Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has urged the government to establish a commission for “confronting the past and inquiring the truth,” aimed at investigating enforced disappearances in the country.
“Enforced disappearance is a crime,” CHP deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu said in a report he released for marking Aug.30, the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances on Sunday, T24 reported.
The CHP lawmaker also called on Turkey to sign United Nations’ International Convention For the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
Since 1980, 1,352 people have enforcedly disappeared in Turkey, according to the Truth, Justice and Memory Centre.
Enforced disappearance mainly entered Turkish public’s agenda in the 1990s, when thousands of people disappeared as part of the government’s so-called fight against terrorism, Tanrıkulu said.
“We also have a big problem of impunity in this regard,” Tanrıkulu added. “Main reasons for impunity are covering up the incidents of enforced disappearances and abductions and not prosecuting the perpetrators.’’
“We also have a big problem of impunity in this regard,” Tanrıkulu added. “Main reasons for impunity are covering up the incidents of enforced disappearances and abductions and not prosecuting the perpetrators.’
Ahval