Following findings by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights that Turkish security operations displaced up to half a million people between July 2015 and December 2016 in southeast Turkey, John Dalhuisen Amnesty International’s directory for Europe said:
“These findings mirror our own recent research that concluded that the brutal crackdown by Turkish authorities which has displaced entire populations in southeast Turkey may amount to collective punishment.
“The state’s obligation to ensure security cannot be used as a pretext for use of excessive force, blighting the lives of ordinary people by ongoing round-the-clock curfews in some places for more than a year, leading to forcible displacement and the demolition or expropriation of property.
“Our research found that residents displaced from Diyarbakır province have been unable to find adequate affordable alternative housing and struggled to access essential services. Already impoverished families have been pushed into greater hardship with employment and education opportunities curtailed and without adequate compensation provided.
“With the Un High Commissioner’s report, Turkey must act without further delay: across the region the government must urgently lift the curfews, ensure affected communities are fully compensated and helped to return to what remains of their homes and neighbourhoods.”
For more information or to arrange an interview contact Elizabeth Berton-Hunter, Media Relations 416-363-9933 ext 332 bberton-hunter@amnesty.ca
Amnesty International’s report Displaced and dispossessed: Sur residents’ right to return home was published in December 2016. Read more here https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/12/turkey-curfews-and-crackdown-force-hundreds-of-thousands-of-kurds-from-their-homes/
The UN OHCHR’s report can be found here http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/media.aspx?IsMediaPage=true#sthash.Ct7GpPwI.dpuf
