After 7th June general elections, the armed conflicts, which have erupted in residential areas, made Kurdish people to pay a heavy toll. The conflicts started to move again to the rural areas after PKK had ruined the cities by building barricades and dug ditches in people’s living space.

“Declaring some regions as ‘Security Zone’ signs wider operations”

Especially, air support military operation which is being conducted in Diyarbakır’s Hazro, Lice, Kulp, Kocaköy, Hani rural areas and to the thereabouts of Tendurek Mountain close to the Ağrı and Van provinces drew public’s attention. Imposing curfews in many villages and declaring some rural and woody areas as ‘Security Zones’ sign for imminent wider operations.

“Families’ concern for their children’s future increased”

During one year war time took place in the city centers, people of the region have experienced great sufferings and pains. Hundred thousands of people had to leave their homes. In some cities all infrastructure collapsed. Economy has shrunk, many business owners had to put up the shutters. These violence acts, which are commonly condemned by people according to public surveys, also struck the education. Families’ concern for their children’s future increased.

“Bomb-laden vehicle attacks in centers traumatized people”

As people bloom their hope after lifting of the curfews due to substantial decrease in violence incidents in the city centers, on the other hand bomb-laden vehicle attacks in centers traumatized people.

“Villages, experienced migrations during 90s, are afraid of living the same consequences again today”

People, who are living in the cities, are swirling in wave of violence, the shifting of the operations to the rural areas draw people, who are living in the villages, into despair. Villagers do not want to experience the same thing people have suffered in the city center. Villages, experienced big migrations during 90s, are afraid of living the same consequence again today.

 “Lice, a stronghold of PKK and center of cannabis production, attracts notice”

In the districts, where operations have started recently, the district of Lice draws great attention among these places. As it is known Lice’s rural areas are the biggest cannabis production centers in Turkey, it is also a remarkable stronghold for PKK camps.

In Lice rural areas, there are large and small PKK military camps and numerous caves used as depots by PKK. It is also known that Çiftlik (Mezra Miho) and from Saggöze (Riz) in Genç district to Spene village are the places host many PKK camps since 80s.

“In PKK camps, bread production is made in industrial ovens”

According to the local sources; camp spots, since they are built on the crags or in oak barrens, can sustain their presence for a long time. Indicating that these camps even have industrial bread production ovens, local sources said that militants in the camps meet their food and other needs with village busses and by some other private car owners. Indicating that vehicles confiscated by PKK are also being used for multi purposes, local sources also added that sometimes representatives of political wing of PKK pay visits to these camps.

“Clashes in the city are being directed from these camps”

Saying that some senior commanders, residing in these camps, have direct contact with Qandil, Locals say that: “some of these commanders go to the cities, where clashes take place, to coordinate the war.

“PKK militants oppress villagers”

Underlining that PKK militants, in the camps, visit the villages as if they are normal villagers and they make organization propaganda in these villages, and sometimes they threaten and force the villagers to follow their orders.  Especially during elections, oppressing the villagers, PKK militants resort to violence against those who are prone to vote for other parties except HDP/DBP.

Any operations hasn't been conducted to the big camp in Mezra Miho region so far, reported

Indicating that one of PKK’s big camps is located in Ciftlik (Mezra Miho) in Ulucak village, local sources say that they never witnessed any operations conducted to the camp that open and run by PKK since 1984. Also civilians and officers kidnapped by PKK are prisoned in the camp reported. Despite government’s military forces settled on the mountains close to the camp in the region before the solution process, they haven’t intervened. Indicating that air operations organized to the villages near the Lice town, local sources drew attention to that these operations are not effective on the camps located in the deep valleys.

Indicating that sometimes shepherd children see PKK’s caves, local sources indicated that PKK putting pressure on these children and threat by saying: if they tell anyone about the location of the caves, they would burn their villages.

PKK spreads propaganda in the villages by saying that they are still strong

Afraid of losing their grip on the people because of the damage they received, PKK gives message of that they are still strong by sending their armed militants to the villages. By showing their armed militants and their camps in the region, PKK spreads the propaganda of that state still couldn’t damage them. In this way the damages PKK got in the city centers are not being felt in the rural areas.

The camps located in the Lice-Genc border are putting pressure on people

Besides villages in Lice, also PKK put pressure on people in Kavar, Vusleyl, Argat, Satos, Vartig villages because PKK also have caves and camps in these places.

PKK tries to control villages through their representors they appointed by pressure

Within the start of the solution process comfortably acting in the villages, PKK while try to intimidate those who they see as opponents, no matter villages are their fans, they keep villages under the control by the representors they keep under the control. Sometimes the representors were those who didn’t like the PKK. Due to pressure put by PKK, these people either had to accept to be PKK’s representors or had to leave their villages. Also in some villages, representors took the power of PKK behind them started to occupy lands of villagers. Therefore many people had to leave their villages.

Villagers seen as oppositions were questioned in the Lice camps

Within the comfort of the solution process driving around by luxury cars, stop traffic anytime they want, taking those who they see as opponents to their camps in the region and question them, prison them, PKK took people under control by setting a huge dictatorship.

Taken to PKK graves by organizations of municipalities, students are taken to PKK camps in the region after they are affected by the propaganda

Within the start of solution process, graves were established within the names of dead PKK militants. Also BDP PM’s of the time joined to opening ceremony of the graves. Turning the graves to propaganda center, PKK gathering villagers in these places, dictate their wishes to them. Also sometimes they gather high school and university student in these places by different organizations of municipalities. Some students affected by the propaganda here do not turn back to their homes and join the PKK camps.

Threated to pay tribute, some people try to find solution in the camps in Lice

Indicating that teenagers that joined these camps by being kidnapped or sometimes by mental manipulations, local sources indicated that teenagers are being sent to the conflict areas after trained in these camps in ideological and military cases. Indicating that this has been known primarily by the people of town and also by the people of the region, local sources also indicated that people were threatened by PKK in the cities to pay tribute come to the camps to find solution.

Experiencing big pressure due to the camps in Lice people, to be taken to the conflict areas as live shields was reflected to press before.

People of Lice don’t want to be memorized by negative events

On one side known by PKK camps, and on the other hand known by thousands of acres land that drugs are planted and known by drug production center, people of Lice are fed up with these impressions because many Islamic scholars and sheikhs were educated in their town and villages close by.

People of Lice are reacting to oak trees to be burnt

Living in the villages near the villages, people are reacting to the oak trees to be burned due to the air bombardments organized towards PKK. Indicating that within the oak trees to be burnt their lands are going to be barren, people of Lice indicated that they don’t want to experience once again, what they have experienced in the 90’s. (ILKHA)