Criticism continues over the commission report prepared by parliament on the new process. The absence of any perspective for a solution to the Kurdish question in the report, the persistent framing of the issue within the narrative of a “terror problem,” and the complete omission of even a single sentence on enforced disappearances have sparked public outrage.
In the 1990s, many people were forcibly disappeared by the state in Turkey. The Commission on Enforced Disappearances of the Human Rights Association (IHD), known to the public through the Saturday Mothers, was among those heard at the meetings of the Parliamentary Commission on National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy. However, when the report was published, the absence of any reference to enforced disappearances and the demands of the relatives of the disappeared drew criticism from both the Saturday Mothers and the broader public.
Sebla Arcan, a member of the IHD Commission on Enforced Disappearances, spoke to ANF about the commission report.
Arcan said that they attended the commission’s fifth meeting upon invitation, adding that during the meeting they set out their core demands in detail, foremost among them the clarification of the fate of those forcibly disappeared and the prosecution of those responsible. She said that they also conveyed their expectations that the commission would embody an approach that does not deny the truth, does not ignore emotions, and produce solutions.
Arcan said that when the report was published, they saw that enforced disappearances, the profound social consequences of this grave crime, and the demands voiced for years by the Saturday Mothers were not included in the text. She said: “In a text prepared with a claim of democratization and social peace, the omission of violations that amount to crimes against humanity, such as systematic enforced disappearances, is a serious shortcoming.”
Arcan stressed that one of the most fundamental problems in countries where enforced disappearances have occurred is impunity, noting that impunity not only conceals crimes committed in the past but also creates a ground that enables similar violations to be repeated. She said that the absence in the report of any reference to the need to end impunity and to transitional justice mechanisms for the construction of a democratic and pluralist Turkey is alarming.
Arcan said that transitional justice mechanisms must be put into operation in order to repair the social fractures and traumas caused by grave human rights violations, adding that the establishment of truth commissions, effective and independent prosecutions, the opening of archives, the investigation of mass grave sites, and the implementation of institutional reforms constitute the core elements of this process.
Arcan said that confrontation is an indispensable dimension of this effort, adding that the state and society must openly confront the grave violations of the past, abandon policies of denial, and question official narratives. She said that the public acknowledgment of the truth, the visibility of victims, and the recording of what has happened in the collective memory are preconditions for lasting social peace, added: “Any discourse of peace constructed without confrontation cannot go beyond a fragile silence.”
Arcan stressed that transitional justice also aims at institutional transformation, saying that the civilianization of the security bureaucracy, the strengthening of judicial independence, and the effective implementation of human rights standards in domestic law are the minimum requirements for preventing the repetition of similar violations. She said that any “normalization” constructed without reckoning with the past reinforces the continuity of impunity, adding that the exclusion of the statements and demands of the relatives of the disappeared from the report contradicts the very purpose for which the commission was established.
Arcan said that the report in its current form has caused deep disappointment but emphasized that every opportunity that can open the door to peace and democratization is valuable. She said: “Even if the report did not meet our expectations, we at least hope that it will contribute to the normalization of the political climate and to the emergence of a ground where peace and truth can be spoken more openly. The path to lasting peace runs through making the truth visible and establishing justice.”
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