At this part of the research again there are horrifying scenes taken place in the areas defined by JITEM. There was no news about Fethi Yıldırım, being arrested 11 years ago under the witnessing of a few people by the police officers in Viranşehir Where he went for a reconciliation dinner.
At this part of the research we will read the statement of the Police Department claiming that he was arrested by JITEM and would be given to them, the application to the Assembly and the other process.

IDENTITY

Name-surname: Fethi Yıldırım Father-mother: Dure /Ali Birth Place: Viranşehir Birth date: 1962 Marital status: single

Disappearance date: January,1,1994

Born in Viranşehir in 1962, Fethi Yıldırım attended the primary and secondary and high school in here. Known as a lovely and bold character, Yıldırım lived far from national Kurdish emotions till his high school years. Abdülkadir Yıldırım,his twin according to his ID, explains his interest for politics as such: " When my brother was 13 or 14 years old he found Alparslan Turkeş's poster from somewhere. Seein that poster, one of his friend older than him discuused with him. Influenced by his friend, he tore the poster apart thus starting to his first nationalistic emotions concerning the "Kurdish" identity."

Working in RDCA

The year 1978 was the peak of the revolutionist movements in Turkey when the Kurdish movement was on the organization process. One of the followers of the Revolutionist Democratic Culture Association (RDCA) in Viranşehir was Fethi Yıldırım. While only 16 years old, he worked actively in the organization and elected as the leader of the association. About his works in RDCA, his brother Süleyman Yıldırım told that: "He was trying to do his best to tell the truth from taking roles in plays to going to the villages to work. He did all these in the name of RDCA. His only aim was to tell the truth to the Kurdish Community. He was loved by the people as he solved their problems."

The same ward the same destiny...

After the Maraş Massacre, military commissions were founded in the region in 1978. When it comes to 1979, one's being killed during the conflict between different party fractions influenced him deeply. He was arrested together with Siraç Kırıcı, Mustafa Kılıç and Abdo Şahin being accused of killing and taken to the Military Prison of Diyarbakir. He was 17 years old then so he was sentenced less compared to the others as he was young. At the prison he stayed together with Diyarbakir's chairman of People's Labor Party, Vedat Aydın, who would share the same destiny with him and be killed by faceless people.

'Read the national anthem and see your brother'

After he was sent to E-Type Prison of Diyarbakir from Military Prison, his brother Abdülkadir Yıldırım was arrested with the accusation of kidnapping and sent to the same prison. The first members of PKK (Kurdish Workers Party) Mazlum Doğan and Kemal Pir were prisoned at that time and were in the same prison. Mazlum Doğan and Kemal Pir were staying in the 35.th ward with Abdülkadir Yıldırım while Yıldırım was in the 26.th ward. Although they were in the same prison they could not see each other for 14 months. The brother Yıldırım tells about those years as such: "We could not see each other. He sent me a red pullover and a watch. Knowing the situation, once a warder said me 'read the national anthem of Turkey so that I permit you to see your brother.' But at the expense of not seeing my brother, I refused to read it and did not see him."

Paying his bill, Yıldırım was taken by the soldiers to do his compulsory military service while he was going to Viranşehir. He did the military service in Patnos, Ağrı and then as a commando in Bolu. He finished the service under great difficulties in 1986 and returned to Viranşehir.

Second arrest

After returning to Viranşehir, he worked in trade and participated in the workings of People's Labor Party (HEP) taking his place in the Kurdish politics. His brother Abdülkadir Yıldırım told his second detention in Viranşehir where there was a warm political environment. "My brother Ahmet Yıldırım was the chairman of Democratic Party (DEP) of the county. A big rebellion took place in the county. The shops were closed so we closed our shop but the kaimakam of the period came there with police officers with him and broke the doors. Because of the shutter demonstration my brothers Ahmet and Fethi were arrested together with Mehmet Çakı and Naif Aslan. They were poisoned for 2 months and then set free."

Fethi Yıldırım was elected to the board of the county organization of DEP in Viranşehir after he was set free.

Reconciliation dinner...

JITEM was very hectic at that time. The people suspected were either taken into custody or killed or disappeared. One of them was Fethi Yıldırım. He was dinning at home at 17.30 in January,4, 1994. The phone rang and he said he had something to do and left the house immediately. When his brothers asked "where?" , the reply was " to my friends" and this was his last going. Yıldırım went to a reconciliation dinner as such. Two people had been killed as a result of blood feud caused by a land argument. To end the hatred between the families, Democratic Party (DEP) would serve as a go- between. The initiations had been done and the families would be reconciled at that day.

The police raid to the house

After Yıldırım left home, he went to Abdullah Mutlu's house (known as Abdo) with Ali Kuran and Lami Kaplancılar at 7 pm. Burhan Akyel (Abdullah Mutlu's nephew), Ahmet Ünver (Mutlu's groom) and some other members of the family were at home. The members of DEP were talking to the family when the team of the prevention of terrorism working on the name Viranşehir Police Department raided at the house at 9 pm. All the males were taken out of the house and the house was searched thoroughly. The males wanted to kneel in front of the wall not seeing each other. After they were waited as such for 15 minutes, Abdullah Mutlu, Ahmet Ünver, Ali Kuran and Lami Kaplancılar were taken to a car. Fethi Yıldırım was not in the car. The people arrested were taken to Viranşehir Police Department and set free later on.

Fethi Yıldırım disappeared

Fethi Yıldırım was not taken from the house behind theYukseller Foundation of Ozal neighborhood. After being set free, Lami Kaplancılar and Ali Kuran phoned to Yıldırım's relatives and called them to Kuran's stationary shop during at about 11pm. Thus, Ahmet Yıldırım and Süleyman Yıldırım came there. They were told that the house was raided by 8 people incliuding 2 high commissioners and two police officers. Stating that 4 civil people were waited outside, Kuran said Fethi Yıldırım was not arrested.

Office of the public prosecutor: He was not arrested

Anxious bout his brothers' disappearances one by one, Süleyman Yıldırım told his experiences of that night as such: "We confused where to go. There was nothing that we could do at that night. We waited till the morning. We could not think anything bad or we did not want to do so."

In the morning he applied to public prosecutor of the county Vedat Damar and The Police Department. The prosecutor replied the application on January 10, claiming that he was not arrested at the date stated in the application.

"JITEM held him and will give us"

Being a member of the board of DEP at that time, Mahmut Vefa and Fethi's brother, Ahmet Yıldırım applied to Şanlıurfa Police Department. The officials stated that he was held by JITEM and would be given to them after a short time. With this explanation the family waited for 15 days. Not reaching any conclusion, Ahmet Yıldırım notified M. Selçuk U., Uğur A., Osman H. ve Alptekin K. working in the branch of strugling against terrorism in the Viranşehir Police Department on the name of the family in January 26,1994.

Investigation about the polices

After the application, the office of the director of public prosecutions of Viranşehir started an investigation. In this scope, a record was prepared on grounds of "having someone under the custody disappear and not giving information to his family" about the polices in questions. For the polices to be up for trial, the file was sent to Council of administration of the county. But the council decided that there was sign of him to be arrested so the investigation was cancelled in March 10, 1994. On the other an investigation was started in Diyarbakir State Security Court for the other 6 people at home at that night on the grounds of helping the organization.

'They are giving harm to the state!'

Not reaching any result, the family applied to the Diyarbakir Branch of Human Rights Association wishing judicial help firstly and then submitted an application to European Court of Human Rights. Then the authorities of the Police Department called Ahmet Yıldırım to the Department and said: " You have Applied to European Court of Human Rights about us. It is a shame, you give harm to the state. Do not do such things. They are making use of you."

A proposal to the Assembly

The deputy of DEP of the time Selim Sadak gave a proposal consisting of 4 articles to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey concerning Fethi Yıldırım's disappearance. The Minister of Domestic Affairs of the time Nahit Menteşe replied the proposal saying he was not arrested by the polices. Applying to many associations, the family presented a petition to

The Grand National Assembly of Turkey after the Susurluk Incident requesting the incident to be enlightened. 5 years after the incident the Police Department wanted his picture but his mother Dure Yıldırım reacted against the polices coming to the house and did not give his son's picture. Therefore they attained his picture from People's Democracy Party (HADEP). The picture was taken to identify whether a corpse found was his or not but there was not result again.

'He was a vivid and active person'

His brother Abdülkadir Yıldırım, two years older than him, stated that they grow up together and added. "He helped me to attend the school. He took me to Bismil for the high school exams. I finished my school thanks to him. He was a vivid and active person." The oldest brother Süleyman Yıldırım said that he was a lovely and bold one known as clear and straightforward.

"He loved his friends"

Stating that he especially gave great importance to his friends, the mother Dure Yıldırım told an anecdote about him: "Once when he was at school one of his friends was shot and he was wounded. He was afraid when he heard the noise. He saw that his friend is on the ground and after the incident he got sick so we took him to the hospital. Only after treatment did he come to conscious. He loved his friends and I loved him. He had a good character and he was smart and calm."

'We want to put flowers on his grave'

The Yıldırım family experiencing difficulties for 11 years wants him to be found immediately. They gave utterance to their wishes as such: "We lost him but at least we want to find his bones. Even this is enough for us. We want to embellish his grave with flowers." In October 3, 2001 , Viranşehir Municipal Council presented a proposal to the administrative committee of Şanlıurfa Governorship to give his name to a park but the council refused the proposal declaring it to be against the74.th article of the municipal principles numbered 1580. Then an application concerning the cancellation of the decision was given to the Council of State.

Aygan's confession

An old member of JITEM, Abdülkadir Aygan told about Fethi Yıldırım in his confessions as such: "Ahmet code named Fethi Yıldırım was taken into the custody on the grounds of being a member of Kurdish National Assembly. Thus taken away to JITEM in Diyarbakir, he had been disappeared after he was interrogated.

The place he was buried

When you go to Hani, a county in Diyarbakir, from the Karaçalı village on the dirt road for 2-3 kilometers the road goes over a small hill. He was buried 2-3 meters far from the left part of the road. I think he is there."
SAADET YILDIZ / MUHAMMED TAŞDEMİR
01.07.2005