Another mass grave where six Kurdish guerrillas are allegedly buried emerged in the province of Bitlis, an area where hundreds of bodies have been found buried in dozens of mass graves located so far.

The thirty-year-old war in Kurdistan continues to make itself apparent in the Kurdish region where Bitlis is one of the places that has long witnessed the brutality of the war which has claimed the life of tens of thousands.

Six guerrillas of Kurdistan People's Liberation Army (Artesa Rizgarîya Gelê Kurdîstan, ARGK) are allegedly buried in the mass grave located near the Yukarı Olek village of Bitlis as a result of the efforts by Human Rights Association (IHD) Bitlis Branch.

According to the statements of IHD Bitlis Branch Chair Hasan Ceylan, the six guerrillas buried in the mass grave are those who were ambushed in clashes which lasted till early morning near the village at the night of 30 August 1993.

Following the clashes -said Ceylan- villagers wanted to bury the guerrillas after performing religious ceremonies which were however denied permission by Turkish soldiers. Villagers therewith had to bury the guerrillas in an area 10-20 meters away from the cemetery of the village, and signed their tombstones.

"Our aim is to determine the identities of the guerrillas, to reach their families and to re-bury them properly", Ceylan said and listed the code names of the guerrillas buried in the mass grave as follows; Mustafa Koç, Candan, Hevi, Çiçek and Sozdar. He pointed out that families of guerrillas need to apply to IHD Bitlis Branch for the determination of the clear identities.

Ceylan, remarking that the Association is facing the state's obstacle in response to the legal applications they present concerning the mass graves in the Kurdish territory, added the followings; "We have located a number of mass graves in Bitlis in recent years, despite all the legal obstacles we have faced to our efforts for the discovery of these mass graves. Many of our applications on mass graves are rejected and evidences are obfuscated by the specially authorized prosecutor of Van".

Ceylan called on families to apply to IHD for the determination of Kurdish guerrillas buried in mass graves.

Turkey learned of the presence of mass graves in 1989, when a Kurdish journalist, Günay Aslan, had revealed their existence. Kasaplar Deresi (Butcher's Creek), an army trash heap in the province of Siirt, was where the first mass grave was discovered. Nine people were exhumed by the authorities there, and the names of at least 73 others buried in this mass grave came to light. The guerrillas who lost their life in clashes or people abducted by the security forces were thrown there, sometimes from garbage vehicles. More than 100 bodies were recovered from this mass grave over the past 20 years.

The Human Rights Association (İHD) claims to have been informed of the existence of hundreds of mass graves in Bitlis province alone, an arid populated mainly by Kurds. Testimonies from villagers and PKK members have brought to the discovery of the exact locations of mass graves. Many are located in the cities of Bitlis, Siirt, Hakkari, Şirnak, Diyarbakır, Batman and Bingöl. Extrajudicial killings; summary executions; burned bodies, bodies mutilated or crushed by tanks; severed heads; fighters and villagers thrown from helicopters; signs of torture; and evidence of chemical weapons are listed among the crimes committed before the mass burying.

IHD reports that mass graves are located in Newala Qasaba, Eruh town centre, Twan, Şawiran, Çevirimtepe (Girdika), Ergüven (Baluka), Kikan, Yeşilkonak (Kadîya), Kurtalan, Harat, Ekmekçiler (Binêve), Gözpýnar, Yelkesen (Basixrê) and Bozatlı (Basnê) village countryside in Siirt, Hizan, Arsan River (Newala Warê Hiro), Kokarsu (Arpêt), Bindaki mountain, the countryside of Tatvan, Çakalsöğüt (Xaştax), between Hora Şêxan and Hora Kurmanca, Cengiz Village, Pihok, Duav Pasture, Güroymak, Mutki and Dikilitaş zone in Bitlis. There are also 19 graveyards in different locations in Diyarbakır, 9 in Van, 8 in Batman, 6 in Hakkari, 5 in Bingöl, 4 in Şırnak, 4 in Mardin and 1 each in Elazığ, Ağrı, Iğdır and Gaziantep.