In this realm, where the land is hungry for blood, while the sky is hungry for bellows, they are sitting at the Saturday Square, which is the busiest place in Istanbul, for the past 499 weeks. Actually, they had started living there about 1013 (one thousand thirteen) weeks ago, on 27 May 1995. Those were the days when the state was being administered with the policy of “disappearing in custody”. At the beginning, there were five or six relatives of the “vanished” or “lost” people. They had increased, since they were plenty in numbers already. Their demands were quite clear:
In those days, the act of sitting was not so easy. On August 15, 1998, on the 170th week, the state had lost its patience. Throughout 30 weeks, they had struggled with distribution, police violence and custodies. Saturdays, which were transformed into the days for sitting at the Custodial Prison, was causing the trauma to increase and repeat. Against this unmaintainable situation, they had been forced to pause on March 13, 1999, during the 200th week.
The servile administration of the state had been exposed, and the state had been forced to abandon its “disappearing in custody” method on a vast scale. Even though some families had the “chance” of learning the condition of their “disappeared” member, for most, this didn’t happen. As for the rest of the justice….
In other words, they had benefitted us more than they had benefitted themselves. They had prevented us from disappearing in custody.
With the Ergenekon trials, on the days where the possibility that the trials might extend to the September 12 period and to the 90’s, they had taken on the duty of reminding people of their sitting and their incomplete justice demand again. On January 31, 2009, they sat once again.
As for the ones in the responsibility position, they had attempted to puts their tears and “sadness sharing”, whatever that means, in the place of justice. When the justice was not served, could it be that they didn’t think that their pains had been abused? They are fed up with devious scales, which are named “legitimization”, and secret pardons that are unnamed. There was only a single name for their demand… A single name that is without an adjective and artless…. JUSTICE…
Let us repeat; what is being demanded is, primarily, the condition of their disappeared relatives… What we mean as “condition” is mostly BONES… It’s a disgrace… As for the next demand, it’s that the crime should be penalized. The time for the Father State to hand over his children to justice, and hand the rest of the children to the Saturday Mothers is already passing.
The innocent ones, who had suffered a punishment for no reason, can sometimes pursue the crime of their punishment. Remember, sometimes we say, “Wish they didn’t do this” when they go out to the streets and smash things: the only voice that can stop them is JUSTICE. They didn’t smash things for 499 weeks. If the justice starts its duty by talking at the Saturday Square, then that voice can be heard in every square. You shouldn’t have any worries about that.
On October 25, 2014, on a Saturday, the Saturday Mothers and Saturday People will have been sitting for 500 weeks. They have been searching for their disappeared ones for the past 500 weeks, and also searching for justice for the past 500 weeks. Actually, for the past 500 weeks, they had been calling and asking us.
At least, let us be able to be by their side at 12:00 o’clock, with a red dianthus in our hands. Let us increase their voice. This Saturday and every other Saturday….
