SARYA DENİZ

News Center- Nine years have passed since the bomb attacks carried out by ISIS against the people attending the Labor, Peace and Democracy” rally held outside of Ankara Central railway station on October 10, 2015. 101 people were killed and hundreds injured in the massacre, one of the bloodiest massacres in the history of Türkiye.

In 2014, the whole world was shaken by the attacks of a barbaric, anti-humanitarian group that introduced itself as ISIS. ISIS sold Yazidi women in slave markets and took control of many cities in Syria and Iraq. Even before the massacre on October 10, Türkiye had been going through a period of conflict, war and massacres. Türkiye has always been the most convenient country for ISIS. ISIS members could easily use the borders of Türkiye.

The ruling party, AKP, lost votes in the general elections that were held in the country on June 7, 2015. The climate of fear created or would be created would also determine the results of the general elections to be held in November 2015. NuJINHA spoke to İlke Işık, a member of the Lawyers Commission of the October 10 Ankara Massacre Case, about before and after the Ankara Massacre.

“After the general elections in June, the government announced that it did not recognize the results. The government and coalitions could not be formed and we faced a government that started a process of conflict towards new general elections. A rally was organized on October 10, 2015 to say no to conflict and demand peace.”

‘Nothing is the same with the past’

Although life stopped on that day for us, we have been continuing to live for nine years, İlke Işık said, stressing that “nothing is the same with the past” since the massacre. “The AKP government, which lost in the elections, did this (massacre) through oppression and chaos. Since then, the country has become a country ruled by oppression, violence and threats. The country has become an open prison.”

‘It allows ISIS to walk freely in the country’

We face a state that allows ISIS to walk freely in the country by using all its mechanisms, including the government, judiciary, prosecutors, İlke Işık emphasized. “The massacre changed the social and political balances of the country and caused the AKP to re-establish its power.”

‘They have never stopped ISIS’

“The 2015 period is a period that should never be forgotten by the whole world, the Middle East and especially Türkiye. A group declared a caliphate in that period, taking control of cities, killing people, and enslaving women. What the Yazidis in Shengal experienced should never be forgotten. Still, thousands of girls and women are missing.

“In that period, the AKP government called ISIS ‘angry children’ and this government still rules the country. They have never stopped ISIS.”

Speaking about the attacks of ISIS, she said, “ISIS did not only carry out the Ankara Massacre, it also carried out 5-6 massacres such as the bombing of the buildings of the HDP in Mersin and Adana, the rally held by the HDP in Diyarbakır, the Suruç bombing and the attack in Istanbul and on the henna night in Gaziantep.”

‘ISIS still poses a threat’

Speaking about the Ankara Massacre Case, İlke Işık said, “The necessary effort is not made to arrest the defendants and no one can guarantee that the fugitive defendants will not appear again at any moment. Therefore, ISIS still poses a threat in the country.

“Each hearing has been taking place in courtrooms filled with people. The trial continues to be on the agenda. Our clients are able to turn the trial into an incredible struggle in every way. The struggle of the victims’ families has created a very important struggle for justice in the country. Those responsible for the massacre will definitely be brought to justice.”