While fighting deceased Kurds, how can Turkey make peace with its “living” Kurds?

While fighting deceased Kurds, how can Turkey make peace with its “living” Kurds?


“My son was killed on 5th of May 2017 in a clash with the Turkish army. I learned of his death from the news. On a social media site called “kanlıkule”, the photos of my son’s disintegrated body were shared. In the photos, a special operation’s soldier stood with his foot on top of my son’s body. My wife and I went to Hakkari to meet with the army commander to request my son’s body 20 days later. The commander said that they threw his body into the river. I said ‘commander, I want my son’s body. If you can’t go to the area, I can go and retrieve his body and the bodies of others.’ He said “Dogs and cats are eating the bodies of those killed last week’. I said ‘commander, there have been wars throughout history. After battles, even the worst enemies allow the others to collect their dead. What you are doing now goes against all laws and humanity. I beg you commander don’t torture us, give us our son’s body. Give us a grave, a stone that we can visit and cry at.”


These are the words of a father whose son, a member of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), was killed in the Çukurca district of Hakkari province, close to the borders of Iran and Iraq. I met him three months ago at the Human Rights Association in Diyarbakır. He is not alone.