The National - By Thomas Seibert
25/08/2010
A former high-ranking official in the Turkish military has broken a long-held silence over the government’s suspected involvement in extrajudicial killings, a move applauded by human rights activists. The killings are believed to be a result of the government’s fight against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, a rebel group. The killings, which rights activists estimate to be anywhere between 3,000 to 5,000 cases for the period between 1989 and 1996, when most of the executions took place, have long been a taboo subject. Accusing security forces of perpetrating such atrocities has been regarded as treasonous and could result in provoking intimidation or worse.
But this is changing. After mass graves were unearthed in the region last year, prosecutors in the Kurdish area have begun investigating and building cases.
A military officer is now standing trial in the south-eastern city of Diyarbakir for his alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings, while a former admiral has confirmed that the killings in the 1990s were part of an official, if secret, “state policy”.
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