Saturday Mothers: We are here to stand up for the truth
- 15:29 14 October 2017
- News
ISTANBUL – On the 655th week, the Saturday Mothers asked the fate of Fehmi Tosun and Hüseyin Aydemir, who were disappeared in custody in 1995 and they demanded whoever is responsible must be tried.
Saturday Mothers gathered in Istanbul’s Galata Square for 655th time to ask the destiny of their disappeared loved ones and to demand whoever is responsible must be tried. Mothers placed white scarves and red carnations on the banner reading “The perpetrators are known, where the disappeared are?” and they carried the pictures of their loved ones, who had been forcibly disappeared. Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Istanbul MP Pervin Buldan and Republican People's Party (CHP) Istanbul MP Sezgin Tanrıkulu and Gülsüm Elvan, mother of Berkin Elvan who lost his life during Gezi protest attended this week action. This week, the mothers demanded the justice for Fehmi Tosun and his friend Hüseyin Aydemir, who were disappeared after being detained on October 19, 1995 by police in plain clothes.
'The ruling power is the new owner of the old secret state’
Republican People's Party (CHP) Istanbul MP Sezgin Tanrıkulu was the first person spoke during the action and he said, “We are seeking justice in this square. Here is a memory and conscience square. This ruling power is the new owner of the old secret state. We will keep the memory alive in this square.”
‘Mindset is the same mindset’
Then Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Istanbul MP Pervin Buldan spoke and she said, “With Hanım Tosun, we have asked the killers for over 20 years, but we haven’t received any answer. They abducted him by using ‘White Toros’, but now they don’t use ‘White Toros’. Now they use armored vehicles for this. But the mindset is same. This struggle will never end, this ruling power is temporary. They will account before the public. We will continue our struggle until the killers pay the price.”
Fehmi Tosun's wife Hanım Tosun said, “We have been telling the same story for 22 years. Yes, you detained them. They had a political identity. But politics is everyone's right. People can do politics, be a member of an organization, be authorized for an organization, but you do not have the right to lose anyone. They didn’t deserve the extreme prejudice. You detained him in front of his children’s eyes. We don’t give up.”
Letter sent by Dilan Aydemir, daughter of Hüseyin Aydemir, was read. The letter says, “I was a three years old child when my father was disappeared 22 years ago. I know him from his pictures. Those who die will have a grave but my father doesn’t have. Disappearance means to be between life and death. We will seek justice until to the end.”