Inadequate affection regarding Uludere
A full year has passed since the incident. The responsible parties of the massacre at Uludere have not been determined yet. The investigation is still ongoing and correspondence is still continuing.
Remember, a crowded group crossing the Iraqi border was located by radar. They had with them animals carrying loads. This group – according to the authorities – were either members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) or smugglers. In the end, it was not left to chance. Those who ordered to shoot did not want to take risks. The planes took off. The bombardment took place and a total of 34 people, 17 of them minors, were massacred. Later it was understood that those killed were villagers from the region, known to local authorities to make a living by smuggling.
The public first learned of a “terrorist hunt” but shortly after something weird in the situation emerged.
Nobody yet knows who ordered the shooting. According to several statements, a convoy coming from Iraq was located. Several pieces of intelligence data also suggested that there was suspicious PKK traffic in the same area.
Apparently, the commander or commanders who have the last say, when they could not satisfactorily identify the group, ordered the shooting.
Maybe, in the past, they were criticized for not shooting a group that later turned out to be a PKK group; this time, they did not fine-screen and opted to bomb.
The real reason why the public, and especially our Kurdish citizens, reacted so strongly to this incident is that even though so much time has passed no result has been reached. There are those who say, “They do not give us [closure] because we are Kurdish,” there are also those who stir up the incident for political reasons.
The Justice and Development Party (Ak Party) government immediately confronted the incident. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sent his wife and his ministers to the region. Compensation was paid and apologies made. However, because those responsible have still not been revealed, even if it may be incorrect, an impression “as if certain people were being protected,” was created. The government, somehow, this time did not act warmly. The prime minister adopted an almost negative stance by saying in every statement he made that, “We did everything; what else can we do? Wait for the outcome of the investigation.”
As long as those really responsible for the Uludere massacre are not revealed, this file will remain open. The wound in the conscience of the public will not close so easily.
What a shame
I held myself back big time about the Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) incidents; however, when a certain group of universities emerged and dragged the ODTÜ administration through the mud, I blew my top. Big time. Especially when I saw the name of Galatasaray University among them, which is the continuation of Galatasaray High School, an institution known as a stronghold of liberals and freedom. I went nuts as a person who was educated there.
No, dear rectors, none of you had any right to do this. Maybe the prime minister condemns ODTÜ academia; however, I condemn all of you.
You did not raise your voice on the day the incidents broke. The next day, you were quiet again. When the PM reacted, then all of a sudden you tried to lynch the ODTÜ administration. Several people, just like me, perceive this step as a price you paid to show your loyalty to the PM and to look cute in his eyes. This is the general perception.
Dear rectors, you should all know very well that the university student believes he/she can change the world. Their most distinct feature is that they protest everything. It is their characteristic.
And with this stance of yours, you are signaling that you want to educate the youth as a herd of sheep.
What a shame!
