SİİRT - Nearly a hundred luxury villas are rising in Newala Qesaba, where those who lost their lives in the massacres against Kurds and Armenians are buried.
Luxury villas are rising in Newala Qesaba (Kasaplar Deresi), where those who lost their lives in the massacres against Kurds and Armenians are buried. Newala Qesaba, which has been the subject of many songs, books and movies, is located close to the city center of Siirt and covers an area of 405 decares, according to the data of the Human Rights Association (İHD).
THE BODY OF MAHSUM KORKMAZ
Newala Qesaba is known as a place where many Armenians who were massacred in 1915 were buried. In addition, it is a region where PKK members who lost their lives in the conflicts after the 1980s and people who fell victim to an unsolved murder are also buried collectively. It is stated that Mahsum Korkmaz (Egît), one of the leading cadres of the PKK, is among the people who were buried. According to some data, the bodies of at least 300 Kurds are located here. However, this number has never been fully clarified. On April 22, 1989, the creek was excavated for the first time and the bones of 8 people were found within a few hours. Excavations were stopped on the same day by the order of the governor's office, and no work has been done in the creek since then.
CONSTRUCTION OVER STREAM
However, the stream was opened for construction over time. In the area turned into a garbage dump, a double road was first built. Later, zoning permission was given for the wedding hall. This was not enough, the Police Academy was established in the area where the mass graves are estimated. Villas are now rising in the area where hundreds of Kurds and Armenians without a shroud are buried. For the new project, a signboard containing the details of the project was hung at the entrance of the stream. Dozens of villas are being built within the scope of the project undertaken by War Yapı. While property sales continue in the office established here, it has been stated that police, military and AKP members are among the applicants so far.
NEARLY A HUNDRED VILLAS WERE BUILT
While the construction of nearly a hundred villas has been carried out so far, no one is even allowed to approach here. Cameras were also installed in many places in the construction area next to the police station and the ring road. It was reported that in addition to the installed camera, people traveling with civilian vehicles also threatened people who wanted to shoot there. While all this was going on, we watched the construction that took place in the area where the brutality took place. Vehicles belonging to the Municipality of Siirt, which are managed by a trustee in the area where the construction is carried out, also carry out road construction work in this region. It was learned that 8-storey buildings and a swimming pool will be built after the villas in the region where construction and sales continue.
DESPITE THE CONDEMNATION, CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES
Despite all the reactions, there were objections from many places to the ongoing construction area. On April 11, 2022, many bar associations, rights, law and non-governmental organizations reacted with a joint written statement. Reminding that many ethnic groups, especially the Kurds, suffered serious human rights violations since 1915, Armenians and Chaldeans, and Kurds in the 1980s and 1990s, it was pointed out that hundreds of people were forcibly disappeared, tortured and their perpetrators could not be found.
On April 13, 2022, the delegation formed by the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) made a statement in Newala Qesaba, which was opened for construction. HDP Group Deputy Chairperson Meral Danış Beştaş, MPs Hüda Kaya, Tülay Hatimoğulları, Garo Paylan, Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, Hişyar Özsoy, Sıdık Taş and representatives of non-governmental organisations in the city attended the statement. The police wanted to prevent the delegation from investigating the area with shields. After long discussions, the delegation made a statement in the region.
MA / Fethi Balaman