The incidents, pressure and inhuman practices, attacks and operations in districts, towns and villages in the Emergency State Region afflicted hundreds of thousands of people. Villages, towns and districts were destroyed. Two to 3 million people had to leave the settle-ments where they had lived for years. Some of the immigrants went to provinces such as Diyar-bakır, Van, Elazığ in the region while some of them went to the provinces in the West, such as Istanbul, Izmir, Mersin, Antalya and Adana. Jerry-built quarters established by tens of thou-sands of immigrants, appeared in Diyarbakır, Van, Adana and Mersin. As a consequence of the migration, the population of Mersin which was 422,000 in the census in 1990, has reached 1 million, that of Tarsus, which was 177,000, has reached 350,000, that of Adana, which was 927,000 has become 2 million, that of Diyarbakır, which was 380,00 has reached 1 million and that of Gaziantep, which was 600,000 has reached 1 million. Most of those who migrated are in unhealthy conditions, sometimes under the same roof with 30-40 people. Economic and social problems caused by the migration became more complex in 1994.
Migration was not confined within the boundaries of Turkey. Thousands of people who were forced to leave their houses migrated to Northern Iraq beginning in the first months of 1994. The number of immigrants to Northern Iraq exceeded 20,000 at the end of 1994. After a long effort, the immigrants were settled in the camps under the control of the United Nations. Most of those people were given refugee status.
A delegation formed by the IHD in order to examine the conditions under which the immigrants to Northern Iraq lived went to Northern Iraq in June. The delegation, headed by IHD Chairperson Akın Birdal, conducted investigations in Zaho and its surroundings on 14 and 15 June. The report, prepared by the delegation, was made public in a press statement by Akın Birdal on 28 June. Akın Birdal stated that the immigrants to Northern Iraq had had to move way because of the pressure by security forces, and said: “Those people want to return to their villages. We should want the same, too. We should exert ourselves to secure their return.” The report is briefly summarized as follows:
What has been experienced in the East and Southeast of Turkey, are known, more or less, by the public. Last year, about 2 million people migrated to the southern and western regions of Turkey. However, it has been reported in the last months that there was mass migration from Hakkari and Şırnak to Northern Iraq and related reports have been published in newspapers and broadcast on TV. In the same period, the IHD received requests to examine the conditions which caused the migration and to take action on the issue. Thereupon, the IHD called civic organizations, political parties and press and asked them to take part in a delega-tion to be formed in order to examine the migrations. Following are the thoughts of the delega-tion, which conducted investigations and held negotiations in Zaho and its surroundings and in Duhok, with the aim of learning about the living, conditions of the immigrants:
The delegation set out from Ankara to Diyarbakır on 13 June. Delegation members stayed at Nezirhan facilities located between Nusaybin and Cizre on 13 June and crossed to Zaho through the Habur Customs Gate on 14 June. The delegation members interviewed Kurdish Federal State Customs Police Chief Nakip Muhammet and Zaho Governor Muham-met Mecit on the same day. Subsequently, they visited about 200 Kurdish immigrants who were on a hunger strike at the
Teacher’s Club in Zaho, and spoke with them about their reasons for migration, living conditions and their demands. On 14 June, they investigated and held negotiations in the Hizawa, Baheri and Şeranişe regions around Zaho where the camps are located.
On 15 June, talks were held with United Nations’ Iraq Section Officer Ayman Ghrai-bah, Duhok Governor Abdülaziz Tayip, Duhok representatives of the Red Crescent and Red Cross, and Northern Iraq Human Rights Association Chairperson Selah Zeru. According to information we obtained during the talks, migration from Turkey to Northern Iraq has been continuing for approximately one year. The migration intensified in April and May and almost every day 20-30 families crossed the border within 2 months and settled in some regions 25 kilometers from the border. Because of attempts by security forces to prevent migration by blockading the villages of Hakkari, Şırnak, Cizre, Silopi, Uludere and Çukurca and some districts of Diyarbakır, and strict military controls on the border, the number of the migrating families reportedly decreased to 2-3 per day in the last 10-15 days. It was stressed by local authorities, United Nations representative and immigrants in the camps, that the migration was still continuing, but decreasing.
Evaluating the information received from local authorities, the United Nations Repre- sentative and those in the camps, we drew the conclusion that the number of immigrants was about 10-12 thousand. We learnt that there were camps for immigrants in the Zaho, Tikabar, Darkar, Forga regions, along with 3 camps and the Teacher’s Club visited by the delegation. According to the results drawn as a result of talks with the immigrants in the camps, the reasons for the migration are as follows: Pressure to serve as village guards; raids against houses and villages because of refusal; torture inflicted on men; soldiers entering houses where women are present while the men were confined to the village square; cannon balls and incendiary bombs thrown at houses; plunder of food via special raids and checks; hunger; continuous detention of men and torture of them; killing of at least one person from each family, in detention or by special team members; sexual abuse or torture of women and young girls; abduction of some young girls; evacuation and burning down of villages; burning down of agricultural fields and forests; absence of security; the dilemma of being forced “either to be a village guard or to be killed”; not being given one more chance; fear of being bothered even in other parts of Turkey; etc.”
Some of the immigrants in the camps have been staying in shelters made of leaves and some of them in tents provided by the United Nations. In the camps, water has been secured via a network with several taps. It was observed that bread was prepared with flour distributed by the United Nations and cooked on iron sheets over fires lit among the tents and shelters, and their only furnishing consisted of several pans, blankets and mattresses. The children were living without shoes, in dust and dirt and even harrassed by mosquitoes. One toilet was pro-vided for 200 persons. Children were inadequately nourished. It was stated that the immig-rants did not receive regular food, except flour and sugar weekly distributed by the United Na-tions, and that were insufficient. It was reported that a physician came once a week but wrote prescription only according to complaint without any examination, and prescriptions written for the old and babies were the same.
According to information from the United Nations Iraq Section Officer, about 20 ma-laria cases appeared along with cases of diarrhoea and intestinal parasites. There was a fear that the malaria cases would spread. The United Nations Officer stated that they tried to pro-vide medicines from UNICEF for the immigrants, and in addition, health examinations were carried out each week in co-operation with the health organization Qandil. However, since there was no stationary or itinerant hospital, it was not possible to take any measures beyond giving medicine
even for emergency cases. Six persons in the Şeranişe Camp suffered the loss of organs such as hand, arm, leg or eye. According to the persons in question, they were wounded during bombardment or cannon fire against their villages before they migrated. Another Kurdish immigrant aged 36 who was walking with the help of a crutch, said that he had been born crippled, but since he had spent his life in gendarmerie stations, in detention and under torture, he could not bear it and had escaped from Eruh to Uludere and then crossed the border.
We also met with 200 Kurdish villagers, who migrated from the Akduman, Sapaca, Hi-lal, Işıkveren, Taşdelen, Kayadibi, Kalemli, Ballı, Inceler and Balveren villages and staged a hunger strike in the Teacher’s Club in Zaho. These persons stated that they had been exposed to the practices mentioned above and therefore had migrated, arriving at Zaho after travelling on foot or by mule under bombardment from plane and cannon fire and by hiding during daytime and walking at nights. It was reported that 8 persons among them had been killed by bombs thrown from planes. The villagers demanded their destroyed and burnt villages to be visited, and solutions to their health, nutrition and settlement problems.
A United Nations official, with whom the delegation negotiated, said that the immig-rants were under responsibility and protection of the United Nations, tents and medical aid were secured for them, food had been procured within the framework of the World Food Prog-ram and a network had been installed for potable water in the camps. He added that the existing situation was not an ideal one, but they had tried to do everything possible in the emergency case. Stating that they were collaborating with anti-malaria teams and the Duhok Governorate, the U.N. official said that 2-3 families have come to the region each day and they were studying for the reasons of the migration. The official said that the migration to Iraq was a new case for them and that UN offices in Turkey, Iraq and Geneva were looking for a solution to the problem. The official pointed out that one of the solutions would be the return of the immigrants to the places they had lived previously, if the conditions permitted, however, he said they could not force the immigrants. He added that if the immigrants stayed there, the situation would be very difficult in winter conditions and that they should be transferred to places where transportation means was easier. Stressing that the UN would stop aiding the immigrants immediately if they were found to be involved in political activities, he said that they were aware of how complex the situation was and that the immigrants behaved as if they had escaped from a clash or war. He stated there must have been a reason for the migration, but since they did not know whether everybody had the same reason or not, they were investigating the issue.
The person responsible for the camps in the Kurdish Federal State with whom the dele- gation talked, stated that the United Nations had put an embargo on Iraq and Iraq had recip- rocated against the Kurdish Federated State, therefore the state had difficulties since it could not bring in industrial materials although it had opportunities and reserves. Their people experienced the same conditions the Kurdish immigrants experienced, and they shared their means with the Kurdish immigrants. The Duhok Governor said that the people had been asked to give shelter to and help the immigrants, they shared their food with them, they gave aid precedence to immigrants, they had also housing problems since their villages had been burnt down, they reported the situation to the United Nations Immigrants Office and Red Crescent, and they would allocate a transportation to a water source. However, he expressed that the im-migrants did not want to leave the border area, that the solution of the problem was in Turkey and that the immigrants did not want to settle, but to return. Representatives of the Red Cross and Red Crescent disclosed that the mission of their institutions was to help Northern Iraqi people who were also in
need of help, they were working with restricted means and could pro-vide limited help. The Northern Iraq Human Rights Association Chairperson stated that they were interested in the problems of the immigrants, however since the association is a non-gov-ernmental and volunteer organization independent from parties, its means were very limited.
The delegation completed its talks towards the evening of 15 June and left Zaho. After crossing Turkey, the delegation members saw military vehicles and personnel under war con- ditions on its route. Security forces stopped the vehicle of the delegation 11 times while going and returning. However, we did not face any difficulties since they had been informed about the delegation. While returning we saw dense smoke on the mountainous region and woodland on the both sides of the road. The woodland, 70 kilometers to Mardin was burning, villagers with shovels and pickaxes in their hands were running towards the woodland, which also in-cluded farmed areas. We saw also a military vehicle waiting on the foot of a hill near the wood-land. The horizon was completely covered with flames when we were 20 kilometers to Nusay-bin. While it was darkening our vehicle was stopped by security forces. When we asked them “What happened?”, they said “Plants are burnt.” While reaching Mardin, we saw 2 blind-folded persons whose hands were tied and who were taken away in each of 2 military vehicles.
Conclusion
• For peace and human rights, our delegation decided to make an urgent call to na-tional and international organizations for help.
• The immigrants have nutrition and health problems. Thanks to seasonal conditions children, women and the old can live in tents made of nylon and leaves, but it is not possible for them to live under these conditions in winter. We call on everyone to take initiatives and help find solutions to the health, nutrition and housing problems of the immigrants and to improve their conditions.
• Delegations should be formed within the National Assembly, political parties and government, the human tragedy which was experienced there should be observed on the spot and an immediate solution should be brought to the problem. The United Na-tions, Red Cross, and peace and human rights organizations should bring urgent aid channels into action.
• The conditions which occasioned mass migrations should be removed, and amend-ments regarding human rights and democracy should be made.
• Measures which will encourage immigrants to return their hometowns should be taken and the immigrants should be persuaded to do so.
• Demand and longing of the immigrants for humane living conditions should be taken into account and necessary arrangements should be made.
Hüseyin Okçu, a member of the Administrative Board of the Mazlum Der (the Associa- tion for Human Rights and Solidarity with the Oppressed) Istanbul Branch, who was in the delegation that went to Northern Iraq, held a press conference on 25 June in Istanbul and spoke about his observations about the immigrants. Indicating that the migration to Northern Iraq has been continuing for one year, Hüseyin Okçu said: The state’s explanations such as ‘They migrated because of the pressure by the PKK. The PKK took them forcibly.’ are untrue. The state had made some offers to them. It had offered them jobs as village guards, as informers. It had threatened them with punishment. Some of their villages had been burnt down, some of their children had been taken, lost, tortured, imprisoned. Therefore, they had no chance.” Hü-seyin Okçu quoted
journalists an incident he witnessed while visiting the camps, “One of the women in the camp attempted to burn herself by pouring gasoline over her. When we asked her why she attempted burn herself, ‘I had 3 sons. One day, soldiers came to our village and wanted to take all of my sons. I know what will happen to youths taken by soldiers. They either lose, maim or imprison them. I begged the soldiers in order to dissuade them. I said they were not involved in the conflict. However, they said they were bound to do so. Then I gave them my golden coins. They released my sons, and took the golden coins. One day after the incident, the village was bombed. In the bombing, one of my sons died. We started to escape in panic. They also bombed us while we were on the road and my other son died there. I could not even embrace his corpse. My son who survived went on a hunger strike and has been waiting for death. What shall I do, except killing myself?’ she said.”
The report which was prepared in consequence of a study made in the Beypazarı district of Ankara by another delegation formed in the structure of the IHD General Center, strikingly portrayed the situation of those who migrated to big cities. The report prepared by the delega-tion headed by IHD Vice Secretary General Nazmi Gür is summarized as follows:
Upon appeals to the IHD and news stories published in the press, we went to the Beypa- zarı district of Ankara in June to examine the housing, nutrition, health, education and other problems of 50 families who migrated from certain provinces in the Southeast to Beypazarı. The delegation consisted of administrators of the Tüm Sağlık Sen which replied to the call by the IHD, and a group of journalists. We observed that the camp, in which the immigrants settled was located outside the Beypazarı city center in an area without sanitary facilities. Another issue which drew our attention was electricity lines crossing through the camp. Before meeting with the camp dwellers, we examined the general situation of the camp and the jerry-built nylon tents used as shelter. We determined that the shelters were not healthy and had no protection against weather conditions such as rain and snow.
When we arrived at the camp, we were welcomed by immigrants and taken to a place in the middle of the camp. There, we talked to a group of immigrants about their problems. First, we explained the aim of our visit to the camp and then asked them to tell us the problems they faced because of the migration. The immigrants said that the reason for the migration was the war in the region, being forced to accept the village guard system, the difficulty in feeding themselves because of war conditions and lack of security under those conditions. We learnt that there were 50 families