* Photo: Daily Evrensel

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Police have intervened against the protest of Saturday Mothers/People, who have been asking the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones disappeared in custody for the past 759 weeks.

As they have been prevented from staging their silent sit-in protest at Galatasaray Square since their 700th gathering, Saturday Mothers/People have been reading out their weekly statements for the press in front of Human Rights Association (İHD) İstanbul Office every Saturday.

This week, Saturday Mothers/People gathered in front of İHD building to ask the fate and whereabouts of Cemil Kırbayır, who was disappeared in custody during the 1980 military coup. However, police officers intervened against the group with pepper gas and batons.

Yoleri: Stop the military operation

Reading out the statement for the press, İHD İstanbul Branch Chair Gülseren Yoleri said, "For 759 weeks, we have been raising concerns over the serious destruction of humanitarian and legal values in Turkey".

Criticizing Turkey's cross-border military operation into northern Syria in her speech, Yoleri continued as follows:

"We, as the ones who experienced the consequences of massive destruction caused by policies of violence and conflict, have always been on the side of peace. We have always wanted Turkey to solve all of its problems within standards of law and justice and through peaceful means.

"War means blood and tears for everyone, war means death. That is why, the collective conscience of humanity rejects the war.

"The military intervention into North-East Syria will inflict an irrecoverable damage to the ideal of living together in peace in the country and region.

"This intervention should be stopped immediately before suffering any more casualties and peaceful solutions should be tried. We, as the ones who claim the ideal of living together in peace, insist on our demand for peace. We demand that this military operation ruining our ideal of peace be stopped."

Tosun: We will keep on being on the street

After Yoleri criticized the operation, police officers intervened against the group with pepper gas and batons.

Saturday Mothers/People reacted against the intervention, saying "We want our losses. What do you want from us? Enough is enough."

Hanım Tosun said, "We will keep on being on the street. We won't give up searching for our losses at squares. I will never give up."

About Saturday Mothers/People It was 24 years ago on May 27, 1995 that Saturday Mothers/People gathered for the first time at Galatasaray Square for the ones disappeared in custody. The first sit-in protests started after the deceased body of Hasan Ocak, who was taken into custody on March 21, 1995, was found in the Cemetery of the Nameless after being tortured. The Saturday protests at Galatasaray Square were interrupted for an indefinite period of time on March 13, 1999 due to heavy police intervention for the last three years. The interruption continued for the next 10 years. The silent sit-in protests of Saturday Mothers/People, which they started again at Galatasaray Square in 2009, continued until the police intervention in August 2018. The relatives of the ones disappeared in custody and rights defenders have been prevented from reading out their statements and coming together at Galatasaray Square since then. For that reason, the weekly sessions of Saturday Mothers/People are held and statements for the press are read out in front of the Human Rights Association (İHD) İstanbul Office.

(RT/SD)