ISTANBUL - Saturday Mothers, who gathered at Galatasaray Square for 677th time, asked the fate of Mirza Ateş, “We will not give up seeking justice in this square,” said the mothers.

 

Saturday Mothers gathered in Istanbul's Galatasaray Square for 677th time to ask the fate of their loved ones forcibly disappeared and to demand the perpetrators to be tried. The mothers placed white scarves and roses on the large white banner reading “The perpetrators are known, where the disappeared are?” Mehmet Güler, father of Aziz Güler lost his life while fighting Daesh in Rojava, artist Nur Sürer, journalist Ahmet Şık, Republican People's Party (CHP) MP Sezgin Tanrıkulu and many people joined the protest to support it.

 

In this week’s protest, the mothers asked the fate of 37-year-old Mirza Ateş, who was forcibly disappeared on March 18, 1994 in custody.

 

Sezgin Tanrıkulu began to speak and he said, “Nothing has changed although 24 years have passed, even we see the torture, maltreatment and forced disappearance have spread in all cities of Turkey.”

 

‘They took my Mirza away us’

 

Rında Ateş, wife of Mirza Ateş, made a short speech and she said, “Soldiers raided our home at 2 a.m. along with village guards. They took my Mirza away us. We looked for him a lot but we haven’t received any news from him since then. That’s why I am here now. I don’t know what I say anymore.”

 

After the statement and speeches, the story of Mirza Ateş was read.

 

“Father of five Mirza Ateş (37) was living in the İnkaya village of Diyarbakır’s Kulp district. He immigrated to Sadıka Hamlet of Konuklu (Duderya) village with his family when İnkaya village was burned by the soldiers. After three months, soldiers and village guards conducted raids in villages and detained many villagers on March 18, 1994. One of detained people was Mirza Ateş. He was taken to Sivrice Police Station and then to Kulp Gendarmerie Command along with Kuddusi Adıgüzel and other villagers. They were taken to Diyarbakır Gendarmerie General Command after being held in Kulp Gendarmerie Command. Some of them were then released and some of them were jailed by the court but Mirza Ateş and Kuddusi Adıgüzel weren’t among them. No news have been received from them until now.”