AMED - Seasonal agricultural workers who were subjected to a racist attack in Niğde stated that the attack was intended to massacre everyone present there and called for justice against this.

 

Seasonal agricultural workers from Sêwereg (Siverek) district of Riha (Urfa) province to Çukurkuyu town of Bor district of Niğde province were subjected to a racist attack on 28 August. Orhan İdilkurt (19), one of the 24 workers attacked, was shot with a gun and seriously wounded. İdilkurt was wounded with 3 bullets and he was taken out of the scene with a pick-up truck and transferred to Niğde Training and Research Hospital by ambulance on the way. 

 

After 3 days of treatment, İdilkurt was brought to Gazi Yaşargil Training and Research Hospital in Amed (Diyarbakır) since the hospital in Niğde does not have an orthopaedics department. 

 

Relatives of İdilkurt, who were waiting in front of the hospital where İdilkurt was being treated, stated that the attackers tried to murder them and demanded that the racist attack be held to account. 

 

'ASKED FOR A GUN' 

 

Ali İdilkurt (26), brother of Orhan, said that after the tomato-laden lorry got stuck in the mud, they informed Cemal Özer, the owner of the field, and called him to the field to remove the lorry with his tractor. İdilkurt said that Özer insulted them after coming to the field and said: "After he attacked us, he telephoned the village and asked for a gun. We realised that the situation would get worse, so we tried to leave the field and go to our tents. They did not allow us to leave the field. After blocking our way, he came after us and started shooting. The attacks continued even after we were wounded. My brother was in the car and could not get out, he was in a defenceless place. He shot at him repeatedly from a distance of 3 metres. If we had not prevented it, maybe we would all have been massacred. No one would have survived, everyone knows that."

 

ATTEMPTED TO COVER UP

 

İdilkurt stated that they took his injured brother out of the place with their own means and added that the gendarmerie arrived half an hour after the attack. Stating that the racist attack was tried to be covered up and made to look like a simple incident, İdilkurt reminded that during the testimony phase, the Turkish Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) mayor intervened in the minutes and wanted to write the gun as blanks. İdilkurt stated that they objected to this and said that the reason for the attack was the impunity applied in previous attacks and demanded that those responsible for the incident be tried.

 

THEY PREVENTED THEM FROM ESCAPING

 

Abdullah Dağacar (39), uncle of Orhan İdilkurt, stated that the owner of the field attacked with the intention of killing his nephew and said: "The children working in the field realised that they were going to be killed and tried to escape from there. While they were running away, a group of about 100 people blocked their way. The field owner shot at my nephew from a distance of about 3 metres.  He was hit by 3 bullets. He has undergone many operations so far." 

 

'THEY TRIED TO SLAUGHTER US'

 

Emphasising that the attack on them was a racist attack, Dağacar said: "This is racism and persecution. This is not new, they have been persecuting us for a hundred years. We want us to be taken care of. We do not want workers to be killed in this way.  They are trying to show this as something between the boss and the worker and that it was settled. But there is no such thing. This is not the first time and attacks like this happen every year. We do not want this attack to be covered up like the others. Everyone, regardless of political party, should be sensitive about this issue and protect this case. We want those who did this to us to be held accountable by the judiciary. For 3 cent money we go there and work, but they persecute us. No one hears our voice. This attack is a fascist attack. They did not try to scare us, they outright tried to massacre us."

 

'EVEN THOUGH THE CITIES CHANGE, THE MENTALITY DOES NOT CHANGE'

 

Stating that they have been working for nearly 30 years as seasonal workers, Dağacar demanded that they be held to account for the attack against them. He concluded: "We want the state to be asked to account for this persecution. There are no factories or job opportunities here. Therefore, we have to go to other cities to work. Let's not be slaughtered like this. No one is asking for an account of what has been done. The mayor who came there said that the gun was blanks in order to cover up the incident. My nephew opposes this. Even this shows that they want to cover up the incident." 

 

MA / Şirvan Şilan Çil