The Murder of Elci Must Not Mark the Death of Peace

Peace in Kurdistan Campaign statement:

ecli funeral

Tahir Elci’s funeral

The murder of Tahir Elci, who headed the Diyarbakir Bar Association, is a deeply shocking incident and comes as a severe blow to the peace process between Turkey and the Kurds.

Elci was one of the most prominent human rights lawyers in Turkey and an outspoken defender of the peace process with the PKK. He was shot on Saturday in Diyarbakir by an unknown assassin’s bullet in what resembled a targeted killing. Indeed, the HDP described the incident as a ‘’planned assassination’’.

At the time of his death, Elci was making a statement to the media with witnesses saying that he was shot in the head as the area was sprayed with bullets.

The brutal killing of such a fearless advocate for peace provoked immediate protests from Kurds in Diyarbakir, Istanbul and Ankara. His death was widely condemned internationally especially by lawyers who have worked with Elci in his attempts to broker a peace deal between the Turkish state and Kurdish movement.

The death is by no means the first such incident in the recent period and comes only a few days after the leader of the HDP, Selahattin Demirtas, himself also a lawyer, narrowly escaped a similar fate when his car was shot at by an unknown gunman.

Elci was murdered only weeks after he stated in a television interview that the PKK should not be considered a terrorist organisation. He was facing prosecution with a possible seven-year jail sentence for expressing that opinion.

After the hopes of a breakthrough in the peace talks between the state and the Kurds earlier this year, there have been a series of reversals which are threatening to thrust the country back to the darkest days of the 1990s when violence, torture and extra-judicial killings were frequent occurrences.

The recent spate of killings, attempted killings and massacres all have a pattern to them. The victims are mostly Kurds or those expressing support for the peace process with the Kurds.

All these incidents are contributing towards an oppressive atmosphere where people are made afraid to express themselves for fear of the consequences. It is a cycle of violence that seems to be growing amid the aggressive nationalistic fervour encouraged by those holding the highest positions of office in the state.

The AKP achieved its election victory in November in a highly charged atmosphere where civil tensions were accentuated by the bloody massacres in Suruc and later Ankara and amid the renewed conflict with the Kurds.

Having achieved a political victory on the basis of conflict and bloodletting it looks as if the AKP is intent on consolidating its grip on power by continued conflict as the state goes in pursuit of a military victory against the Kurds.

Such incidents as the murder of brave public figures like Elci can only foster enmity between the Turkish and Kurdish communities forcing Turks and Kurds to become more suspicious of each other and sowing the seeds of future conflict.

Turkey appears to be entering another period of turmoil in its history where murder and violence are common and where the people live in fear for their lives. The real tragedy is that this could have been avoided with goodwill on both sides to achieve a lasting peace accord when it was within grasp.

Peace in Kurdistan stands in full solidarity with all the brave lawyers, journalists and peace activists who are coming under increasing attack from both state and non-state forces inside Turkey.

This is now a dangerous time for the Kurds and for Turkey. Urgent steps need to be taken to prevent the country descending into a civil conflict that might escalate out of control.

The murder of Tahir Elci is a great loss which everyone who wants to see peace in Turkey will mourn deeply. He was making a major contribution towards the search for peace and would have continued to do so.

Those who are fearless in the defence of peace cannot be deterred by such losses no matter how grave they are. As the HDP said in its response, “In the place left by Tahir Elci, thousands more Tahir Elcis will carry on the work in the struggle for law and justice.”

Elci’s legacy will be the achievement of the peace for which he made the ultimate sacrifice.

Peace in Kurdistan – Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish Question

Email: estella24@tiscali.co.uk  ; www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.com

4 Responses to The Murder of Elci Must Not Mark the Death of Peace
  1. david Z.
    November 30, 2015 | 09:39

    the enemy of Kurdish people is being Turkey and by far Turkey and Turks. ISIS does the dirty work for Turks in exchange for access to resources and free traffic in Turkey.
    i know it sounds weird considering all the crimes ISIS had done to our brothers and sisters all around Kurdish land but make no mistake its all Turks. All the Chechen and Turkmen etc in ISIS are coming from Turkey and are used by Turkey to kill us. Its very important that we understand that. ISIS in its core is more Arabic than Sunni and the ISIS-TURKEY alliance will not last long. We Kurdish people NEED TO KNOW OUR ENEMY NUMBER ONE, ITS AS IT IS BEING ALWAYS THROUGH OUT THE HISTORY THE BARBARIC TURKS. ISIS MAIN ENEMY IS SHIA IRAN. We Kurdish people shouldn’t be killed for the evil of Mullas’ in Qom who are the Inventors of Islamic State Terrorism. I think we need to find the ISIS-TURKEY Deal and expose it. See how many thousands of our best young people are killed in the last couple years? It might sound weird I think we should withdraw evacuate civilians and withdraw from many regions and let ISIS reach the Iranian border. and wait… yes sounds against our dignity but we need to make space that the main enemies fight each other in big scale. We should keep our power to put a bullet into the heart of our main enemy the fascistic Turkey that by the way uses AMERICAN Weapons to kill us.

  2. david Z.
    November 30, 2015 | 09:44

    i wonder how far the Turks has come if the American (including me) did not give them all the modern weapons. Its naive to believe America is our friend considering all the facts. Wake up Kurdistan wake up dear naive Kurdistan.
    Sorry for being very frank.

  3. Nadir
    November 30, 2015 | 10:40

    Moscow should support de-listing PKK from FTOs list.

  4. Reza
    November 30, 2015 | 11:14

    PM Erdogans ultimate dream is revival of Sunni Othoman Empire. He should be reminded that its founder was not a Turk.

    Every state strongly backs seeking a lasting solution for PKKs 4-decade long struggle.

    NATO, EU, US: Apply a set of equal standards.

Leave a Reply

Wanting to leave an <em>phasis on your comment?

Trackback URL https://kurdistantribune.com/the-murder-of-elci-must-not-mark-the-death-of-peace/trackback/