"It is not the security forces, but the people themselves who should decide upon which villages they are going to return. The security forces' duty is to sustain security in those villages; other public institutions are responsible for compensating the losses of people, and supporting the provision of humanitarian living conditions in the resettled villages." Report by the Parliamentary Investigation Commission (10/25/1998)
In the context of return to village, a delegation formed by representatives of the Human Rights Association (İHD), Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV), Union of the Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB), Immigrants Association for Social Cooperation and Culture (Göç-Der), Freedom and Solidarty Party (ÖDP), Social Law Research Foundation (TOHAV) made a visit to Van province between 26 and 27 May 2001 upon the invitation of People's Democracy Party to meet to victims of internal displacement and to visit 3 villages that were evacuated in Van and Bitlis provinces namely; Söğütlü Village of Van, Düzcealan(Çorsin) and Çevre(Êz) villages of Tatvan(a district of Bitlis). Observations of the delegation are as follows:
The practice on evacuation of villages and forcibly displacement of people gained momentum during 1990s and lasted up until the end of 1999 as an administrative measure. Throughout this period, almost 3700 places of settlement were evacuated and over 3 million people were forcibly displaced from their homelands. During the 16-year armed conflict, not only villages were burnt down and evacuated, but also the use of highlands were banned, thousands acres of forestry were set on fire.
Basic infrastructural facilities such as roads, irrigation networks, and electricity were destroyed in the evacuated villages. Most of the arable fields are no longer in use. Gardens were destroyed, trees were cut down. The ban on the use of highlands caused the destruction of animal husbandry. Fields and possessions in the evacuated villages were seized by the village guards, or were destroyed.
People of whom villages were evacuated had to migrate to city centers in the region or to metropolitan areas in the West on their own without shown any place to live in by authorities. They were deprived of basic welfare facilities like shelter, job, health, and education. Uprooted people were excluded from the production process, were deprived of their basic rights and freedoms, and were left to live under the level of poverty. Families have been broken into pieces. Because of their identities, they were subject to many attacks and pressures in their new living surroundings.
Consequent to the attainment of a peaceful atmosphere during the last two years, will of the families for returning their villages increased enormously. However, in many instances the administrative authorities have created several problems not to allow them to return. The governor offices have not responded to tens of thousands of applications for return. The City-Village and Central Village projects of the government were put into practice as other means of compulsion. Furthermore, not enabling the cultivation of arable fields, the City-Village project is not reasonable in a socio-economic sense, either.
The security forces prevent people from returning to those places of settlement, where the governor offices have already authorized returns. Life security of villagers is under threat. No steps have been taken for cleaning villages and their surroundings from mines. Moreover, the internally displaced people are forced to fill-in formatted petitions confirming that they left their homelands because of terror, and to withdraw their demands for material and spiritual compensation, in case they want to return their villages.
As the organizations undersigning this document, we believe:
1. It is a basic right of the individuals to freely choose their places of settlement and return their living places where they used to live before the process of forced displacement. From the perspective of human rights, returns of communities to their homelands or their settlement to choose to live in somewhere else should be based on the principle of "voluntarism".
2. Having displaced people against their will, the Central Administration is responsible for compensating the material and spiritual losses of people, providing them with a healthy and sufficient living environment with provision of adequate housing, nutrition, health, employment and education facilities so that people could survive a life in line with human rights standards, respecting human dignity.
3. The land mines should completely be removed from the fields of evacuated villages and their surroundings, before people return there.
4. People should be provided with both material, and technical assistance so that the problems they would encounter are to be minimized. The provision of adequate accommodation should be given priority. The assistance provided by the governor offices fall short of meeting the needs of people in their returns. Such assistance should be in an organized and regular way to meet the aggregate demand.
5. Economic activities like beekeeping, tobacco growing, and animal husbandry should be encouraged, the necessary equipment should be provided.
6. The oppressions and obstacles imposed on people who want to return their homelands should be brought to an end. Any threats to the security of life in the region should be eliminated. The temporary village guard system should be abolished. Relations between security forces and people in the region should be based on the principle of mutual confidence. Authorities should spend effort to eliminate the feeling of fear created by the prolonged violence in the past. The consequent post-traumatic stress disorder on people who were subject to violence should be rehabilitated.
7. In realization of return to village or resettlement of uprooted villagers, the state organs should cooperate with non-governmental organizations working in the field of forced displacement, professional organisations, human rights organizations, and other civil democratic institutions to build confidence and to enable villagers to participate in reestablishing their life. Suitable conditions should be provided in the region for effective functioning of the non-governmental organizations. It is imperative to prepare an extensive regional development programme basing on such a democratic process.
8. There is a need to dissolve the conflict beween governor offices and gendarmaire to facilitate the return to villages for ones want to return.
An implementation which will sustain the nature of life and take above mentioned suggestions into account will not only give an end to a social tragedy, but also contribute to the development both of democracy and economy of our country. Consolidating the real peace process is only possible with healthy programmes giving the priority to basic rights and freedoms.
We will keep in solidarity with the people in the region and raise this issue on the agenda until a true solution of this problem is attained.
The suspicion of security forces in the region is not limited towards the people who want to return their homelands, but also towards organisations that are trying to find solutions to the problem. The delegation participated in this activity organized by HADEP, and the villagers of visited villages were subject to an extraordinary control of the security forces.
Civil polices followed the delegation throughout the mission, the gendarmerie officers stopped the delegation on the way three times, conducted an identification control, searched their cars and belongings, seized the notes that the delegation took in visited villages. The mission was ordered to proceed to Van province without ever giving a stop. Villages visited and planned to be visited were subjected to the pressures of the security forces. The request to meet with the Governor of Van province made by representatives of People's Democracy Party (HADEP), Union of the Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB) and Immigrants Association for Social Cooperation and Culture (Göç-Der) was refused.
Human Rights Association (IHD)
Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV)
Union of the Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB)
Immigrants Association for Social Cooperation and Culture (Göç-Der)
Social Law Research Foundation (TOHAV)
Freedom and Solidarty Party (ÖDP)
People's Democracy Party (HADEP)