Amed – Since the 1980s, all kinds of policies of oppression have been carried out against the Kurds, who have been struggling for existence by paying heavy prices. As result of special war policies in the 80s and 90s, many villages in the rural areas of Kurdish region were burned down and people were subjected to forced displacement, torture, the policies of assimilation, ill-treatment and rights violations; many people were killed in unsolved murders. Recently, special war policies have been carried out in the Kurdish region again. The number of young people using drugs and the people who died under suspicious circumstances has been increasing in the region.

Special war policies continue

One of the places, where these policies are carried out, is Piran (Turkish: Dicle) district of Amed (Turkish: Diyarbakır). In recent years, it has been claimed that many young people aged 15 to 20 in the district have attempted suicide due to the use of drugs. Last week, a child (16) allegedly tried to kill himself in the district. The child has been reportedly staying in the intensive care unit in the district. Last year, a sexual assault incident in a school of the district was revealed. A teacher named D.B. sexually assaulted many students.

‘Drug use is common among young people’

Zülfiye Kişmir, activist of the Free Women’s Movement (Kurdish: Tevgera Jinên Azad –TJA), said, “There are surveillance cameras everywhere in the district. They can see everything that happens in the district; however, they do not see the young people who use drugs in the district. A special policy is carried out against especially young people. The number of suicides among young people in Dicle and in the region due to the use of drugs has been increasing. Teachers sexually abuse children at schools; however, they go unpunished.”

‘The people returning to their villages are forced to be spy’

Speaking about the pressures in the villages, Zülfiye Kişmir said, “The villages, which were burned down in the 90s, have been rebuilt and people have returned to their villages. Hundreds of people, including me, are exposed to the policies carried out in the villages. Due to these policies, we think that Dicle has been chosen as a pilot area for these special war policies. There are many villages in the north of the Dicle, which were burned down and evacuated in the 90s. People have begun to return to their villages; however, they are forced to be spies.”

Threat to the villagers: If you want to live here, you will give information!

Noting that the same policies are also carried out in her village, Zülfiye Kişmir said, “I live in a hamlet of Kırkpınar village. One day, I went to our agricultural land to work. A ranger vehicle (an armored vehicle) came right after me. The riot police in the vehicle threatened us. We were told, ‘If you want to live here, you will give information’. They threaten people in many villages. The villagers have long been threatened by intelligence agents. People face oppression to live in their villages. The aim of these policies and threats is to depopulate the region again.”