A few days ago, Dilara (5) died of drowning in canalization water in Istanbul. She fell into a manhole, which was open for weeks to expurgate of Tavukçu Deresi (Poultry Stream), while was walking with her mother.
Yesterday, Tayfun Kuzu fell into canalization hole, which had been opened by Adana Su ve Kanalizasyon (ASKİ) “Adana Water and Canalization” teams and was not closed for a week, and died at 6 years old.
Both incidents are a good indication for local authorities’ care level on health of man. The result is so serious that it cannot be justified by ‘negligence’ or ‘fault’. As human rights defenders, we seek an answer by which we can look faces of peer group these two children, who were 5 and 6 years old when they died. Local administrations’ mentality, which does not people as centre, does not work in or time.
Children are subjected to harm in the worst manner as well since ‘elders’ do not give up violence but insist on conflict atmospheres. Only during the last, 5 children died and 38 injured in an irremediable manner because of landmines. Again last year, 58 children died and 175 children injured because of any kind of violence against children. If we add another data, which indicate 62 died through suicides and 8 were killed because of gunshots by police in social incidents, to the statistic (prepared by IHD-Human Rights Association-), seriousness of the situation can be realized easier. Similarly; any State policy, which does not provide cover right of not subjected to violence, right of protecting in social incidents, right of equal education-health, also does not work in our time.
As human rights defenders we have shame and sorrow since we witness a mentality that cannot protect life right of children such as Dilara Dumru, Tayfun Kuzu, Enes Ata, Abdullah Duran and all other children whose names start with different letters of alphabet. We demand that judicial administrative inspections and deserved sentences against all authorities, who have responsibilities for deaths of Dilara and Tayfun. Moreover, we wish that deaths of Dilara and Tayfun will be the last tragedy. We state that we feel anguish of distressed families in our hearts.
I kiss your hearts that were little when your smiles were stolen. I hope that your peer group will call those, who are responsible for your deaths, to account for having caused such injustice and decorate future as colours of rainbow.