Tanju Gündüzalp said that justice for the Roboski Massacre requires truth, courage, and confrontation to achieve peace.
The Justice Initiative for Roboski, founded to shed light on the massacre that claimed the lives of 34 people, including children, on 28 December 2011, in the village of Roboski in the Uludere (Qileban) district of Şirnak (Şirnex), continues its monthly commemoration in Ankara. This is the 166th month in which families are holding their action.
Tanju Gündüzalp, executive member of the Human Rights Association (IHD) Ankara Branch and founder of the Justice Initiative for Roboskî, stated that even after 722 weeks have passed since the massacre, justice has still not been achieved.
The case was left to rot
Gündüzalp pointed out that despite the years that have passed, those responsible for the Roboski Massacre have still not been brought to justice. Gündüzalp said: "The case was not closed, but it was left to rot in the corridors of justice. This situation shows that not only Roboski but the entire society's sense of justice has been targeted. Impunity is not only a partner of past crimes but also of future ones. While the crimes committed against the citizens of this country are being covered up, the authoritarian state mentality has turned waging war against its own people into a method of governance. Roboskî is the most visible symbol of this mentality in its barest form. Today, policies of impunity live on, in the appointment of trustees, the silencing of the opposition, the prosecution of journalists and human rights defenders, and the systematic usurpation of the people's will."
Forgetting paves the way for new massacres
Gündüzalp stated that the prolonged state of the Roboski case has shown the loss of judicial independence and said: "What we are witnessing is the shame of a system where justice has taken shelter in the shadow of power. Where there is justice and no impunity, there are human rights and peace. International law clearly states: 'There is no statute of limitations for crimes against humanity.' However, the government is trying to turn the statute of limitations into a refuge in cases like Roboski and others. We say this: Truth is not a bargain for tomorrow, but a debt of today. The massacres in Roboski, Suruç, and Ankara Train Station are all products of the same mentality, the same impunity, the same denial the same silence. We repeat: Forgetting paves the way for new massacres."
Silencing the guns is not enough for peace
Gündüzalp pointed to the ongoing struggle for truth and justice carried out by the Roboski Families, the Saturday Mothers, the Suruç Families, and the October 10 Peace Association. He said, "These struggles show us that truth cannot be suppressed and justice cannot be postponed. The attempt to erase the memory of massacres is a policy designed to destroy society's longing for peace and justice. There can be no peace without justice. Peace is not merely the silence of guns. Peace is a state in which the rights of victims are recognized, perpetrators are tried, and social restoration is achieved. Where there is no justice, there can be no human rights, no equal citizenship, and no democratic republic. Equal citizenship is only possible through justice. A democratic republic is a social contract that guarantees the equality and will of its people, ensures the safety of diverse identities and beliefs, and builds peace through justice."
We will not forget
Gündüzalp said, "Truth must be spoken with courage beyond fear and denial. Confession is not enough; confrontation is essential. Justice for peace, truth and confrontation for justice, and courage for confrontation are required. The peoples of this country want a future of justice and peace. We repeat once more: justice for Roboski! End the war, the repression, the impunity! Truth for peace! Freedom for the imprisoned, peace for the peoples! Freedom for all of us! Roboskî is a massacre taught by the state, a test for the state and those in power, the shame of these lands, an open wound and a quest for justice. We stand with the search for justice and for living together in peace. Against state and governmental violence, and for all massacres, until the day we secure justice, we will continue to recall the Roboski massacre on the 28th of every month and issue statements until those in power confront the truth. We did not forget, we will not forget, and we will not allow it to be forgotten."