It has been 95 years since the Zîlan Massacre, one of the largest massacres against Kurds in history. On 12-13 July 1930, tens of thousands of Kurds were killed in the Zîlan Valley (Geliyê Zîlan) in the Erdîş (Erciş) district of Wan (Van). Forty-four villages, including Hesenebdal, Exs, Kelle, Qizil Kilîse, Zorova, Binesî, Bunizî, Pelex and Kerx, were set on fire, while those who survived the massacre were exiled. 

 

Following Biroyê Heskî Têlî's uprising on Mount Ararat in 1926, the Xoybûn Organisation was established in Lebanon and joined the uprising in 1929. Xoybûn sent Seyid Resul, a member of the Berzenci tribe, to Zilan Valley to gather the scattered rebels. Seyid Resul besieged Erdîş with a group of 400 people. After prolonged fighting, the rebels retreated and crossed into Iran. 

 

Upon this, Derviş Bey, who was serving as a captain in Erdîş, took his detachment and blockaded the Zîlan River. Forty-four villages in the Zîlan region, whose entrances and exits were guarded by soldiers, were set on fire. After the villages were set on fire, thousands of people were massacred en masse with machine guns. Those who survived were exiled. The villagers' livestock and other property were confiscated. 

 

The villagers who survived or escaped and saved their lives were forced to live in hiding for a long time. Although the number of those killed in the Zîlan Massacre is stated as 15,000, witnesses of the period and some different sources indicate that the actual number is over 40,000. 

 

 

THOUSANDS OF CITIZENS WERE MASSACRED

 

Writer Mehmet Sadık Varli, who conducted research on the Zîlan Massacre and interviewed 200 people, spoke on the anniversary of the massacre. Focusing on the reasons behind the Zîlan massacre, Varlı said: "A man named Derviş Bey was brought to Erdiş as a commander. Derviş Bey was positioned at three points, and there were approximately 44 villages in the Geliyê Zîlan region. Information was shared that a major operation would take place in the area soon, and helicopters would enter the region. In this way, the villagers of Adax Heyv, Newala Milkê, and Newala Fedê, which were identified as the centre, decided to gather. In this way, they carry out the massacre on the night of 12 July to 13 July. After the massacre, very few people from the crowd gathered there survive. Thousands of our people were killed at three points, and very few survived. So many people were killed even though they had committed no crime. Women, children, and the elderly were all subjected to massacres." 

  

'THE GOAL WAS TO SUPPRESS THE REBELLION' 

  

Varlı said that the state's goal was to suppress the Agirî (Ağrı) rebellion and prevent it from spreading. "Their goal was to spread great fear among the Kurdish people and subject them to a great massacre. Many massacres have gone down in the history of the Republic of Turkey. One of these massacres is the Zîlan Massacre. All massacres, such as Dêrsim and Halabja, were carried out to exterminate the Kurds. However, the 40-year struggle against these massacres is now poised to culminate in victory. This new process, in my view, is a process of success. Our hope is to create a society where peace and democracy can flourish. Let us never forget the massacres that were carried out, and let us never allow them to be forgotten," he added.