Turkish government has declared a curfew in three hamlets of Kulp district of the predominantly Kurdish province of Diyarbakır in southeastern Turkey ahead of planned operations.
In a written statement issued on its official website of Diyarbakır Governor Office, it was said that the curfew has been in effect as of 5 a.m. Friday morning and it is not known when it will be lifted. The curfew will apply to Meydan hamlet in Alaca village as well as Billurderesi and Şenyayla hamlets.
According to a report by Bianet, Diyarbakır Governor Office had announced on Thursday that operations would be carried out in 12 neighbourhoods and hamlets in Diyarbakır’s Silvan district. Due to the operations, curfew was declared as of 6 a.m. on Thursday in these regions.
In the statement issued on its official website, the Governorship has announced that operations would be carried out “in order to neutralize the members and the supporters of the “Separatist Terrorist Organization” namely outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that are active in the mountainous areas and the forested lands, to destroy their shelters, depots and anti-aircraft positions as well as to cease their ammunition.”
The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) had stated that at least 268 curfews were declared in at least 47 districts in 11 provinces across Turkey where are populated mostly by the Kurds between August 16, 2015 and November 1, 2017 and the fundamental rights of over 1 million 809 thousand people were violated.
According to data compiled by TİHV there has been at least 268 officially confirmed round-the-clock and/or open-ended curfews in 11 provinces and 47 districts of Turkey. The cities that curfews were implemented are listed as follow: Diyarbakır (145 times), Mardin (45 times), Hakkari (23 times), Şırnak (13 times), Bitlis (13 times), Muş (7 times), Bingöl(7 times), Tunceli (6 times), Batman (5 times), Elazığ (2 times) and Siirt (2 times).
“It is estimated by basing on the official census in 2014, over 1 million 809 thousand residents have been affected by these curfews and fundemental rights of the people such as right to liberty and security of person; right to privacy, family, home or correspondence; freedom of assembly and association; freedom of religion; freedom of receive and impart information; right to reserve of property; right to education and especially right to life; right to health and prohibition of torture are explicitly violated.
Turkish authorities had conducted direct talks with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) jailed chieftain Abdullah Öcalan for several years until a truce in effect collapsed in the summer of 2015. Since then, there have been heavy clashes between the PKK and Turkish security forces.
More than 40,000 people, including 5,500 security force members, have been killed in four decades of fighting between the Turkish state and the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the EU.
