded as the period when the oppression of the Kurds was most intense, villages were burned, village guards were imposed, forced to migrate, and thousands of people fell victim to unsolved murders. In these pressures of the state, at least 3 thousand villages in Kurdistan were evacuated or burned, at least 30 thousand Kurds lost their lives in the attacks of the state forces, at least 17 thousand people fell victim to unsolved murders, at least 2 million Kurds, including those who refused the imposition of rangers, left their lands,  had to move. So much so that the state officials of the period were summarizing the practices with the words "This place is not like any other place, this is the Republic of Şırnak".

 

Setkar village in the Elkê (Beytüşşebap) district of Şırnak, which was specifically targeted by the state in the 1990s, has not been able to escape these pressures of the state for 30 years. Finally, Temer Temel lost his life in an armed attack in front of his house in Setkar village on May 8. Setkar residents, who rejected the imposition of rangers in the 1990s, were subjected to immigration. Setkar people, most of whom went to the surrounding cities such as Colemêrg and Wan, returned to their villages in a short time despite the pressure.

 

However, since the 1990s, the oppression against the village has not ended. Finally, on September 25, 2015, during the clashes in the district, the village was scanned by the soldiers. 3 people lost their lives, dozens of people were injured, and many houses were destroyed in the house hit by the mortar shells fired from the military unit. Ahmet Temel (70), his son Behçet Temel (19) and their relatives Alya Temel (50) lost their lives in the house that was hit by a mortar in these attacks. Although the soldiers who raided the village after the attacks put pressure on the people to evacuate the village, the villagers did not leave their lands.

 

Despite the pressure, the village where there are 5 houses is watched with cameras from military bases 7 days and 24 hours a day, but Temer Temel (50), the brother of the former Mayor of Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Elkê Yusuf Temel and a student bus driver, was attacked in front of his house and died.

 

Stating that Temel had no enmity with anyone, family members pointed out that there was a base area on one side of his house and a military tower on the other. Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Elkê District Co-chair Ferhat Temel, the nephew of Temer Temel, and his neighbor Söylemez Temel talked about the armed attack.

 

'IT IS AN ASSASSINATION'

 

Stating that his uncle was a self-contained citizen, HDP's Ferhat Temel said: "Our family is known and recognized as a patriotic family in the village and in the community. When he came home from work on the evening of May 7, he got out of his car and was attacked with a heavy weapon. Villagers also say that they only heard the gunshots. Other than that, no one saw or knew anything. However, the village is surrounded by cameras. Previously, they would have known about every event immediately. But so far, no information has been shared with us about this event. We know it was an assassination. But we do not know who carried out this assassination. Now it seems like something mysterious. As you can see, there is a military base area at the top of the village, and there are base areas right behind it. Soldiers need to know who or what did this. But nothing has come out so far. We will fight until the perpetrator is found. We have seen such attacks and threats a lot, but we have not given up our struggle.”

 

'IF THE BIRD FLIES, THEY HAVE NEWS'

 

Stating that if a bird flies in the village, they will know about it, Temer Temel's relative and neighbor Söylemez Temel said: "We were sitting at home, his son came desperately and said to my wife, 'They killed my father'. Then we went outside. We saw Temer lying in blood. There were a lot of shell casings on the ground. Temer had gone as far as the door of his house to save himself, but had just collapsed there. We took him to the hospital with a life towel. We don't know who did this or why. Our village is surrounded by soldiers' blockade. They know who or who did this but they play deaf. Why are they silent? Why are they revealing everything and not revealing it? If a bird flies here, they know, if a goat goes missing, they know. But why haven't they clarified this event until now? This man was murdered in front of his home, in front of his children. Whoever did this must be exposed."

 

MA / Zeynep Durgut