URFA - Özgür Gündem reporter Nazım Babaoğlu was summoned to Siverek to follow up on a story and never came back for the last 27 years. His brother Cemal Babaoğlu said even though there were witnesses, the incident was not investigated and the file was shelved for the file to be dropped due to prescription.  

 

AA reporter Murat Yoğunlu called Özgür Gündem Urfa reporter Nazım Babaoğlu and told that there was something newsworthy in Siverek on March 12, 1994 and he was never able to return from there. Babaoğlu who wrote an article about a teacher who was sexually assaulted in her home by a village guard from the Bucak tribe, 2 days before he was dissappeared, revealed the story for everyone to know.

 

During the time when Babaoğlu was forced into dissappearance, Süleyman Demirel was the President, Tansu Çiller was the Prime Minister, Nahit Menteşe was Minister of Internal Affairs, Mehmet Ağar was the General Director of Police, and the then Governor of Urfa, Tevfik Ziyayeddin Akbulut, was the AKP's 22, 23 and 24 term Tekirdağ MP. Sedat Bucak, known as the leader of the Bucak tribe, was the deputy of the True Path Party (DYP).

 

MURAT YOĞUNLU CALLED HIM

 

Explaining the circumstances in which Babaoğlu was forced into dissappearance, his brother, Cemal Babaoğlu said his brother was working at the newspaper while he was going to school. Underlining that Murat Yoğunlu was the one who called his brother to Siverek and Yoğunlu was eorking at the Anadolu Agency (AA) back than, brother Babaoğlu said: "Murat was detained because he was in contact with the Kurdish press. When he was released from custody, Murat called the newspaper and said there was something really newsworthy in Siverek and called Nazım. We never heard back from him again."

 

HE DENIED HE CALLED NAZIM

 

Recalling that the officials from Özgür Gündem Newspaper came to Urfa from İstanbul to speak to the Governor and the Security Directorate after his brother went missing, Babaoğlu said: "They called Murat to the Governorship that day. He said: "I don't work for Özgür Gündem and I never called him or anyone else." They applied to the postal service to determine who called Nazım but nothing turned up."

 

Explaining that, after some years Murat Yoğunlu moved to İstanbul and started to visit Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), Babaoğlu said: "The BDP İstanbul Provincial Head İhsan Avcı called Murat to the BDP building. He asked about what happened back then and Murat said: "I will explain all of these but I have no life safety. I will tell them what happened if they accept me as an anonymous witness." Then they went to the prosecutor and speak to him but the prosecutor said he could not guarantee his life safety."

 

Stating that his brother is still alive according to officials recorders, Babaoğlu said: "We investigated the dissappearance of my brother with other journalists. We found a witness. Aziz Taşkaya who went to the Bucak house to ask about the whereabouts of his own brother, saw my brother there. They did not take action despite the fact that we found a witness. They did not even investigate. They shelved the file for it to drop due to prescription.

 

Stating that they applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Babaoğlu continued: "After our application to the ECHR, they summoned my father to the Anti-Terror Branch of Urfa. They insulted him and threatened him about his complaint. My father told them he was just trying to find his son. They made him sign a paper saying that if he's looking for his son, he must go to them and they will look for his son. Two lawyers showed up after my father signed that paper. Our application to ECtHR was dropped. We were never able to learn what he signed but we think it was a document to withdraw the case from the ECtHR.

 

IT WAS ÇATLI WHO MADE MY FATHER SIGN THAT PAPER

 

Stating that they found out it was Abdullah Çatlı who made his father sign those papers 2 years after his brother dissappeared when they saw Çatlı on TV, Babaoğlu said: "My father recognized him on TV and said that he was the man who made him sign those papers. Abdullah Çatlı is wanted person, sought with red notice and he was able to waltz into the police station and continue his activities in Kurdistan.

 

'DEATH OF HUMANITY'

 

Underlining that they were never able to make peace with the idea that his brother is dead, Babaoğlu said: "My mother jumps every time someone knocks the door, thinking its him. She died waiting for him. Losing a person like that is losing one's humanitarian feelings. It is the death of humanity. This is not just our problem, this is a social incident. There is the power of the state in this incident. The state has a purpose, a project and an ideology. They want everyone to submit to it. This is a system of exploitation. They don't solve these incidents to protect their ruling."

 

 

MA / Lezgin Tekay - Barış Polat