• See Related Links Some 15,109 rights violations took place in the Kurdish region in eastern Turkey during the first half of 2012, according to a report by the Human Rights Association (IHD.) A total of 56 security personnel and 122 militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) also lost their lives during the same period.
July 10, 2012
DIYARBAKIR, The Kurdish region of Turkey,
— A total of 15,109 rights violations took place in eastern and southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdistan), while 56 Turkish security personnel and 122 militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) also lost their lives, with another 123 injured during the same period, according to the Rights Violations Report of the Human Rights Association’s (IHD) branch office in the southeastern Kurdish province of Diyarbakir.
A surge in the frequency of military operations have marked the first six months of 2012 despite winter conditions, said Raci Bilici, the head of the IHD’s Diyarbakir branch.
“We found ourselves in the midst of a process of intensifying conflict with the advent of spring. These clashes grew even more intense toward the middle of the year, leading to further loss of lives. These operations and clashes have also brought along civilian deaths,www.ekurd.net repressive [policies] against the peasantry, the destruction of nature and many more rights violations,” he added.

Bilici also drew attention to the ongoing operations against the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK,) highlighted the need to restart negotiations and called for the employment of democratic and peaceful means to resolve the Kurdish issue.
Highlights from the report:

*Security personnel killed / injured during clashes – 56 dead, 119 wounded
*PKK militants killed / injured during clashes – 122 dead, 4 wounded
*Civilian deaths emanating from unresolved murders, extrajudicial killings and clashes – 16 dead, 75 wounded
*Deaths under suspicious circumstances – 13
*Deaths caused by official errors and negligience – 16 dead, 2 wounded
*Suicide by Military personnel / police – 2 suicides, 1 attempted suicide
*Suicide by women – 14 suicides, 4 attempted suicides
*Suicide by men – 19 suicides, 8 attempted suicides
*Suicide by minors – 10 suicides, 3 attempted suicides
*Detentions – 2,675
*Arrests – 1,006
*Torture and ill-treatment – 398
*Number of people under investigation, on trial or penalized – 1,386
*Political parties, unions, associations, cultural institutions subjected to pressure and attacks – 84
*Political parties, unions, associations and cultural institutions shut down – 9
*Publications prohibited and collected by officials – 632
Copyright © respective author or news agency, BIA News | bianet.org