Human shields wounded in Hakkari

Peace demonstrators are violently attacked but marches and protests against the war continue
A demonstration by the human shields has been violently attacked by security forces in Çukurca, province of Hakkari, near the border.
The demonstrators have been attacked by tear gas and it is reported that at least two people have been badly injured. One of the wounded is thought to be a child.
The army did not give permission for the human shields march and attacked the demonstration with violence.
Protest actions against the military operations carried out during the month of Ramadan continue. Peace organizations, NGOs, trade unions, political parties, intellectuals and Kurdish politicians have participated in these marches against war and the government of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The Peace Mothers Initiative–lead human shield protest at a border near ??rnak continues. “We have nothing to lose,” said 53-year-old Tokatl? Emriye Ektiren, a Turkish Peace Mother from Mardin. “As a Turkish mother, I am here to support the Peace Mothers. We have come here to build a bridge to our children. We are addressing the government saying, absolutely no mother can endure the pain of a lost child. It does not matter if they are Turks or Kurds; they are our children.”
Ektiren’s daughter-in-law and another Peace Mother, Gülseren Üzer added, “Every side of our life is under occupation. My husband is a member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and my brother is a soldier in the Turkish Military Forces (TSK). They are both a part of me. I am here for all the soldiers and the PKK members. I am here to stop these operations. Those who are killed in this conflict are people’s children. Brother kills brother in this land. We are here to stop this war.”

Police seized eight vehicles heading to Diyarbak?r from Dersim, Malatya, Elaz??, Bingöl and central Diyarbak?r in support of the human shield action. In Mardin, police detained MKM artist Rojbin. Police reaction to citizens and BDP deputies who are protesting by blocking roads continues.

In the meantime, human shield protesters on their way Süleymaniye, Hewler and Duhok to Sengeser stopped and began a hunger strike. They were then taken into custody. A spokesperson for the approximately 50 human shields who were detained said that the detainees were subjected to violence and, if Iran and Turkey’s attacks continue, the Government of the Federal Kurdistan Region should sever trade and diplomatic ties with these countries.

In Cizre, the Saturday Mothers met for the 31st week, announcing that they would travel with the human shields during the Ramadan holiday.

In a number of house raids, police from the Hakkari Police Department and the Gendarmerie Command carried out a number of house raids in villages and the city center. Seventeen people were taken into custody.

Police attacks began yesterday in Yüksekova at the end of a funeral cortege for one of the HPG guerrillas who lost their life.

In Mersin’s Akdeniz District, police detained Azadiy Welat Newspaper worker Kahraman Aktay. He was reportedly taken to the Aktay Siteler Police station.

Police raided a community condolences tent in the district of Sar?gazi which was set up in honor of Hamide ?evlük (Rohanî Kendal), who was one of three HPG members who were killed in an air strike in the Federal Kurdistan Region. The Mardin BDP District Organization provided food for the Ramadan Iftar meals of the families.

In Diyarbak?r, many warplanes took off from the 2nd Air Force Tactical Command Center last night, apparently headed for the Kurdistan Federal Region.

PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan’s lawyers have been prevented from meeting him for four weeks. On Wednesday, they made their tenth application to visit their client, which was refused for the reason of an “official holiday.”

Intellectuals and academicians reacted against the escalating violence. They said that the AKP’s isolation of Öcalan is an “obstruction to peace.”

The academics pointed out that the only power that might prevent the course of the conflict is Öcalan. They called on the government to make a step towards mitigating this situation.

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