ANKARA - IHD Children's Rights Commission urged Turkish authorities to launch an investigation into the soldiers who killed a 16-year-old, Özcan Erbaş in Hakkari province.
The Human Rights Association (İHD) Children's Rights Commission made a written statement regarding the killing of 16-year-old Özcan Erbaş by soldiers of the Turkish army in the Derecik district of Hakkari.
The statement said that Erbaş went on a trip with three friends to have a picnic and collect acorns on November 30. He died with a bullet he received on his back as a result of the fire opened from the border line. According to the information received from the eyewitnesses; the soldiers opened fire without warning about 400 meters away from Turkey-Iraq border.
"KILLING KURDS IS NOT PROSECUTED"
The IHD Children's Rights Commission, which included the statements of Erbaş's uncle who went to the murder scene, said: “Erbaş's uncle revealed that Özcan was injured with a gun and died in the hospital and that the soldiers did not interfere with the youngster, who was lying in blood on the ground, so he had to carry his nephew to the road. Every year, people continue to be killed or injured in the border regions of the Kurdish geography due to arbitrary fire of law enforcement officers. As a result of these deaths and injuries, the violations cannot be prevented and become permanent since effective, objective and transparent investigations are not conducted against the perpetrators. "
'INVESTIGATION PROCESS SHOULD BEGIN'
The statement pointed out that the State's policy of impunity caused public officials to behave recklessly in using weapons. The statement continued: “As human rights defenders, we will not get used to this situation. We declare once again that we will fight for justice for every child whose right to life and development is taken away. By repeating tirelessly, we remind Turkish authorities that Turkey is a party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which contractually guarantees the right of all children to live and to develop. In accordance with the obligations contained in the agreement, we urge Turkish authorities to identify all public officials who are responsible for the death of 16-year-old Özcan Erbaş and to initiate an effective administrative and criminal investigation process."