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DERSIM VICTIM SEEKS HELP FINDING RELATIVES, REGAINING FAMILY PROPERTIES
Today's Zaman
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-280264--dersim-victim-seeks-help-finding-relatives-regaining-family-properties.html
May 13 2012
Turkey
A victim of the Dersim Massacre of 1937-38 who was exiled from
Dersim at the age of 5 and has discovered that her Armenian surname
was changed at that time called on a parliamentary sub-commission to
help her regain her family's properties and find her relatives.
Having received more than 3,000 petitions, the Dersim sub-commission,
which was established to investigate incidents that occurred in the
early years of the republic in the predominantly Alevi region of
Dersim, has been hearing from survivors and witnesses of the Dersim
massacre, which started in 1937.
Fatma Yavuz, whose maiden name is Fatma Kiremitci, has sent a letter to
the commission saying that she is Armenian and her original surname
was Kiremitciyan -- but the final syllable was cut off, as "yan"
at the end of the word indicates it is an Armenian name. During the
period of atrocities in Dersim, her surname was changed to Kiremitci,
which she only recently found out.
"When my daughter recently set to work on discovering her family
tree, she found out that my original surname was Kiremitciyan, but it
was changed to Kiremitci in 1946. After I learned about my original
surname, I was able to discover which village I am from in Dersim,
and I also found some of my relatives," Yavuz said.
Yavuz was forced by the state into exile from Dersim at the age of
5 and was placed in a family in Konya's BeyÅ~_ehir district. "I was
received as a servant girl by that family. They would often beat me;
they beat me so harshly that my fingers are broken even today. That's
because they never took me to a doctor. Then I was given to another
family. I endured much torture there too. When I was 13, I was married
to a 35-year-old man."
Saying that although she was originally from a wealthy family, she
had a life away from her home and full of torture, Yavuz noted that
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's approach to the Dersim massacre
has given her the hope and courage to appeal to the commission. In
a landmark move last year in November, Erdogan apologized on behalf
of the state for the Dersim massacre.
In her letter to the commission, Yavuz demanded that the state send
her a document of apology that would return her family properties,
which were seized by the state, and that the state help her find
other family members.
The alleged rebellion in Dersim was led by Seyit Rıza, the chief
of a Zaza tribe in the region. The government at the time responded
with airstrikes and other violent methods of suppression, killing
thousands of people.
It is estimated that as many as 70,000 Kurdish Alevis were killed
in Dersim between 1937 and 1938. According to the official figures,
13,806 people were killed, and 12,000 people were exiled.
Officials from the sub-commission are currently investigating the
petitions in which families mainly request that their family members'
graves be identified and that the government officially apologize
for the massacre and pay compensation to the families of the victims.
The sub-commission is expected to hear from survivors and ask several
institutions to provide documents relating to the events that took
place in Dersim.
From: Baghdasarian
Today's Zaman
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-280264--dersim-victim-seeks-help-finding-relatives-regaining-family-properties.html
May 13 2012
Turkey
A victim of the Dersim Massacre of 1937-38 who was exiled from
Dersim at the age of 5 and has discovered that her Armenian surname
was changed at that time called on a parliamentary sub-commission to
help her regain her family's properties and find her relatives.
Having received more than 3,000 petitions, the Dersim sub-commission,
which was established to investigate incidents that occurred in the
early years of the republic in the predominantly Alevi region of
Dersim, has been hearing from survivors and witnesses of the Dersim
massacre, which started in 1937.
Fatma Yavuz, whose maiden name is Fatma Kiremitci, has sent a letter to
the commission saying that she is Armenian and her original surname
was Kiremitciyan -- but the final syllable was cut off, as "yan"
at the end of the word indicates it is an Armenian name. During the
period of atrocities in Dersim, her surname was changed to Kiremitci,
which she only recently found out.
"When my daughter recently set to work on discovering her family
tree, she found out that my original surname was Kiremitciyan, but it
was changed to Kiremitci in 1946. After I learned about my original
surname, I was able to discover which village I am from in Dersim,
and I also found some of my relatives," Yavuz said.
Yavuz was forced by the state into exile from Dersim at the age of
5 and was placed in a family in Konya's BeyÅ~_ehir district. "I was
received as a servant girl by that family. They would often beat me;
they beat me so harshly that my fingers are broken even today. That's
because they never took me to a doctor. Then I was given to another
family. I endured much torture there too. When I was 13, I was married
to a 35-year-old man."
Saying that although she was originally from a wealthy family, she
had a life away from her home and full of torture, Yavuz noted that
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's approach to the Dersim massacre
has given her the hope and courage to appeal to the commission. In
a landmark move last year in November, Erdogan apologized on behalf
of the state for the Dersim massacre.
In her letter to the commission, Yavuz demanded that the state send
her a document of apology that would return her family properties,
which were seized by the state, and that the state help her find
other family members.
The alleged rebellion in Dersim was led by Seyit Rıza, the chief
of a Zaza tribe in the region. The government at the time responded
with airstrikes and other violent methods of suppression, killing
thousands of people.
It is estimated that as many as 70,000 Kurdish Alevis were killed
in Dersim between 1937 and 1938. According to the official figures,
13,806 people were killed, and 12,000 people were exiled.
Officials from the sub-commission are currently investigating the
petitions in which families mainly request that their family members'
graves be identified and that the government officially apologize
for the massacre and pay compensation to the families of the victims.
The sub-commission is expected to hear from survivors and ask several
institutions to provide documents relating to the events that took
place in Dersim.
From: Baghdasarian