Families from Roboski condemned that perpetrators have not been exposed although 5 years have passed since the massacre, for which families said the AKP government is responsible.

Leyla Encü, the mother of the 19 year-old Şêrvan Encü who is one of the 34 people killed in Roboski Massacre, said that she will continue to struggle until the perpetrators of the massacre are prosecuted. Encü spoke to ANF about the problems she has had, and said that many promises were broken.

"STOP THE BLOODSHED IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY FIRST"

Mother Encü said her pain of losing a child is fresh even though 5 years have passed since Roboski Massacre, recalling that Erdoğan and the AKP government have perpetrated other massacres after Roboski. Encü said “5 years have passed since the massacre. I live my son’s pain every day. Sometimes, I feel as if the massacre happened yesterday. As if not exposing the perpetrators of the massacre where the AKP killed 34 people was not enough, they carried out more massacres over the past 5 years. What do Erdoğan and the AKP government want from Kurdish people? For years, Kurdish people say peace but Erdoğan does nothing but massacres and death. Erdoğan does not solve the problems in his country but supposedly tries to solve the problem in Aleppo. Why do you care about other countries’ problems? First, stop the bloodshed in your own country. You bring people from there, give them guns, and carry out massacres. Look around and see how many countries you’ve turned into enemies.”

"HE WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH WHAT HE IS DOING"

Mother Encü stated that the AKP and Erdoğan would pay for the pain they have inflicted, and added “So many soldiers and police officers died, don’t they have mother and fathers? The families that he gives blood money to will one day say ‘it’s enough!’ and bring him to justice. He inflicted great pain and destroyed peace in this country. Where are his children, where are his relatives? Why is it always the children of poor families that die? Erdoğan accuses Gülen movement and ISIS for the tens of explosions and massacres that have taken place here. Even they have more conscience than Erdoğan. He will not get away with what he is doing. He has destroyed Turkey and imprisoned tens of Kurdish parliamentarians. Does he think he will finish us through arrests and massacres? They may have killed my Şêrvan but I have 4 more children and will continue my struggle with them.”

"EMİNE ERDOĞAN DID NOT KEEP HER PROMISE"

Mother Encü recalled that Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his wife Emine Erdoğan had made them the promise of finding the perpetrators and showing solidarity with the families of the 34 people massacred 5 years ago, and added: “Emine Erdoğan came here 5 years ago and promised that the perpetrators of the massacre would be punished. What happened to that promise? We believed her because she is a mother, but she lied to us. Erdoğan made similar promises. It has been 5 years. Instead of prosecuting the perpetrators, they carried out more massacres. Was this their promise? We buried 34 of our children and we want peace so that nobody else gets hurt. Does Erdoğan and the AKP have no conscience? Do they not believe in God? Some of our children were engaged, some of them were studying, and some had dreams about the future. They massacred them all. When we look at them, we become proud of the reason they were killed. At least, our children were not killed because they rape or steal. We thank God that our children did not do the things that these politicians are doing.”

"JUST LIKE SADDAM…"

Mother Encü said that Erdoğan would not get away with the pain he has caused to Kurdish and other peoples, and his end would be just like Saddam’s. Encü said “Saddam too killed many innocent people and brought his own end. Erdoğan is becoming more like him.”

"ALL MASSACRES HAPPEN DURING THE AKP – ERDOĞAN PERIOD"

Leyla Encü touched upon the assassination of the Russian Ambassador Andrey Karlov in Ankara and said “We, the Kurdish people, make sure that our guest is not harmed even if the guest is an enemy. Erdoğan could not protect a guest in his country and caused his assassination. Instead of capturing and punishing the assassin, they killed him. Does Erdoğan think that we don’t know why the assassin was killed? As long as they are in power, deaths and massacres occur. How does he plan to account for all these deaths? We leave all these and the rest to God. Justice will be served.”

"MY SON WAS KILLED BECAUSE HE DID NOT BECOME A VILLAGE GUARD"

Mother Encü said that she has been mourning the loss of her child since the massacre, but would continue to struggle until the murderers of her child are found. Encü said “I raised my Şêrvan with love and care. He was only 19 years old. He would dream about the future and tell us about his plans. He helped us get by as he did trade over the border. I told him several times that I was sad to see him work all year round. But he was more mature than his age. We were forced to become village guards but he did not want that. My son was killed because he did not become a village guard. We have been mourning since my child was massacred. Every day and night, we mourn him. His sister wore her black dress even when she got engaged and married. We don’t have any holiday or wedding celebrations at the village. May God punish those that have caused this suffering.”

"ROBOSKİ IS THE FIRST MASSACRE OF ERDOĞAN AND HIS GOVERNMENT"

Lastly, Mother Encü emphasized that Roboski was the first massacre Erdoğan and his government carried out and said “We saw that Erdoğan caused many more deaths after Roboski massacre. We start each day with the news of more deaths. Erdoğan has been massacring Kurdish people and trying to destroy them for many years now. Every race has the right to live freely in their land. Every race has the right to speak their mother tongue. Erdoğan has shed enough blood!”