İSTANBUL - Hanifi Can who claimed his brother Ferhat Can's body exhumed from Garzan Cemetery after two years and finally was able to bury him, stating that the bodies are being buried on top of each other in Kilyos Cemetery of the Nameless, said: "This is not a cemetery, this is a mass grave. We only have pieced of their bodies anyway" and called for solidarity.

 

267 people were exhumed from the Garzan Cemetery, located in Bitlis on December 19, 2017 and were brought to İstanbul Forensic Medicine Institude (ATK). One of these people, Ferhat Can (Ferhat Garzan) whose DNA was one of the 10 people finally matched to a relative was claimed from the ATK and buried in Bitlis, Dilburu village by his family. Can's brother Hanifi Can told about the process to Mesopotamia Agency (MA).

 

Hanifi Can, stating that his brother joined PKK due to the pressures on the Kurdish community in 2005, said his brother lost his life in a clash in 2012. Can, stating that they learned about the death of his brother 2 years after his death, said: "Bitlis Prosecutor's office gave us a document in 2014 that said my brother had died and was buried in the Cemetery of the Nameless in Malatya. We requested a DNA test to claim the body of my brother and then buried him to Garzan Cemetery".

 

Emphasizing that they buried his brother in Garzan Cemetery after the official proceedings, Can said: "They dug up the bodies with dozers in an unprecedented way in 2017. The way they were exhumed was a crime according to the constitution. Not only TUrkey's constitution but according to the international laws. Thinking how religios the Kurdish community is, this caused a serious breakdown for the Kurdish community."

 

Can, noting that the bodies were brought to İstanbul ATK for DNA testing, said they finally were able to claim the bones of his brother after long efforts and said:"Some families were finally able to claim the body of their loved ones after long efforts. We already had the DNA testing and buried our brother. They exhumed him for another DNA test. This is a crime. We told them that. I feel ashamed to tell you that they piled the bodies on top of each other in plastic boxes in a dump. It is not a cemetery, it is a mass grave. The bodies came in pieces. This is not humane or moral in terms of religion."

 

Can, stating that they faced many financial and moral difficulties in this process, said: "We had pieces of our loved ones to bury and we encountered very serious problems burying them. We wanted to bury my brother next to my uncle in the cemetery. They told us to bury him 100 meters away otherwise they won't let us. Where will these people be buried if not with their relatives?" 

 

Can said: "The body has no ideology. You have to give us the right to bury and to mourn. The right to do a decent funeral is being denied to the Kurdish community for years. Like Şeyh Said, Seyit Rıza and Koçgiri. They are denying us our graves. Everyone has a right to a gravestone. How can we live in Turkey where we are denied a decent burial? ALl our demands are humane and legal. If you don't give us our right to a decent funeral than don't go around appearing in TV screaming about your 'Kurdish brothers and sisters'. 

 

Can calling for the families to apply for claiming the bodies of their loved ones, said: "The exixtance of a peoples is their own cemeteries. We saw how these bodies were buried and where they were buried in. The bodies were piled on top of each other in plastic boxes in a dump! The families should claim the bodies of their loved ones. We too want to visit the graves of our loved ones and say a prayer and use our right to mourn. We are expecting solidarity from all political parties to help us claim the bodies of our loved ones and have a decent funeral fulfilling our religious duties regardless of any ideology."

 

 

MA / Naci Kaya