The Herekol Cemetery, which was built in 2014 in the Çemê Karê region of the Pervari district of Siirt, was first bombed by warplanes, then flattened by bulldozers. All the stones around the cemetery and the garden wall were destroyed. After that, the graveyard was hit by a flood in 2017. Nothing remains at the cemetery, where 63 fallen fighters were buried, except for a few broken gravestones and garden walls. Families who visited the area after some time encountered only a flat field and broken stones, while the fate of the 63 bodies buried there remains unknown.
The extent of the destruction at the cemetery became evident after families who had been denied access to the area due to restrictions for years were finally able to visit the graves of their loved ones recently.
The Association of Martyrs’ Families (KOMAW) released a statement denouncing the desecration of the graves of fallen Kurdish fighters.
“While steps are being taken towards peace and a democratic solution in Turkey, the Kurdish people’s right to mourn and pay respects, which is a universal human right, is being obstructed. Attacks are being carried out on the graves of Kurdish guerrillas who fell as martyrs, and the graves are being vandalized,” KOMAW said.
The statement continued: “Such practices deeply wound not only the Kurdish people but also the collective conscience of humanity. Attacks on cemeteries are a clear violation of the rights to religious belief, private life, and mourning, which are guaranteed by the Geneva Conventions, Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and Articles 18-20 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We, as the Association of Martyrs’ Families, strongly condemn these attacks and call on the authorities to comply with the law and universal human values.”
KOMAW demanded that all restrictions on visiting graves and offering condolences be lifted immediately; that the Kurdish people’s right to commemorate and mourn be respected and that such attacks are not allowed to damage social peace and coexistence.
“The memory of our martyrs is the honor of our people. These attacks must never be repeated. We will continue our struggle for a future where peace and justice prevail,” the statement concluded.