MÊRDÎN – Researcher Şilan Bingöl emphasized the importance of rituals for the deceased in creating collective memory across all faiths, calling on the state and authorities to end attacks on funerals. “For lasting peace, we must confront deaths,” she stated.

 

In Turkey, human rights violations continue against the deceased, particularly regarding the treatment of HPG and YJA Star guerrilla funerals. Cemeteries are damaged, bodies are withheld from families, burial rights are blocked, and families attempting mourning rituals face repeated obstacles. Since the 2015 conflict escalation and the imposition of the State of Emergency, guerrilla burials have often been forced late at night, preventing families from performing religious rites.

 

Despite Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan’s February 27 Peace and Democratic Society Call, burials and mourning ceremonies in Şirnex (Şırnak) and its districts are blocked by the Governor’s orders, with police attacking attendees. Recently, police disrupted the funeral of HPG member Ferhat Tünç (Xebat Goyi) and attempted to prevent his mourning. Similar restrictions have targeted funerals of Uğur Danış (Demhat Feraşîn), Vedat Acar (Cesur Sipîndarok), Fesih Varol (Şiyar Destîna Zana), and YJA-Star member Berivan Katar (Rêvan Aslan). In Mêrdîn, around 60 people faced investigations for “terror organization propaganda,” with one receiving a 10-month prison sentence for attending funerals and chanting slogans.

 

Şilan Bingöl highlighted the societal significance of death rituals, explaining that “Death rituals help societies stay together after a loss, restoring solidarity. People need these processes to mourn properly. Rituals, though varying across cultures, recognize death as a transition, allowing both the deceased and the bereaved to find peace.”

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF RITUALS

 

Şilan Bingöl stressed that rituals preserve collective memory and identity, which governments often try to control. “Authorities apply violence against commemorations to shape or erase this memory. This politicizes mourning, turning collective memory into a space for resistance and struggle,” she said. Mourning and remembrance allow societies to confront the past and injustices, reinforcing collective memory as a foundation for demands for justice and peace.

 

LASTING PEACE REQUIRES RESPECTING THE DEAD

 

Pointing to violations of rights regarding the deceased, she said: “When hundreds of bodies remain unburied, it hinders reconciliation and peace-building. Although living people are often the focus, the dead are central actors in this process. Real peace requires respecting their rights, ensuring proper burials, and allowing families to mourn. Without this, violence is reproduced.” She called on the state to implement mechanisms and legal guarantees to facilitate proper burials and recognition of the deceased.

 

AUTHORITIES MUST END VIOLENCE

 

Şilan Bingöl stated that the establishment of a “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” to investigate these crimes. She concluded: “Families’ demands reflect the need for this commission. Without accountability for violations against the deceased, efforts toward peace are undermined. Attacks on funerals continue even amid ongoing processes, making reconciliation difficult. The state and authorities must end this violence, and society must uphold the rights of all deceased equally, challenging hierarchies in mourning.”

 

MA / Ahmet Kanbal