The Turkish state installed MOBESE (mobile electronic system integration) surveillance cameras in all streets of Hakkari center and districts. The local residents are critical of this and complain that their city has been turned into an open prison.
The Turkish state has increased the number of MOBESE surveillance cameras particularly in the center of Hakkari (Colemerg) and also districts of Gever, Çukurca and Şemdinli, which all their streets connecting the districts have been equiped with. The local residents are very critical of these special cameras, which have the capability to turn in a range of 365 degrees while simultaneously recording, and they state that fear gnawing at the Turkish state leads it to such measures.
THE INHABITANTS ARE BEING SURVEILLED
A shop-owner in Hakkari answered the questions of ANF and stated that they, as the residents, never witnessed any positive effect being brought along with the installed cameras. The shopkeeper said, "The officials tell us they installed these cameras to prevent theft. But we never witnessed such a function coming from those cams. Not any thief was ever caught. We have here on top of each neighbourhood and in each street dozens of MOBESE cameras. They are surveilling us, which is for us a psychological offense."
IT'S AN INSTRUMENT TO PROVIDE MATERIAL FOR CHARGES
The youths of Hakkari affirmed that these surveillance cameras inhibit them in their freedom and explain: "Each moment in our life, in our privacy is observed by a bunch of people live. Whenever they want to arrest us young people, they just present the camera recordings and do it instantly. Sometimes they interchange and manipulate pictures and recordings at will and present it as pieces of evidence to arrest us. As soon as two people come together, the police approaches them instantly and molest them with questions as "What are you up to? Do you prepare actions?". All that comes of Colemerg's (Hakkari) identity and spirit of a Kurdish city."
