Life comes to a standstill in Kurdistan

Life comes to a standstill as Kurdish people mourn 12 guerrillas who lost their life in Uludere
As anticipated on Saturday three days of mourning are to take place in many cities as from today. Shops will not open, festivals and election meetings will be called off to allow people to mourn for the 12 Kurdish guerrillas who lost their life between Friday and Saturday in the area of Uludere, province of Sirnak.
Turkish military operations continue on an increasing scale in Kurdistan. HPG (People’s Defense Forces) guerrillas are observing a self defence position since March 1st but have been subjected to many offensives by the Turkish army. Heavy clashes between the Turkish army and the Kurdish guerrillas in the region of Qalban of Sirnak province have also been reported.
According to news, the Turkish army launched an extensive military operation against the Uludere/ Sirnak. 12 HGP guerrillas lost their lives in two separate operations conducted in the Uludere area on 12 May. After that news the Kurdish organization announced three-days of mourning in the district. The shutters will not open. The festival of Spring in Uludere and the Art and Culture festival in Cizre were cancelled.

The People’s Initiative of Sirnak called on all Kurds to claim the ownership of the bodies of the 12 guerrillas.

News agencies also reported the death of a member of the Turkish military in an explosion in Cukurca area.

According to a report, a bomb exploded while the Turkish army had initiated a wave of operations in the region of Chile in the vicinity of Deshtan village.

The explosion led to the killing of a member of the Turkish military and an increase of their operations in the region spreading fear among the locals.

The Turkish army operation in Uludere had been going on for four days around the hamlets of Yemi?li (Mêrgeh) and Ortaköy (Aro?).

According to reports 4 out of 12 bodies have been taken to ??rnak State Hospital.

The city of ??rnak and those of Cizre, ?dil, Silopi, Beytü??ebap, Güçlükonak and Uludere have all announced three days of mourning.

Saturday night a large crowd gathered outside the BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) office in ??rnak.

It has also been reported that a crowd gathered outside ??rnak hospital and was attacked by police.

the Spring Festival on May 22 has been called off in the district where all workplaces will remain closed for three days, the Culture and Art Festival in Cizre District has also been called off upon receiving the news.  People’s Initiative called on people to adopt the bodies.

12 more guerillas have been reported dead as a result of the recent intense military operations of the Turkish army despite the guerilla’s inertial position.

While 5 HPG (People’s Defense Forces) guerillas reportedly lost their lives during the clash at the night of 12-13 May in Ortaköy (Aros) Village and the bodies were taken to S?rnak State Hospital, the report of a second clash came from Yemi?li (Mergeh) Village, zero point to the Federal Kurdistan Region, at the night of 13-14 May when seven guerillas reportedly lost their lives. According to the reports coming; four of the bodies were taken by army helicopters to S?rnak State Hospital’s morgue, while three of the bodies are still held in the clash-area.

The Turkish army operation is reported to continue to expand on the region, while a large number military units and special operation teams of the Turkish army are reported to have crossed the border of Federal Kurdistan Region at early morning hours.

40 GUERRILLAS DIED SINCE MARCH

According to the Human Rights Association (IHD) Diyarbakir Branch’s 2011 four-month report on human rights violations in Kurdish provinces, 27 guerrillas lost their lives in March and April alone; which rose to 39 with the latest two clashes. The Association had notified that the guerilla bodies had been subjected to inhuman treatment, adding that this is an affront to humanity.

THREE-DAY MOURNING IN ULUDERE

Making a statement upon the news, BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) Uludere Organization recorded the followings; “Recently, the AKP government’s deadlock policy and the political and military operations have given rise to the arrest of many civilians and death of HPG guerrillas in S?rnak. In commemoration of these young people losing their lives, we announce three-day mourning in the county.

PEOPLE’S INITIATIVE CALLED FOR ACTION

Making a statement following the death of 12 guerrillas in military operations, S?rnak People’s Initiative said the followings;

“From now onward, we are calling on the people of Botan and all the people of Kurdistan to bring life to a standstill and to reclaim the bodies of the guerrillas. The life must stop, shutters must go down, schools must be boycotted, and workers must stop working. From now on, Botan’s people will keep guard in front of the Sirnak State Hospital. Against this bloody attack, we call on all patriotic people of Kurdistan to be aware that it is an honorable task to reflect their extreme reactions at the squares.” (B.O)

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