Yakay-Der ( tr, Yakınlarını Kaybeden Ailelerle Yardımlaşma ve Dayanışma Derneği; "The Association of Solidarity and Assistance for the Families of Missing Persons") is a Turkish activist group. It was founded on 9 March 2001 to help the families of
disappeared Kurds in Turkey.
According to Yakar-Der, more than 1,500 persons are unaccounted for following the "special war" period in Turkey from 1993 to 1998, in the context of actions taken to root out the
PKK
The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of sout ...
. These activities were brought to light in the
Susurluk scandal
The Susurluk scandal () was a scandal involving the close relationship among the deep state in Turkey, the Grey Wolves and the Turkish mafia. It took place during the peak of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict, in the mid-1990s. The relationshi ...
which surfaced in 1996 and resulted in several high-level resignations in the Turkish Government.
About
The current (May 2019) President of Yakar-Der is
Pervin Buldan
Pervin Buldan (born 6 November 1967) is a Turkish politician. She was a member of the Democratic Society Party (DTP). She is President of Yakay-Der and one of the deputy speakers in the 26th Parliament of Turkey. On 11 February 2018, she was el ...
.
Its stated objectives are:
* To investigate the unknown killings of known opponents of the State and the disappearance of such people under very suspicious situations and circumstances;
* To investigate and try to find out who are responsible for the unknown killings and/or disappearances of such activists, and to bring them to book, i.e. to make certain that they are arrested, prosecuted and punished; and
*To work with the families of those who have been killed or who have disappeared.
History
Yakar-Der was established as a result of a long struggle organised by what came to be known as the
Saturday Mothers
The Saturday Mothers ( tr, Cumartesi Anneleri) is a group which gathers every Saturday at noon for half an hour at Galatasaray, Istanbul, Turkey, initially to ask for clarification about their missing relatives.Gülsüm Baydar and Berfin İvegen ...
, a group of women who protested every Saturday for about two years in front of the
Galatasaray High School
Galatasaray High School ( tr, Galatasaray Lisesi, french: Lycée de Galatasaray), established in what was then Constantinople and is now Istanbul, in 1481, is the oldest high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational in ...
in
Taksim in
Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
.
It is a successor to the Association Mag-Der, which was closed down by the Turkish authorities because of alleged irregularities with respect to the Turkish Law of Associations.
Each year, Yakar-Der, together with the
Turkish Human Rights Association (İHD) and the International Committee Against Disappearances (ICAD), organise a series of special events to mark the Week of Disappeared People. In May 2006, they organised the 5th International Conference against Disappearances, in
Diyarbakir. In 2008 they organized sit-down strikes, a photo exhibition and panel discussions with the relatives of missing persons. They also filed a complaint with the public prosecutor and demanded the punishment of officials responsible for the disappearance of the missing persons.
In May 2009, they began a campaign to urge Turkey to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances.
See also
*
Forced disappearance
An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a State (polity), state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or po ...
*
Saturday Mothers
The Saturday Mothers ( tr, Cumartesi Anneleri) is a group which gathers every Saturday at noon for half an hour at Galatasaray, Istanbul, Turkey, initially to ask for clarification about their missing relatives.Gülsüm Baydar and Berfin İvegen ...
External links
YakayderInternational Committee Against DisappearancesInternational Coalition Against Enforced DisappearancesYakar Der photos on FlickrListen to the Saturday Mothers, Amnesty International, 1998
References
{{reflist
Human rights organizations based in Turkey
Civil rights organizations