It is said that under the military junta hundreds of thousands of people were tortured, many were killed and thousands disappeared.
Berfo Ana, the Turkish mother who campaigned for decades to uncover the truth about her son’s disappearance, has died at the age of 105. She never locked her door for 33 years so that when Cemil came back he could walk straight in the house.
Dictatorship killed her son.
A day after the military coup on 12 September 1980, her son, Cemil Kırbayır, was arrested. On 8 October, his brother Mikail Kırbayır tried to visit him. However, he was told that Cemil had escaped.
Eyewitnesses said that he had been subjected to extreme torture. The Kırbayır family requested information from the Justice Minister, the Home Office and the President over many years. They always received the same answer, “Cemil was missing, he had escaped”.
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (Turkish parliament) Human Rights Commission investigation concluded that Cemil was “tortured and killed in custody and his corpse was removed by the investigating officers”.
During a meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2011, Berfo Ana asked for the remains of her son so that she could bury him. Her wish was for him to be buried in a grave so that she could visit him.
General Kenan Evren, the leader of the military junta, and others went to trial on 10 January 2012 for their role in state terror during September 1980. However, he did not attend the first trial and gave ill health as an excuse for not attending.
Berfo Ana said at the trial, “Kenan Evren, did you have no shame when killing my child? You demolished my house; your house should be demolished. Don’t hide, come here!” She said to the judge, “Why didn’t you bring that murderer here?” She attended all the hearings and court cases, whether in good health or in a wheelchair. One of her most unforgettable speeches proclaimed to Kenan Evren, “I am not going to die until I find the bones of my son”.
Saturday Mothers.
On Saturday 27 May 1995, the mothers of the disappeared children started to meet in Galatasaray Square, Istanbul. The main aim of the Saturday Mothers and their supporters was to raise awareness of the pain and sorrow over the lost relatives and to expose the role of the Turkish State in the disappearances.
They were influenced by the Argentinean families whose children were killed or “disappeared” by the armed forces of the ruling junta. These families met every week at the Plaza De Mayo square to protest; their number reached thousands.
From 15 August 1998 until 13 March 1999 many protestors were attacked by Turkish police who used gas bombs and detained them. The Saturday Mother’s had to suspend their protest due to these attacks, but on 31 January 2009 they started again.
Journalists, writers, artists and MPs who were sympathetic towards the mothers’ campaign were invited to the meetings. The mothers and their supporters brought flowers and left them as a symbol.
Never forget.
Mikail Kırbayır said that his mother was a representative of justice and died unable to put carnations on her son’s grave. In her last days she said, “Kenan Evren, give me my son’s bones. Don’t bury me without finding my son’s bones”. A park in Ankara, capital of Turkey, will be named after Berfo Ana. The foundation stone will be laid on 9 March just after World Working Women’s Day and is aimed for completion by the end of the year.
* Member of the International Socialist League (ISL)
Source: Journal Socialist Voice nº 10 –Special March
