ISTANBUL OFFICE OF TURKISH HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATION APPEALED TO TURKISH INTERIOR MINISTRY TO EXAMINE MASS GRAVES UNCOVERED IN VILLAGE OF XIRABEBABA
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 13 2006
The Istanbul office of the Turkish human rights organization appealed
to the Turkish Interior Ministry with an open letter to examine the
mass graves of the 20th century, which have been discovered in the
village of Xirabeba of Mardin region, and to find out whether the
killed were Armenians or Assyrians.
According to Turkish mass media, the letter says that no statements
about uncovering the burial place on October 17 have been made so
far. It was said that the peasants who had found remains in a stone
quarry informed the police about that. Then the military men blocked
the entrance of the quarry but said nothing of the remains. Yet,
they said that they would start investigation on this. According to
the source, Turkish soldiers didn’t allow the journalists to enter
the quarry, and forbade the natives to show the way to the quarry.
Therefore, the human rights advocates of Istanbul insist on
investigation of the graves by an independent group of historians and
experts in forensic medicine. The authors of the letter emphasize
that the society which fails to display courage to look directly
at the sad historical events of the past is unable to successfully
finish the process of democratization.
To remind, while unearthing the grave of one of their relatives,
the dwellers of Xirabebaba discovered mass burial in the stone quarry
full of bones and skulls. The peasants supposed that they found the
remains of over 300 Armenian inhabitants killed in 1915. Professor
David Gaunt, a Swedish historian, believes that the remains discovered
in the stone quarry belong to 270 Armenians and Assyrians killed by
the order of Young Turk commander Halil Edip.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
