The Başbağlar massacre, one of the darkest days in the history of Turkiye, was carried out on July 5, 1993. It has been 28 years since the massacre has been carried out, one of the largest civilian massacres in Turkey's history.

The massacre that started at 20.00 pm on Monday, July 5, lasted until 22.00 pm.

Entrances and exits of the village were blocked, and phone lines were cut off. At 01.00 in the night, Başpınar Gendarmerie Headquarters was informed but they never showed up and did not take the notice into consideration.

The state heard about the massacre after a person from Başbağlar took shelter in a neighboring village at 5 a.m., phoned his son in Istanbul, and then his son phoned the local governor of Kemaliye district.

The school, mosque, village chambers, imam house, neighborhood rooms, teacher's house, which the villagers built by their own means, hundreds of animals, 5 vehicles, and 191 houses were burnt or destroyed by lava weapons, hand grenades, dynamite, and inflammable chemicals.

The names of those who carried out the massacre resulted in the death of 33 people, which did not determine but the mentality that carried out the massacre was obvious, which it was a retaliation of Madımak that took place on July 2. Because the killers gathered people in the square of the village and propagated for 1.5 hours saying, “Sivas' revenge was taken”.

Nearly twenty people were allegedly arrested as part of the investigation, in which two people were jailed and sentenced to life imprisonment for being members of the PKK. Turkish authorities claimed that although the PKK apparently claimed responsibility for the attack, during interrogations, jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan said that he had been unaware of the incident and stated that a PKK member codenamed Dr. Baran was responsible for the incident. In 1998 the case was closed.

The most interesting thing about the incident was 33 innocent people, who had never been involved in Sivas' events, were killed for revenge of those 33 people killed in Sivas' events.

Three days after the Sivas Madımak massacre on July 2, 1993, Nazif Baltacı and his 13-year-old son Ibrahim Baltacı, Nurettin Aydın, Şakir Aydınlı and Süleyman Orhan were burnt to death while other 28 people in the village of Başbağlar were massacred by gunfire.

In the village where the pain of the massacre is as fresh as the first day, the martyrs are being remembered every year in an anniversary ceremony.

US helicopter was seen over Başbağlar village on the massacre day

The most striking detail about the massacre came from the head of the association of the village after 25 years. Başbağlar Village Association Head Mehmet Ali Dikkaya said that US helicopters flew over Başbağlar borders on the date of July 5, on the day of the massacre.

Those who carried out the massacre knew the village well

“The raid was not a regular raid. I think those who carried out the massacre had come to the village several times before. They knew all the parts of the village and the residents of the village. They even knew those who came from Istanbul [for vacation] and in which house they stay,” he added.

The statements of eyewitnesses

One of the villagers who witnessed the massacre said: “My grandson, who came to the mosque just before we start for the evening prayer. Told us that the anarchists had raided the village. So, I immediately shut the door, and they saw me when I closed the door. They came and asked me to open the door, but I didn’t. Then they went away. We performed our pray and started to pray. I looked outside through the window; they broke the neighbor's door, took out the man. Then they came to our house. They broke the door, at that time; I offered them the money I had in my pocket. They grabbed it and forced my daughter-in-law, my grandchild, and me to go out. I noticed that they laid bombs into one of the rooms just before I leave the house. They set the house into the fire after we left the house. They dragged me even I said I am an old and ill man. They planted bombs around us. On the other side, they were burning houses and vehicles in the village. They murdered 28 people without batting an eyelid. Our village burned down until the morning. We could not inform anyone because there was no phone.”

One woman named F.P. in the village said: “The militants were calling the residents in front of their doors by their names. 'Right to the mosque' they were yelling and directing people to gather there. I sat inside the house next to the window and listened to a few militants in the streets. I heard a familiar voice; that man [militant] was living in a near village and working in our village. I was frightened at the sight of him. Later they gathered the women and children. We have gathered beside the creek. A girl and a boy militant were watching us.”

G.D., one of the residents of the village said: “They were going to blow up the place they gathered women. Allah saved us; they put something near us when they gathered us. ­We thought it is radio so they could listen to us. We were talking quietly among us. However, it was a bomb. It exploded after we left the creek. They would kill also women and children like men they massacred.”

Başbağlar is not the only massacre of the PKK

The history of the PKK continues to shed the blood of civilians and innocent people with the massacres they have committed. Here are some of the massacres of the PKK:

“June 20, 1987, Pınarcık Massacre: 30 people were killed, including 16 children and 6 women. June 10, 1990, Çevrimli Massacre: 27 people were massacred, including 12 children and 7 women. June 26, 1992, Susa Massacre: 10 Muslims were lined up in a mosque and martyred. June 11, 1992, Tatvan Massacre: the PKK murdered 13 people from a bus they stopped. July 18, 1993, Sündüz Massacre: 24 people were murdered, including 14 children. January 1, 1994, Savur Massacre: 21 people were murdered, including 11 children. Attacks on October 6-7, 2014 and onwards: 8 people were murdered. May 17, 2016, Dürümlü Massacre: 16 people were murdered.” (ILKHA)