40th anniversary of Maraş massacre: “Successors of culprits have banned public commemoration”

The public commemoration events of the 40th anniversary of Maraş massacre that was planned to take place in the city center and towns were banned by the governor of Kahramanmaraş
Monday, 24 December 2018 13:50

The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) in Maraş protested the ban against the public commemoration events and declared that the political ideology of culprits was now in power. In its official statement, TKP highlighted that the Maraş massacre was a crime against humanity that would never be forgotten: ‘The culprits of the Maraş massacre should be found and brought to justice. You shall never make us forget it’.

Massacre as an operation directed by NATO and undertaken by the Turkish intelligence and contra-guerrilla 

Between 19-26 December 1978, the ultra-nationalist (grey wolves) and Islamist fractions supported by the deep state committed a massacre against Alevites in Kahramanmaraş. While the number of killed was declared 111 in the official records, the Alevite resources declared almost 500 people were killed, thousands of people were injured. The massacre also encompassed mass rapes committed against women. The massacre remained one of the provocations that paved the way for the coup d’état in September 1980 supported by the CIA.

“In this fascist massacre, more than 500 homes and almost 300 shops were destroyed. Nearly 80% of our left-wing and Alevite citizens left Kahramanmaraş following the massacre. This massacre was an operation undertaken by the Turkish intelligence (Milli İstihbarat Teşkilatı) and contra-guerrilla and supervised by the USA and NATO. There are a number of evidence and data that proves not only the culprits but also who directed the massacre. The massacre is a crime against humanity and its culprits are free on streets; however, they are not brought to justice. As a matter of fact, 804 people, who were accused of getting involved with the massacre, were tried before the court. Nevertheless, the trials took decades, and all of the suspects were released”, declared the statement.

The culprits are protected by the state

In Kahramanmaraş TKP’s statement, it was stated that all of the governments, who were in office in the past 40 years, were accomplices in this crime. It further declared that the culprits were protected by the state.

“The representatives of the political ideology behind the massacre are now in power. These political representatives obviously share the same reactionary mindset since the successors of culprits now ban the public commemoration of the Maraş massacre’, it added.

"We shall never make it forgotten"

TKP reminded that the public commemoration of the Maraş massacre was also banned in the city center and towns by the governor last year due to the state of emergency.

“The state, which has covered up the massacre for 40 years, is seeking for the culprits to be forgotten. Kahramanmaraş TKP rejects such a position. The massacre that took in Maraş in 1978 is a crime against humanity. We shall never make it forgotten. The Maraş massacre is still causing troubles in consciences of masses and working classes even after 40 years”, the statement said.