JINHA

AMED – The Human Rights Association reports 3,711 violations of rights in North Kurdistan region in the first three months of 2015.

TheHuman Rights Association (İHD) report, given at a press conference in Diyarbakır yesterday, points to a continuing dangerous environment in Northern Kurdistan and Turkey, in spite of the resolution process aimed at ending the conflict in Turkey. The report says there has been a rise in violations of the human rights of children and women in the region over the last three months.

Raci Bilici, İHD deputy president, pointed to the rising anxiety that has replaced positive expectations about the peace process between the PKK and the Turkish state. He pointed to recent eventsin the town of Cizre (in Şırnak province), when police officers killer minors in demonstrations, and the incidents on Mt. Tendürek (in Ağrı Province), when soldiers opened fire on civilians, which have increased the sense of anxiety and tension in the region. The İHD also expressed concern about the 2015 Internal Security Law that recently passed in Turkey's Parliament, which gives police wide powers, including discretionary use of force against protestors.

"This legal amendment, which is a manifestation of the police state, has already caused an increase in right violations and we are concerned that it will continue doing so," said Raci.

Security forces violently intervened against 31 demonstrations in the Kurdish region in three months, including by conducting house raids on suspicion of individuals attending demonstration. A total of 862 people were detained, including 180 minors, for joining demonstrations, according to the report. 147 of those, including 12 minors, were detained pending trial.

Mentioning the ongoing condition of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, Raci said that hehas been provided with some vital conveniences, thanks to the resolution process, but still remains in conditions of isolation. He is denied meetings with his family and lawyers, communication comparable with other prisoners and satisfactory health conditions. Raci called for an immediate end to the conditions of isolation, both in consideration of Abdullah Öcalan's individual human rights and in the position of the peace process.

He also noted that there are 649 sick prisoners in Turkey's prisons, 247 of them in severe condition.

(nt/cm)