One hundred and ten months have passed since 34 villagers, 19 of them children, died after being bombed by Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) warplanes near the village of Roboski in Şırnak (Şırnex) on 28 December 2011.
The Justice Initiative for Roboski published a written statement regarding the Roboski Massacre and drew attention to the unlawfulness of the ongoing trials.
“The proof of the collapse of the justice system is the Roboski Massacre”, it said. “Within the 479 weeks since that night, there has been no law or justice, and everyone continues to remain silent. Three thousand three hundred-and-fifty days after the massacre and there is still no justice. The parliament established a secret commission, and the judicial system acquitted those responsible for the massacre”.
The statement continued: “Roboski is a symbol of the heartlessness that does not even give our people a chance to live. Those people had been condemned to earn their bread on mules because of the borders within countries”.
The Justice Initiative for Roboski criticised the state for choosing war politics instead of peace regarding the Kurdish question and also for not taking responsibility for the massacre. “Instead of solving the problems within the country, bombs were dropped on Kurdish youth. They were citizens of this country”.
‘There is no time-out for massacres’
The judicial process regarding the killing of 34 people was closed on the grounds that the Roboski incident was an “unavoidable mistake” by the Turkish army. Although bar associations in Turkey, human rights organisations and the families of the victims made statements about the Roboski Massacre regarding the search for justice, and called for those responsible to be judged, a fair trial was never held.
The Justice Initiative for Roboski also mentioned that there is no time-out for any massacre and they will continue to demand justice until the guilty are charged for their crimes. “Unless what happened at Roboski is openly explained to the public, unless those responsible for the killings are charged for their crimes, there will be no peace or democratisation for Turkey”, concluded the statement.
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