Murat Sarı, co-chair of the Mesopotamia Association for Migration Monitoring and Research (GÖÇ-DER), attended the meeting of the Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission and said that legal regulations are needed to ensure returns to villages.
The commission, established in parliament to create a legal and political basis for the democratic solution to the Kurdish question, continues to hear different perspectives. At its 11th meeting held on September 18, the commission also listened to GÖÇ-DER co-chair Murat Sarı.
Sarı spoke to ANF and said: “We find the establishment of the Commission meaningful; we believe it will be valuable for building an honorable and lasting peace. We conveyed both our assessments and demands to the Commission, and we also presented a report.”
Obstacles to return must be removed
Sarı noted that during their presentation and in the reports they addressed the issue of forced displacement that began in the 1990s. He continued: “Nearly 3,700 villages and hamlets were evacuated. People were forcibly displaced. This requires reparation and restoration, which are essential for the peace process. We demanded the removal of obstacles to return. We called for the construction of lasting and restorative justice. As stated in our report, a legal basis must also be created for the return of the people of Maxmur. We emphasized that the village guard system poses a serious barrier to the return to villages, creates a militarized environment, and that this obstacle must be lifted.”
Legal regulations must be introduced
Sarı underlined that preparing legal regulations for the return to villages would contribute greatly to the process. Sarı said: “The return of people from the region who were forcibly displaced back to their villages will create a strong motivation. With the peace process, the necessary arrangements regarding the villages evacuated in the 1990s must be made and put into practice. If an honorable and lasting peace is built, people who are already bound to their land with unbreakable ties will finally be able to return with peace of mind. With the adoption of legal regulations, these people will be able to reunite with their land.”