“Less than a day after the Roboski massacre of 28 December 2011 Prime Minister Erdoğan personally thanked Chief of the General Staff Necdet Özel. The same Prime Minister said Roboski would not disappear in the corridors of parliament, but he has buried the massacre in the dark labyrinth of Ankara. If the real perpetrators of the massacre emerge, then everyone will be on trial, the PM, the government and the General Staff, no one will be excluded."

These are the words of Ferhat Encü, who lost 33 relatives in the massacre, including his 17-year-old brother, Serhat Encü. Ferhat Encü, in Istanbul on the invitation of the Peace Assembly, spoke to ANF about the absence of justice in the last two years.

Encü stressed that the government and parallel state was implementing hostile laws on the Kurds from Roboski to Gever, adding: “there can be no peace with a government that refuses to confront Roboski".

It has become clear who the real smugglers are

It has been two years since the Roboski massacre, but not one step has been taken towards justice. On the contrary, efforts have been made to cover it up, claiming it was an accident. What do you think about this?

"There's no more to say. For two years we have told the AKP government everything you can imagine. They accused us of being smugglers, but the latest corruption and bribery operation demonstrates who the real smugglers are. Those who rained bombs down on us, accusing us of being smugglers, are now doing all they can to clear their sons who have plundered the country. The AKP government, which started out claiming to be for justice and rights, has now become a government that denies justice, steals the people's taxes, and profits from the misfortunes of others. 20 hours after the planned Roboski massacre of 28 December 2011 Prime Minister Erdoğan thanked Chief of the General Staff Necdet Özel in person. The same Prime Minister said Roboski would not disappear in the corridors of parliament, but he has buried the massacre in the dark labyrinth of Ankara. He has also done absolutely nothing to find the perpetrators. On the contrary we, the families of Roboski seeking our rights, have been attacked."
 
Families being punished

What kind of attacks?

"We have suffered both verbal and physical attacks. Every time we demanded justice the state responded by attacking us. They've gassed us and hosed us with water. We have also been fined a total of 50 thousand lira for holding a commemoration at the border. We are on trial for 'violating the security zone' and face up to 7 years in prison. This is unacceptable. You kill 34 people, then you act as if nothing has happened. And as if this is not bad enough, you then prevent the families seeking justice for their loved ones. This is what the AKP government has done."
 
Has all this made you despair of the struggle for justice?

"We have learned through bitter experience that in this country justice is not handed out by the state. Justice can only be obtained through struggle. Even if we despair from time to time, we have no intention of giving up. On every platform we are given the right to speak we say that there will be no real peace in this country without unravelling this massacre. No justice, no resolution can be expected from a government that does not confront Roboski. Only when Roboski and other massacres are confronted will there be justice."

Hostile laws for Kurds

Do you feel public opinion has shown the necessary reaction to the Roboski massacre?

"No, I don't. I expected a bigger public reaction to such an obviously planned massacre. There was nothing from the public or the media. Neither commentators on TV programmes, nor journalists answered the question 'why was this massacre carried out, who are the perpetrators?' They were endeavouring to get people to forget the massacre and to normalise the savagery."

During the Gezi Park resistance Medeni Yıldırım was killed in Lice. There was a reaction to this all over the country. Did this raise your hopes?

"It did a bit, but I don't think the mentality has changed. One of the most important reasons to think like this is the silence that greeted the murder of 3 people in Gever. Then the state is turning a blind eye to victims of the earthquake in Van living in squalor and hunger over 2 years after the quake. They ignore children freezing to death, while on the other hand the Prime Minister, who is venomous towards Israel and its building of walls in the West Bank, and calls the Berlin Wall the wall of shame, is trying to build walls between Rojava and Nusaybin."

To what do you attribute the government's double standard?

"I think the government is implementing hostile laws towards the Kurds. After the Constitutional Court decision it was said the BDP MPs should be released but a different decision was made. This showed the general approach to the Kurds."

Nothing can halt the Kurds' freedom struggle

Given this situation, do you think the AKP government is sincere as regards resolving the Kurdish question?

"To be frank, at the moment I trust neither the government running the state nor the Gülen movement that is called the parallel state, as their attitude to the Kurds is evident. While the perpetrators of such a blatant planned massacre as Roboski are not being touched how can peace be achieved. How can there be peace in a country where the right to education in the Mother Tongue, the most natural of rights, is not granted? In any case, this state did not become engaged in the peace process because it was really enthusiastic about it. This point was reached as the result of the struggle launched by the Kurdish movement and the great sacrifices made. The government knows this, too, and for this reason nothing can obstruct it.

The Rojava revolution is the most concrete example of this. With the Rojava revolution the Kurdish people have risen up against all the dirty mentalities. Realising its position in the Middle East the Turkish government wants to reduce the Kurdish freedom movement to a minimum, but the Kurds have changed. No power can halt the freedom struggle of the Kurds. Without doubt, one day the Kurds will be free, like the other peoples. This is inevitable. Of course, both the government and the parallel state will do what it can to sabotage this, but they can only do so much."

Finally, is there anything else you would like to add?

"If the real perpetrators of the Roboski massacre emerge, then everyone will be on trial, the PM, the government and the General Staff, no one will be excluded."