ISTANBUL - Many of the 282 bodies buried on the pavement in Kilyos were not returned to their families even after 6 years. The family of Leyla Kaya, whose funeral was given 4 years later, emphasized that they will not forget the "torture" they were subjected to.

 

The remains of HPG members were exhumed in the Xerzan (Garzan) Cemetery in Oleka Jor (Upper Ölek) village in Bedlis center between December 8-19, 2017 and buried on the pavement in Kilyos Cemetery in Istanbul. According to the observation report of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), 282 bodies were exhumed in the cemetery. Despite the passage of 6 years, many of these bodies have not been returned to their families. The number of bodies returned to their families is estimated to be between 20 and 30; however, there is no clear information on this subject. The DNA sample is cited as the reason for not returning the bodies.

 

While the body of Leyla Kaya, who lost her life in a conflict in the Xizan (Hizan) district of Bedlîs on February 22, 2017, was found in the Xerzan Cemetery, she was removed from the cemetery on the said date and buried on the pavement in Kilyos. His family was able to receive Kaya's body after a 4-year struggle. The Kaya family, who learned through the press that their bodies were removed without their knowledge, received their bodies from the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institute (ATK) on February 9, 2021, as a result of the DNA match.

 

THE PRESSURE OF TURKISH STATE

 

The Kaya family, who rejected the imposition of village guards in the 1990s, when state pressures were most intense, migrated from Mamahik (Yurttutan) village of Gimgim (Varto) district of Muş to Gebze district of Kocaeli in 1994. Kaya's mother, Halide Kaya, said: "My daughter grew up in an environment where state oppression continued with soldiers' house raids. My family members were tortured in every raid and her husband was forced to serve as a ranger. We had to emigrate for this reason."

 

THE RANGERS WERE IMPOSED TO VILLAGERS

 

Explaining the torture suffered by her husband, who refused to be a ranger, Kaya said: “Every week, the Turkish state forced someone to keep watch in the village. When it was my husband's turn, he did not accept it because he refused, they undressed my husband, tied him naked to the car and took him to the police station. They called us a 'terrorist' because we did not accept to be rangers. At that time, my husband said, 'I am not a terrorist. I have children and I take care of my family.' Then they took my husband to prison and tortured him for 7 months. They tortured my husband with cold water and electricity for a month. They continued this torture until he fainted. My husband's body was damaged due to the torture inflicted on his years later. He died at an early age as a result of the blows he received during torture."

 

THE TURKISH SOLDIERS BURNED THE HOUSE

 

Stating that she was left alone with her 10 children after her husband's arrest, Kaya said: "The house we were in was burned down by the Turkish soldiers and we became homeless. The pressure did not end after her husband's arrest. We were tortured many times and my daughter Leyla Kaya witnessed all of this."

 

'LEYLA WITNESSED THE OPPRESSION'

 

Expressing that she was angry at the oppression and torture that her daughter witnessed, Kaya said: “My daughter was interested in art and gave great importance to morality and social peace. She experienced a lot of discrimination in the schools where she studied. She was both studying and going to work. My daughter said to me, 'Mom, this torture and cruelty is something that has been passed down from our father to our mother. Didn't you see my father, he died because of the torture? and I will never forget this torture. Women of our society are under great oppression, we need to see this truth.' Leyla witnessed the oppression and then she left the house to join the PKK."

 

FIGHT AGAINST OPPRESSIONS

 

Emphasizing that the oppression against the Kurds has not ended and that the struggle against it continues today with a hunger strike in prisons, mother Kaya said: “The Kurdish people are under great oppression, and in the face of this oppression, the prisoners in prison went on a hunger strike. Everyone who says they are human must protect the prisoners." 

 

THE BURYING OF BODIES ON THE PAVEMENT

 

Leyla Kaya's older brother, Turan Kaya, talked about the removal of their bodies from Xerzan Cemetery and their struggle to bury them on the pavement in Kilyos. Stating that they faced many difficulties to get their bodies, Kaya said: "We were able to get our bodies as a result of their struggle for 4 years. Only stones were placed on my brother's remains, not even soil was thrown on it. This is not a humane situation. We absolutely do not accept such a thing. No one with a conscience would do this." 

 

THE REMAINS WAS DELIVERED IN A BOX

 

Reminding that their remains were delivered in a box after a 4-year struggle, Kaya said: “While taking my brother's remains to be buried, we were stuck everywhere. In the village, they set a certain number during the burial process, so no one could attend my brother's funeral. This was a psychological pressure from the Turkish state." 

 

'THE REMAINS CANNOT BE TORTURED'

 

Describing the treatment of his brother's remains as "cruelty", Kaya said: "In Islam; In our belief, a dead person cannot be tortured or intervened because a dead person's connection with this world is cut off. The Turkish state cannot give a message through the remains."

 

MA / Ferdi Bayram