Following the finding of a mass grave of 19 people in the garbage dump of Gendarmerie Station in Mutki town of Bitlis, one more claim came from Dersim.  It was reported that there is a mass grave of 19 guerrillas dating back to 1997 in rural area of Çemiþgezek/Dersim.

HPG (People Defence Forces) Commander Perver Dersim expressed that Turkish army buried the guerrilla bodies en masse in the rural area of Çemiþgezek/Dersim in April of 1997 and didn’t inform their families.

ONLY ONE SURVIVED

Perver Dersim, who was a guerilla in Aliboðaz region of Dersim during the comprehensive operation of Turkish army against guerrillas in the area, spoke that only he himself could survive from the operation among the group of 20 guerrillas.

THEY MADE VILLAGERS TAKE THE BODIES

Perver Dersim explains that he and an ally from the group tried to leave the region from Akirek side of Aliboðaz due to the operation, adding; “A tank ambush was laid somewhere close the village, on the way we passed. Many of our comrades lost their lives at the scene due to the tank shootings. We weren’t able to care for the wounded because the attack was continuing. With the sunrise, soldiers blockaded the Akirek (Gözlüçayýr) Village. They afterward sent the villagers to the region and made them take the bodies. A wounded guerrilla destructed himself for not being captured. And many wounded comrades died of blood loss”.

BURIED EN MASSE

Dersim told that all of the bodies were taken to the district center on a tractor and then buried en masse in an area between Akirek (Gözlüçayýr) Village and Çemiþgezek county seat. Saying that the local community also knows where the mentioned mass grave is, Perver Dersim added the families of guerrillas were not informed about the place of the grave, while the families who guessed the bodies belonged to their children didn’t receive any answer to their applications.

Translation: Berna Ozgencil