Located near the city center of Siirt (Sêrt), Newala Qesaba (the Valley of the Butchers), where many remains from both 1915 and the 1990s are buried, has been reopened for construction by the state-appointed trustee. Alongside villas, a hospital and a girls’ dormitory are being built in the area, and it has been alleged that bones unearthed during excavation were thrown away as waste.
Despite objections and official appeals, construction in the area has not been halted. Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB) Siirt Branch Secretary Fırat Şimşek stated that a serious policy of erasing collective memory is being carried out in the area. He added that in all zoning decisions taken outside the region, the trustee has excluded local institutions, causing public harm.
After the municipal council members elected on 31 March 2024 annulled the zoning decisions on 7 June 2024 that had opened Newala Qesaba to construction under the trustee’s signature, the site, still holding mass graves was once again reopened for development following the reappointment of a trustee to Siirt Municipality. In the April session of the trustee-run municipal council, the Zoning Plan was amended, paving the way for the construction of five- to eight-story buildings in Newala Qesaba.
Bones are thrown away
Newala Qesaba is an area where many Armenians were buried in mass graves following the Armenian Genocide of 1915, and where, after 1980, fallen Kurdistan Freedom Guerrillas and civilians who were victims of unresolved murders were also collectively buried.
On 22 April 1989, excavations were carried out in the stream for the first time, and within a few hours the bones of eight people were unearthed. The excavation was halted the same day by order of the governor’s office, and no further work has been carried out since. Most recently, with the area opened to commercial construction, bones discovered during excavations were allegedly thrown away as waste.
The Human Rights Association (IHD) Siirt Branch issued a statement calling for the bones to be examined and for crimes against humanity to be stopped immediately.
Engineer Fırat Şimşek, assessing the destruction caused by the trustee’s decisions in the city and the current situation of Newala Qesaba, spoke to our agency. He noted that objections had previously been submitted to Siirt Municipality against the zoning revisions in Newala Qesaba and that a lawsuit had been filed demanding a stay of execution, but the process has been slowed due to the judicial recess.
Şimşek said: “If an urban zoning plan is to be carried out in a city, it is important to obtain technical opinions from that city’s professional chambers. TMMOB has strong technical expertise and prioritizes the public interest.” He added that trustee practices eliminate transparency in planning processes and render professional organizations ineffective.
400 million TL buried underground
Şimşek also drew attention to the engineering failures previously experienced in the area. Recalling that construction continued on the 400-bed hospital in Newala Qesaba despite being unsuitable according to the ground survey and said: “Instead of relocating the hospital, the administration opted for ground improvement, and approximately 400 million TL of the budget was buried underground. Another example is the 750-capacity student dormitory in Siirt. The buildings were constructed without ground surveys. After only six months of use, the foundations began to collapse and the students were evacuated. For nearly ten years, those dormitories have been left abandoned.”
Trustees cause destruction
Şimşek said that the conflict processes experienced in the region for years have shown their impact not only in the mountains but also in the destruction of cities, forest fires, security dams, forced displacements, unregulated mining activities, and, today, in the cutting down of trees in Berwarî and Şırnak (Şirnex).
Şimşek said, “This environmental destruction and physical devastation have become a direct attack on our professional responsibility, our ethical stance in society, and the principle of public interest,” and pointed to the negative situation that a governance model excluding technical services has brought upon the city and the region.
War causes ecological and social destruction
Şimşek stressed that the ecological and social destruction caused by war must not be forgotten, noting that some of the damage can still be repaired: “Part of the damage done to nature can be compensated. We argue that the massive budget allocated to war should instead be devoted to public interest and the understanding of a social state. In this direction, we are preparing to organize a panel in Mardin (Mêrdîn) titled ‘What will be the role of engineers in the peace process?’ As the engineers and architects of the city, we want to show our full support for the peace process, to contribute to the maturation of the process, and to serve as a guide.”
It must become a place of memory
Fırat Şimşek also emphasized that Newala Qesaba could be transformed into a site of collective memory and added: “The damage that the war has inflicted on our nature, our cities, and our people must not be forgotten. It is very important that this destruction is recorded in memory. Newala Qesaba is a significant area that can be made into a place of memory.”
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