In Colemêrg centre and the districts of Çelê (Çukurca), Gever (Yüksekova) and Şemzînan (Şemdinli), villages that refused to accept the imposition of village guards between 1993 and 1995 were forcibly evacuated by the state and then burned down.  

 

The local population has been banned from returning to their villages for 32 years. Some villages can only be accessed with special permission from the district governor or the gendarmerie. Citizens can only obtain permission once a year in the autumn, and the permission granted is only for a few hours. Some villages are still off-limits to citizens due to "security" policies. 

 

Entry and exit have been prohibited for more than 30 years to 35 villages in Colemêrg, including 19 villages in the district of Çelê, 9 villages in the district of Gever, and 7 villages in the district of Şemzînan.

Citizens unable to enter their villages stated that despite the Peace and Democratic Society Process, the restrictions in the region remain in place, and expressed their desire to return to their villages and participate in the reconstruction process. 

 

'LIFT THE RESTRICTIONS'

 

Recep Aktaş, 65, who has been unable to visit the village of Marîfan, which has been under ban for 30 years, stated that the bans in question are being arbitrarily enforced and that their right to return has been suspended for years. 

 

Aktaş said that the state imposed village guards in the 1990s and that they were forced to migrate from their villages because they did not accept this. Aktaş said that they faced livelihood problems when they came to the city, adding that their village was burned down after it was evacuated and therefore they could not take anything with them. 

 

Aktaş said that the state was not sincere in the process initiated to resolve the Kurdish issue, adding that no legal steps had yet been taken and that they could still only go to their villages with permission. 

 

Aktaş added: "If there is a process, there is peace; if the PKK has burned its weapons, then the state should do what is necessary. Lift the bans on our villages, let us go to our villages. Currently, dozens of villages in Çelê are banned. Even if people go there, investigations and lawsuits are immediately launched against them. Show your sincerity in this process, lift the bans, let us go to our villages."

 

'THE PKK HAS WITHDRAWN, SO WHY ARE THE RESTRICTIONS STILL IN PLACE?'

 

Remziye Akbaş (50), from the village of Şivişkî in Çelê, stated that if the restrictions were lifted, they would rebuild their villages. She said that they could only visit once a year for just one hour and that they were unable to cultivate or farm in their villages. 

Remziye Akbaş said that if the ban were lifted, they would return to their village and rebuild it, adding: "We still need permission from the gendarmerie and the district governor to go to our village. Until now, they used the PKK as an excuse, but the PKK has announced that it has withdrawn from these areas. So why are these bans still in place, why can't we go to our villages?"

 

Omer Akbulak (62) from the village of Seranî in Çelê said that despite the process, it was unacceptable that the villages were still banned and that they wanted to live comfortably in their villages. 

 

Akbulak said: "We haven't been able to go to our villages for exactly 30 years. Permission is only granted once in the autumn, and even then it's only for a few hours. There is no longer any justification for the villages to be off-limits. If they are sincere in this process, then these restrictions on our villages should be lifted."

 

'WE WANT TO BUILD'

 

Gurgîn Bozdag from the village of Talisa in Çelê added that his father and daughter had been subjected to various forms of torture during the village evacuations: "But our attachment to our land has never diminished. We still love our village very much. We all had 500-600 animals. But the state turned it into a nightmare for us. Before, they said, 'The PKK is there,' and that's why they banned it. But the PKK withdrew its forces, yet the state did not take a step, and our villages are still banned. We want to rebuild our villages, we want our children to return to their homes."

 

MA / Zeynep Durgut