MERSİN - Describing his daughter Leyla Şaylemez, who was murdered in Paris 11 years ago, father Abdulbari Şaylemez said: "Both as a father and as a member of the public, I admired the awareness and fighting spirit she acquired at a young age."

 

It has been 11 years since the assassination of PKK co-founder Sakine Cansız (Sara), Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) Paris Representative Fidan Doğan (Rojbin) and Kurdish Youth Movement member Leyla Şaylemez (Ronahi) in Paris, the capital of France, on January 9, 2013. While the confessions of shooter Ömer Güney, who died 36 days before his trial to be held on January 23, 2017, in the prison where he was arrested and the documents revealed indicate that the massacre was organized by MİT, insistence on not revealing the details of the massacre continues. With the initiative of families and lawyers, a new investigation was launched in April 2017 to elucidate the role of MİT in the massacre, within the scope of the documents that emerged after the death of the shooter Güney. However, no progress has been made within the scope of the second investigation in the intervening 6 years. In the 11 years following the murder of Cansız, Doğan and Şaylemez, who were among the pioneers of the Kurdish women's struggle, the Kurds did not refrain from asking who the real murderers were and demanding that the massacre be clarify.

 

SHE WAS DISCRIMINATED FOR YEARS

 

Leyla Şaylemez, who was 24 years old when she was murdered, was born on January 1, 1989 in Mersin. Şaylemez, who was born as the 3rd child of the family after her family moved from Amed (Diyarbakır) to Mersin in 1987 due to state pressure, later went to her father Abdulbari Şaylemez in Germany in 1997. Şaylemez, who went through a difficult time with her family in Mersin due to her Kurdish identity, also experienced similar issues in Germany. The first steps of Şaylemez's political identity were taken here.

 

Father Abdulbari Şaylemez talked about his daughter Şaylemez.

 

FIRST FIGHT AGAINST 6 BROTHERS

 

Father said that his daughter's struggle started within the family against her 6 brothers and continued. Stating that Leyla solved the problems with communal wisdom, democracy and not oppressing others, father Şaylemez said: “She was trying to produce ideas in this direction. Both as a father and as a member of the public, I admired the awareness and fighting spirit she acquired at a young age. The fact that she took steps consciously, within the framework of democracy, and with a fighting spirit at a young age made us and those around her happy. I was proud of her.”

 

SHE WAS IN SEARCH: I AM KURD, WHY IS THERE NO KURDISTAN?

 

Pointing out that Leyla grew up with the idea that a woman could do anything, father Şaylemez stated that during her childhood and youth in Germany, she constantly asked herself the questions, "I am Kurd, why is there no Kurdistan, why are the Kurds intertwined with different states?" Saying that his daughter, who improved herself in line with these questions, was in search of something, Şaylemez said: “She was murdered in Paris when she was only 24 years old. We are supposedly in the heart of Europe. In the heart of Europe, 3 women were massacred in broad daylight and the perpetrator or perpetrators have not been revealed so far. 11 years of the massacre have passed and we are entering the 12th year. The Kurds have been condemning this massacre and those who committed it for 12 years. During the peak months of winter, The Kurds take to the streets and commemorate these people. For this reason, the grief inside me is going away a little bit."

 

Condemning the Paris Massacre, father Şaylemez said: “If millions of Kurds say 'Leyla is immortal' today, this is an honor as a father and family. On the one hand, we are proud. After all, humans are mortal. But on the other hand, it is painful to be faced with such a massacre and the loss of conscious, self-seeking, democratic people. But we are proud.”

 

'IT IS EUROPE'S SHAME THAT THE MASSACRE IS NOT CLARIFIED’

 

Şaylemez stated that the perpetrators of the Paris Massacre were known but were not revealed or punished and said: “We are talking about democracy in Europe, but 3 women are being massacred in broad daylight. It is a shame for France and for Europe that the perpetrators have not been identified yet. This also reveals France's hypocrisy. France is under suspicion in the eyes of the Kurds unless it reveals the perpetrators of this massacre. The people of France must also be held accountable for this. If three women are murdered in the middle of the day, it is not right to play ostrich. Kurds are among the oldest and most ancient peoples of Mezopotamya. The oppression and massacre against Kurds are also a crime against humanity. It is necessary to organize to respond to these."

 

MA / Yüsra Batıhan