ANKARA - Günçe Çetin expessed when the perpetrators of abuse and rape against women and children in Kurdish provincesare are police, soldiers, village guards and specialist sergeants, the files result in a 'confidentiality order'. She said, “We are looking for a political connection in every incident that takes place in the Kurdish geography. Especially when it comes to what the state wants to implement in that geography, the suspicion will not disappear unless the fair judgement begins.

 

Recently, perpetrators of abuse and rape of women and children in Kurdish provinces become police, soldiers and village guards. Therefore, people think it is a policy. One of these discussions is Sergeant Musa Orhan, who raped İpek Er(18) and caused the death of her. Another was the incident involving a child abused by 27 people in Gercüş. Perpetrator Musa Orhan was arrested due to the reaction of the women movement. But when he was released a week later, a "confidentiality order" was set to the abuse file in Gercüş.

 

Our news about Gerçüş was blocked. The posts about our news were blocked too. Police attacked the people in press statement. It was announced that 27 people were investigated for sharing the news on social media.

 

Günçe Çetin, a member of Ankara Bar Association Gelincik Center and a volunteer lawyer of Kadın Dayanışma Vakfı (Women's Solidarity Foundation), made an evaluation to our agency about what happened in Batman.

 

Perpetrators not arrested on the same day

 

Reacting to the 'confidentiality order' on the file, Günçe stated that the child who was exposed to rape, applied to the Batman Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on November 12th.  Günçe said that only one perpetrator was arrested a day later, the other rape perpetrator M.A., was arrested other day. Günçe said, "This file is being sent from Batman Chief Public Prosecutor's Office to Gercüş Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on 17 November 2020. Batman Chief Public Prosecutor's Office decides on lack of jurisdiction. The next day, the Gercüş Prosecutor's Office gives a confidentiality order on the news about the file and about the file.  The Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services is involved in the file. Mardin, Batman and Diyarbakır bar associations also state that they will actively follow this file. Statements were made by the women's organizations in that geography that they would be active followers of this file ”.

 

'Unless the confidentiality order is lifted, our suspicions will continue'

 

Emphasizing that they could not be informed about the file due to the confidentiality order and publication ban on the file, Günçe said “Unfortunately, as the public, we cannot access healthy and accurate information. In this geography, our doubts will continue as to whether an effective investigation is carried out on files about violence against women and children, unless the confidentiality orders are lifted.  

 

"We do not understand the reasons for the confidentiality decision"

 

Günçe said ''If there are parallel statements by the Batman Bar Association, the prosecutor's office, the police, the victim's lawyer, why is there a need for a confidentiality order and publication ban decision in this file?" She pointed out that this situation creates a question mark in the minds and added ‘’No such confidentiality order is made for every sexual abuse case, even if it concerns the best interests of the child. Why is there a confidentiality order and a broadcast ban suddenly in a sexual abuse case where only two people are seen as suspects in the file? If it was right they would say ''Look friends, it's not really what you see in the press, that's the truth of the event,  check the file.''. But they do not do this. Shouldn't it be easier for people to access correct information and file information?''

 

Perpetrators will be able to commit crimes more easily

 

Saying that men who commit crimes in the masculine judicial system can continue their lives without being punished, Günçe said, “Musa Orhan is one of these examples. So impunity is something that further reinforces men's masculinity. The perpetrators' feelings will become stronger with every effort of the state to conceal, obfuscate and silence these files. There is always such a cause and effect relationship ”.

 

'Blocking access to the website is against the freedom of the press'

 

Günce said ''Blocking access to the website is against the freedom of the press. There is a claim of having press freedom but there is no press freedom. They show the same attitudes to people who want to report on a crime, who want to express a sensitivity about people in a geography, a political truth, ”. She added that the Minister of Interior's targeting of HDP and women in such events by aiming to stop social sensitivity, preventing it and calming the society.

 

‘This attitude expresses the opinion of the state’

 

Günçe, who reacted to Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu's expressing about  the perpetrators of violence as "shameful" speaking at a meeting recently, said: "First of all, the word" shame "is a very relative concept. Shame on whom and according to what? We need very much to objectify the part that concerns us, which is what the whole feminist movement says. The personality, profession, gender, ethnic identity, ethnic origin of the perpetrator are not important. There is only one reason for violence against women here: national gender inequality. Now, while there is an objective reason, it is necessary to struggle about this reason, the fact that the interior minister of the country says "Shame on you" is neither a scientific, nor educational or a developer attitude. This attitude actually expresses the opinion of the state across people. There is a saying that is always used in society: "Shame is hidden". That means " hide what you do, ". It is a disaster, a great disappointment to say only 'shame on you' for perpetrators. And what the interior minister does is that.

 

‘Policies implemented in Kurdish provinces still continue’

 

Drawing attention to the policies implemented by the state in Kurdish provinces, Günçe stated that there have been huge attacks against the women's movement, especially since 15 July. Günçe said, “The interventions made in the mayors of the municipalities, these confidentiality orders in this file... There is a common link in all of them. The state continues to establish this link and does not break it. It is the attitude of the state towards the Kurdish geography that is responsible for the fact that such practices are more common in the Kurdish geography. The different application of the same case in Batman and Istanbul proves this. There is a suspicion that there is a confidentiality order for crimes against Kurdish women and their children.

 

‘Our suspicion will get deeper’

 

Saying "We are looking for a political link in every incident that takes place in Kurdish geographies," Günçe finally said: "Especially when it comes to what the state wants to implement in those geographies, we think it means" something has happened ". Our deep suspicion will not disappear unless the state's fair judgement begins. The presence of this doubt will disturb us all. This will make us to be more concerned with these files and to focus on them more and to organize more. Such an effect will also cause such a reaction. "