People’s Democratic Party (HDP) Central Executive Board (MYK) released a statement on the occasion of the anniversary of Zilan massacre.

The statement included the following:

“91 years passed over the Zilan massacre which was a result of denial policies against the Kurdish people and violence and pressures executed against the Kurdish people’s demands since establishment of the Republic of Turkey. This large-scale massacre which claimed the lives of thousands of people including women, children and elderly remains fresh in the memory of the Kurdish people, as if it had happened only yesterday. During this massacre, 44 villages were burned down and blood flew through the Zilan Stream for days. The survivors of the massacre were forced to immigrate and their properties were seized.

The political power of the time made new laws to protect the soldiers, village guards, militias and civil perpetrators involved in this human tragedy and paved the ways for the massacres held in the following years. The policies which caused a massacre in Zilan are still maintained by the AKP in different ways today. The Turkish state neglects the Kurdish people’s declaration of intention during the elections, appoints trustees to the municipalities, adopts hostile policies against the deputies, imprisons elected politicians and closes down political parties. The mentality underlying the closure case against our political party reveals the composition of the hostile policies ongoing for years.

To build a democratic and enlightened future for our peoples, everyone should confront the great pains suffered in the past, especially the Zilan massacre. We commemorate thousands of people; all women, children and elderly who lost their lives in the massacre. We will never forget them. All pains and massacres in these lands are each a ground of our struggle for building a free country. We will continue to struggle in order for those involved in the massacre and instigators to be brought to account before the history.”