According to Veysel Bolca of the Human Rights Association (İHD), who is in Altınova township of Ayvalık district to investigate the attacks on Kurds living in this area, the reason that a simple incident turned into a mass attack was Kurds’ newly gained economc status in the area.
“My personal opinion is that the locals cannot accept the fact that the Kurds who have been living in the area for more than twenty years are now in a good economic position and this has created tensions in the local community. Mostly the business owners were attacked.”
The IHD committee, which included, in addition to Bolca, Veysi Altay, Haşim Uslu and Kemal Teke, began its investigation yesterday (October 2) morning and left the township in the evening. It will release its report next week.
In the incident on September 30, eighteen year old Oğuz Dörtkardeş and thirty one year old Ezel Kırcalı had been killed and six people had been injured. The incident was followed by mob attacks against Kurds living in the area.
Bolca’s impressions regarding the incident, which he conveyed to bianet, were as follows:
Provocation: “Witnesses says groups of Greywolves, a far right organization affiliated with the National Movemet Party (MHP), were brought in from outside, for example, from nearby Dikili. They chanted slogans that were basically death threats to the Kurds. That MHP’s Balıkesir deputy Ahmet Duran Bulut gathered these people and provoked them further is among the allegations. It is also claimed that some of the perpetrators were brought in by buses.
“Our neighbors threw stones”: “Those who were attacked say they were attacked by their very close neighbors with whom they were on very good terms.”
The shops are empty, they cannot leave their houses: “They said they had been unable to leave their houses for two, three days now. Their shops are deserted. Their properties are not safe anyways. If they leave their houses, their lives may be in danger, too. Safety of their properties had not been secured yet.”
Intervention came late: “The security forces arrived late. Gendarmerie watched the events; they limited their intervention to taping the incidents. There were no precautions.”
The march of the soldiers: “It is told that after the events a police panzer, gendarmerie soldiers and another group with them marched through the city center, chanting slogans of “my life to be sacrified for my country” and “martyrs do not die, the motherland cannot be divided”.
“It went out of control”: “Some of the Kurdish residents, mostly the business owners, said that the events went out of control and that they were concerned the events turned into attacks against Kurds.”
Damage is more than what was announced: “Governor Selahattin Hatipoğlu said 25 houses, 10 shops and 9 vehicles were damaged. But according to our investigation it was more. Just the two business owner we met with had nine vehicles.”
Governor’s tolerance: Governor’s excuse for his statement that they tolerated some of the furor was that a crowd of few thousand people could not be told to march quietly. But it is obvious that more was tolerated, such as letting the angry crowd threaten another group.” (TK/TB)
