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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A pro-Kurdish parliamentarian has slammed the Turkish government after authorities sent the remains of a Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighter to his family via post nearly three years after his death.
Agit İpek, also known by his nom de guerre Kemal Berkhwadan, died on May 23, 2017 in clashes with Turkish forces on Khalasor hill in the eastern province of Dersim (Tunceli). Eight Turkish soldiers were also killed in the incident, according to the PKK.
Originally from the Kurdish province of Diyarbakir, Ipek’s remains were not found until May 2019, when his family were contacted by Turkish authorities, his mother Halise Aksoy told Evresel news agency on Saturday.
“We knew that our son died three years ago in a clash. We did our best to have access to his dead body but it was in vain,” she said, adding that a DNA test was carried out to verify that he was her son.
Ipek’s remains were sent to his family via post through the national delivery service PTT. The package was dated March 2 but it is unclear when exactly the family received it, or why it took almost a year to repatriate his remains.
The incident was discussed in Turkish parliament on Saturday after the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Meral Danis Bestas criticized Turkish authorities for their handling of the issue.
"This government has no conscience, ethics or humanity. They have begun sending corpses via cargo. Everyone deserves a tomb," she told other deputies.
She added that this hurt her "as a mother and a human being."
Cahit Ozkan, deputy of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) defended the decision, however.
"There is no [dead] body, but a few pieces of remains," he said, adding that it was carried out “per procedures.”
"This is what a state should do,” said Ozkan.
The deputy added that "authorities had no other option,” and declined to provide further information as it is “a judicial issue.”
Turkish infrastructure has been impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen cities across the country placed on lockdown.
Rudaw English contacted PTT and Dersim Public Prosecutor but they were not available for comment.
The PKK's war with the Turkish state for greater political and cultural rights for Kurds has resulted in more than 40,000 militant and civilian deaths. The group is regarded as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
Turkey routinely launches land and air operations against the group within its borders, in the Kurdistan Region, and in Iraq’s disputed territories of Shingal and Makhmour. It also attacks Kurdish forces in northern Syria, accusing them of ties with the PKK.
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