BONES OF DERSIM MASSACRE VICTIMS FOUND 76 YEARS LATER
07.05.13
A group of journalists and relatives of the victims of a 1937 massacre
in the predominantly Alevi region of Dersim have found some bones
probably belonging to the victims after carrying out a search in a
cave in which many killings took place, Today’s Zaman reports.
The notorious massacre occurred in 1937 in Dersim, which was
historically a semi-autonomous region, as a brutal response to
rebellious events. The alleged rebellion was led by Seyyid Rıza,
the head of a Zaza tribe in the region. The Turkish government at the
time, led by then-Republican People’s Party (CHP) head Ä°smet Ä°nönu,
responded with air strikes 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. The bodies of many of the victims are
still missing.
In a bid to find some remains, a group of relatives of the victims
and journalists searched the Lac Cave, where the killing of hundreds
of people took place. After searching for about 11 hours, the group
found bones most probably belonging to the Dersim massacre victims.
Entry to the area the group searched is prohibited to the public for
security reasons; however, the group violated the prohibition.
One of the victims’ relatives, Hıdır Cicek, said his uncle, cousins
and many other family members died in the incident and that his father
barely survived. Cicek said he could not hold back his tears when he
saw the bones.
Shell casings produced in 1935 were also discovered in the cave.
Lac Cave is one of the largest caves in the area. When many people
were killed in Dersim at the time, about 500 people fled and hid in
the cave, where they spent many days with little food and water. The
majority of those hiding in the cave were women and children. It is
believed that when one woman left the cave to get some water from a
stream, soldiers found out about the people hiding in the cave and
air strikes were carried out.