Main opposition lawmaker asks PM to inform public on alleged rights abuses in village in Turkey’s southeast

ANKARA / MARDİN

A deputy from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has asked Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım to inform the public on alleged human rights abuses by security forces in a village in the southeastern province of Mardin. 

CHP Istanbul lawmaker Sezgin Tanrıkulu asked about allegations that civilians in the Koruköy village in the Nusaybin district had suffered from heavy human rights violations amid a curfew imposed by the security forces.

“There are allegations that very heavy human rights abuses are taking place in Nusaybin. Can you explain to the public what is happening?” Tanrıkulu wrote on a tweet on Feb. 19. 

Videos and photos allegedly taken in the village show soldiers mistreating civilians and were shared on social media.

According to the Kurdish issue-focused Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), no reliable information regarding the events could be obtained for 10 days. The HDP called on international institutions to show “sensitivity toward the issue.” 

In the notice that was sent to international institutions - including the European Parliament, the European Union, the United Nations, and the European Commission - with an emergency code, the HDP said a delegation from the party was barred from entering the district. 

A delegation from the HDP has been waiting to enter the village for three days. In addition, a delegation from the Human Rights Association (İHD) and the Diyarbakır Bar also went to the region to obtain information about the alleged abuses. 

Saying a curfew had been imposed in the village for one day on Feb. 11, HDP deputy Mehmet Ali Aslan said it had been ongoing ever since. 

“It’s a crime,” said Aslan, who is in the delegation that has been waiting to enter Koruköy. 

“If there is no situation that is against the law and if there are no human rights abuses, then they should allow the media and NGOs to enter the village,” he added.