Eight years since the murders of HÜDA PAR members: A tale of suffering and injustice in Kozluca village

In a small village called Kozluca, nestled in Türkiye's southeastern Sirnak province, the passage of eight years has done little to ease the pain caused by the murders of HUDA PAR members Muhammed Şerif Şimşek and Abdulcelil Talayhan at the hands of HDP members.

Ekleme: 29.05.2023 21:16:25 / Güncelleme: 29.05.2023 21:16:25 / English News
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Eight years have passed since the murders of HÜDA PAR members Muhammed Şerif Şimşek and Abdulcelil Talayhan by HDP members in the village of Kozluca, located in the Idil district of Türkiye’s southeastern Sirnak province.

These martyrs lost their lives in an attack on May 29, 2015, perpetrated by HDP members. The village of Kozluca (Xanikê), situated in the district of Idil (Hezex) in Şırnak, has since experienced 8 years of pain and suffering.

The 'solution process' that commenced in December 2012 proved to be disastrous for the people of the region, while the PKK benefited from it. Initially, some believed that the PKK would renounce violence, but the local population tried to convey the truth about the cost of the lives they sacrificed.

The Muslim Kurdish people realized that the solution process did not resolve anything; on the contrary, they suffered greatly under the dominance of the state-created PKK for about three years. They witnessed numerous acts of brutality, particularly during the October 6-7 events, and experienced firsthand the persecution inflicted by the PKK.

However, the price paid and the pain endured by the people were ignored, as they did not want to undermine the process. For three years, while the solution process was promoted, the people of the region witnessed the brutal and tyrannical actions of the PKK, which they had not seen in the previous thirty years. Media outlets in major centers reinforced this perception with biased news coverage. Murders, assaults, torture, and kidnappings were either downplayed or entirely ignored.

Every day, the press centers received troubling news from different locations in the region. One such incident was reported when an attack occurred in the village of Kozluca (Xanikê) in the Şırnak district. Two villagers, who were working in the village and targeted by Kalashnikov gunfire, were brutally massacred.

A few days before the general elections on June 7, 2015, HDP members arrived in Xanikê as part of their 'election work' and targeted individuals who held differing opinions. They acted similarly in other places as well.

In the village, which was known for its Islamic sensitivity, a clash erupted when the villagers asked the HDP convoy, which exhibited non-Islamic behavior and held opposing views, to leave the village.

While two farmers were busy harvesting their fields, they were targeted by HDP members' bullets as they attempted to defuse the HDP's provocation. Two wives were widowed, and nine children were left orphaned.

The HDP members launched a merciless attack on the public and deliberately targeted the village of Xanikê, which had suffered from PKK attacks in the 1990s and lost martyrs during those attacks. The majority of the villagers had shown their support for HÜDA PAR.

Muhammad Şerif Simsek, 35, and Abdulcelil Talayhan, 37, who sustained severe injuries in the attack, lost their lives at Nusaybin State Hospital despite all medical interventions.

The attacker, Sedat Teber, a member of PKK/HDP, surrendered to the gendarmerie with his father after the incident and was subsequently arrested by the court.

After approximately a year of trial, the murderer Sedat Teber was sentenced to a total of 42 years, including 18 years for murder and 6 years for possession of firearms. His father, Şerif Teber, who was also on trial, was acquitted of the crime of indecent assault, despite the testimonies provided by the villagers. He received a prison sentence of only 6 years for possession of guns.

The highlight of the case is the fact that during the general elections of November 7, HDP Şırnak deputy candidate Av. Veysel Vesek had to join the defense as a defendant lawyer in the trial.

In Kurdistan, the inhabitants of the village of Xanikê, one of the biggest witnesses of the PKK brutality, had witnessed a new murder that they were not foreigners. (ILKHA)