The blockade on the Kurdish village of Timoq, made famous by a torture scandal involving the Turkish gendarmerie, has been lifted. Delegations from the HDP, the Bar Association and the Human Rights Association (IHD) visited the village in Batman.
The blockade on the village of Timoq in the province of Batman, which has become known due to a torture scandal involving the Turkish gendarmerie (military police), has been lifted. Since March 31, the Turkish governor had imposed a ban on entering and leaving the village. The measure was preceded by a raid-like search by the military police, including violent arrests. The action was justified on the grounds of "support" for the PKK guerrillas. Three residents of the village, including an 80-year-old man, are now in custody on the usual terror charges. Two of them had previously been tortured for days by the gendarmerie.
With the blockade lifted early Saturday morning, delegations from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), the Batman Bar Association and the local branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) headed to Timoq, whose Turkish name is Gömüşörgü. Among the members were Ayşe Acar Başaran, a member of parliament and spokeswoman for the HDP Women's Council, Songül Korkmaz, the deposed co-mayor of Batman, her counterpart from the municipality of Bekirhan, Gülistan Sönük, IHD activist and lawyer Devran Yıldız, and Erkan Şenses, chamber president in Batman. The delegations held talks with villagers about what happened during the large-scale raid in the village more than three weeks ago and conducted investigations.
Interviews were also conducted with relatives of the arrested villagers. The military operations underway in the region were also a topic of discussion in Timoq. The operation conducted in the immediate vicinity of the village has since been suspended. However, the Turkish army's military operations continue in the higher-lying villages of Mişrîta (Yedibölük), Kêl Hezna (Kel Hasan) and Elqîs (Belkıs). The consequences for the local population are devastating in some cases. Livestock cannot be grazed and land cannot be cultivated. People's freedom of movement is severely restricted, and curfews, some lasting several weeks, are not uncommon. The IHD has announced that it will soon present a comprehensive report on the events in Timoq and the region.
