The operations launched on April 14, 2009, under the name “KCK” against the Kurdish political movement — described by critics as “political genocide operations” — continue today under different names and justifications. 

 

Over a five-year period, more than 10,000 people, including journalists, politicians, academics, civil society representatives, mayors and members of parliament, were detained. Nearly 5,000 of them were arrested. Over the 17 years since, some defendants have been acquitted, others convicted, while some remain in prison and others have died.

 

Speaking to our on the anniversary of the operations, Beştaş, one of the lawyers involved in KCK cases said the operations were carried out with the aim of eliminating democracy and targeting the Kurdish political movement. 

 

Beştaş added that even requests for tomatoes and cucumbers over the phone were cited as grounds for detention, noting that the process began with surveillance in 2007 and escalated two years later. “In these operations, people were first detained and then evidence was produced afterwards,” he said, adding that some trials are still ongoing.

 

Beştaş stressed that the authorities had not achieved their aim, noting that each detained individual was replaced by another. He said that following the collapse of the peace process launched in 2013 to resolve the Kurdish issue, pressure increased again, and that arrests and repression since then have been carried out with the same intent as the KCK operations. 

 

Referring to the current Peace and Democratic Society Process, Beştaş said the state is now engaging with figures it had previously detained. He added that developments in Turkey are unfolding in parallel with those in the Middle East.

 

Beştaş said: “In this period, which some describe as a third world war, the state must urgently take concrete steps. Responsibility lies with the government and parliament. An effective solution must be created. Lessons must be learned from the KCK detentions. Peace processes are vulnerable to provocation and precautions are essential.”

 

Beştaş also pointed to delays in establishing a legal framework, calling it a major problem and concluded: “There has been no reflection of the current process in these case files yet. The files remain as they are. But once a legal step is taken, it will of course be reflected in the cases.”

 

MA / Fethi Balaman