Main opposition deputies visit families of Uludere victims

ŞIRNAK – Doğan News Agency

The group came together with the relatives of villagers killed in the air strike at the village’s mosque. DHA photo

A group of main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputies have paid a visit to the southeastern province of Şırnak on Sept. 13 to meet with the families of the Uludere massacre victims.
 
Headed by the deputy leader of the party and former chairman of Diyarbakır bars Association Sezgin Tanrıkulu, the group came together with the relatives of villagers killed in the air strike at the village’s mosque.
 
“Roboski [Uludere] is the bleeding conscience of Turkey. Those responsible have not been found in the past 625 days. I am a lawyer, if they wanted it the perpetrators could have been found in 15 days. It is clear that a massacre has been perpetrated,” Tanrıkulu said. 
 
On Dec. 28, 2011, 34 civilian villagers were killed in the air strike near the Turkish-Iraqi border in the Uludere district of Şırnak, allegedly mistaken for outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants as they smuggled goods from northern Iraq into Turkey.
 
The investigation into the incident failed to clear up the circumstances that led to the attack while the government has not yet issued a formal apology. 
 
“I will mention this saying for Ankara: ‘Locks are not useful if the thief is in the house.’ The thief is in the house, that’s why those responsible have not been identified,” Tanrıkulu said.
 
The CHP deputies told the families that they would assist them in shedding light on the incident.
 
Six relatives of the victims had recently met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, urging him to find the perpetrators of the attack.
 
Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş had, for his part, claimed that Erdoğan knew those who had given the instructions.