ANKARA, Turkey – Activists and the families and lawyers of many Turkish soldiers who reportedly committed suicide or were killed in accidents doubt the official version of the deaths, noting that many of the dead were either minority Kurds or Alevis.
“Most of the soldiers who lost their lives in the army were Kurdish or Alevis. Their families do not believe that it is a coincidence that all those accidents happen to their children,” said Ergin Dogru, head of the Dersim branch of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).
“The deaths in the army are not investigated sufficiently and the military courts do not give just rulings about the cases,” Dogru complained to Rudaw.
The Turkish Ministry of Defence says that 2,221 soldiers lost their lives in suicides or accident deaths between 1992 and 2012.
Last year, out of the 42 soldiers who were officially reported to have killed themselves, 39 were Kurdish and one was Armenian, according to Mazlum Orak, a lawyer with Mazlum-Der (Organization of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed People).
“I am the lawyer of the family of Aydin Dere, a Kurdish soldier who lost his life in the army. A forensic institute first gave a report that he had committed suicide but a year later another forensic center said he was shot in the back and killed by someone else,” Orak told Rudaw.
“For 12 years the military prosecutors have done nothing to progress the investigations,” he complained. “Lately, his family was invited by the defence minister to his office and told that the ministry could do nothing for such incidents,” Orak recounted.
Many irregularities have been revealed about the deaths. Some of the soldiers were apparently shot in the back or in the back of the head. Some were shot more than once, and then right-handed soldiers were found with bullet wounds on left temples. It was found that some even had undergone surgery to hide head wounds before their funerals.
“Based on the number that was announced in May 2012, in the last 22 years, 2,221 conscripts have committed suicide. This equals 100 conscripts per year or one conscript for every three or four days,” said the Soldiers’ Rights Initiative, which accepts reports from former conscripts on its website (askerhaklari.com).
The group has exposed numerous cases where soldiers were killed or beaten in the army. One of them was Orhan Abravci, who was disabled after being beaten harshly by his commander. Another is the case of Ugur Kantar, who died after days of torture in a military disciplinary cell.
Mahsun Yap, a Kurdish private born in the province of Dersim, lost his life in the Edirne infantry brigade during his compulsory military service. His family does not believe the report that says he had killed himself.
The family was first told that “he was hit by a military vehicle,” followed by another statement saying “the military vehicle overturned, three soldiers were squashed and Masum Yap died.” Then, military officials at the Istanbul Forensic Institute said that “he died due to internal bleeding,” according to Dogru.
Tolga Islam, a spokesperson for Soldiers’ Rights, told Rudaw that the army is responsible for all kinds of soldiers’ deaths, even suicides.
“When a soldier commits suicide, it is the army which prepares the conditions for suicide and gives the gun to the soldiers,” he said.
