İZMİR - Stating that the case should not be drop due to prescription, Anter's daughter Rahşan Anter said: "Journalists who follow my father's footsteps are thrown into prisons" 30 years after the  Kurdish scholar Musa Anter was murdered by JİTEM.

 

It has been 30 years since Kurdish wise Musa Anter (Apê Musa) was murdered by JİTEM hitmen in the Seyrantepe District of Diyarbakır on September 20, 1992, when he came to attend the Culture and Art Festival. Despite the fact that 30 years have passed since Anter's murder, an effective investigation and prosecution has not been carried out regarding the known perpetrators. The file that was opened and later merged with the JİTEM case faces the risk of dropping due to prescription if a decision is not made.

 

Anter, who was born in the Ziwinge District of the Nusaybin of Mardin in 1920, wrote articles for the Şark Postası and Dicle Kaynak after he left Istanbul University without completing his education at the Faculty of Law. Anter, who was arrested in 1959 for his  poem "Qimil/Kımıl" in Kurdish published in the Ileri Yurt newspaper, was released from prison after the 1960 coup. Anter, who wrote articles in newspapers and magazines such as Deng, Barış Dünyası, Yön, Dicle-Fırat, Azadiya Welat, Yeni Ülke, Özgür Gündem, Rewşen and Tewlo, published on different dates, published 7 books and a Kurdish-Turkish Dictionary.

 

ANTER WAS HELD FOR 11 YEARS IN PRISON

 

Anter, who was arrested on March 12, 1971 and spent a year in prison, was arrested on September 12, 1980 again for making "Kurdish" propaganda. Anter, who was released after 1 year, was held in prison for a total of 11 years.

 

JİTEM CONFESSOR GAVE THE NAMES OF THE PERPETRATORS

 

Kurdish scholar Anter was murdered by JİTEM members in Diyarbakır on September 20, 1992, when he came to attend a Culture and Art Festival. JITEM confessor Abdulkadir Aygan told how the murder was planned and committed in 2004. Aygan said that JITEM founder Major Ahmet Cem Ersever, code-named Yeşil Mahmut Yıldırım, JITEM members Mustafa Deniz, Savaş Gevrekçi, Ali Ozansoy, confessor Cemil Işık (Hogir) and Hamit Yıldırım committed the murder.

 

ECtHR CONVICTED TURKEY

 

When the investigation into the murder did not yield any results, an application was made to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 2000. The ECHR convicted Turkey on December 19, 2006 on the grounds that “the right to life has been violated and there has been no adequate investigation into the murder”.

 

CASE HAS BEEN OPENED

 

After the confession of JİTEM confessor Aygan, the investigation file, in which no progress could be made, was saved from the lapse of time when hitman Hamit Yıldırım was caught in Şırnak on June 29, 2012. The indictment against Hamit Yıldırım and code-named Yeşil Mahmut Yıldırım, Abdülkadir Aygan and retired Colonel Savaş Gevrekçi on charges of "deliberately killing people and inciting the people to an armed rebellion" was accepted by the Diyarbakır 7th High Criminal Court on June 25, 2013. However, none of these names were arrested, except for Hamit Yıldırım. At the hearing in June 2017, the accused Hamit Yıldırım was also released on the grounds that "his detention period has expired".

 

THE CASE WAS COMBINED WITH JITEM CASE

 

The Musa Anter case was merged with the JİTEM Main Case on December 23, 2014 and moved from the Diyarbakır 2nd High Criminal Court to the Ankara 6th High Criminal Court in January 2015 on the grounds of "security". The two cases, combined, will be heard at the Ankara 6th High Criminal Court on September 15, 5 days before the case drops due to prescription.

 

ANTER'S SUCCESSORS EXPOSE THE TRUTH

 

Dedicating his life to Kurdish journalism, Anter became the Apê Musa of all Kurds with his contribution to the development of Kurdish language and journalism. His successors, who follow the footsteps of Anter, who has inspired thousands of journalists today with the tradition of a free press, continue their struggle to expose the truths. Apê Musa is commemorated with various events every year. One of them is the "Musa Anter Free Press Martyrs Journalism Awards" organised in his memory. The results of the competition, which will be held for the 29th time this year, will be announced on September 18.

 

YOUNG JOURNALISTS ARE FOLLOWING ANTER'S PATH

 

Stating that she is proud of the love for Apê Musa's leadership in journalism, Rahşan Anter, daughter of Apê Musa said: “There are very successful journalists that follow my father's footsteps. I see the fire, love and patriotism in these young journalists. I say daddy, do you hear these young journalists? They are so successful like you and they will continue to follow your path."

 

'WE SHOULD SUPPORT EACH OTHER'

 

Saying that there are dozens of journalists walking in the footsteps of his father, Anter said: "They continue to do their job and take the risk of death and imprisonment. Journalists who follow my father's footsteps are thrown into prisons. I suffer for them every day. I am not in peace, I feel like I am in prison. They are constantly trying to destroy us. We multiply as they try to destroy us.  We need to unite and respect each other and protect our people."

 

THOSE WHO EXPOSE THE TRUTH ARE IMPRISONED

 

Pointing out to the 16 Kurdish journalists arrested in Diyarbakir, Anter said: "The oppression on journalists in the country never ends. There is a great pressure on Kurdish journalists in particular because they expose the truth. We learn about the pressures in the region from Kurdish journalists. That's why they want to be silenced. The state should free the journalists who exposed the facts."

 

'PRESCRIPTION WILL COVER UP THE TRUTH'

 

Drawing attention to her father's hearing in the case to be held in Ankara on September 15, Anter said: "There is a chance that the case might drop due to prescription on September 20 and this situation upsets us. This case is an unsolved case; therefore, it should not drop due to prescription. This case is the one that will reveal all the unsolved murder cases that's been happened since the 90's. If it drops, some things will still remain covered up in history. That's why I invite everyone to be there at the court room for support."

 

MA / Delal Akyüz