Turkish authorities let the vigil happen this time, after months of ban.
The Saturday Mothers/People, a group of activists and relatives seeking justice for loved ones who disappeared in police custody in Turkey, held their 1,000th weekly vigil on May 25, 2024 in Istanbul’s Galatasaray Square[1][3][5]. This milestone event marked the longest-running protest in Turkey’s history, with the group first gathering on May 27, 1995[3].
The 1,000th vigil saw the participation of thousands of supporters, including politicians and civil society organizations[3]. It came after police lifted a 300-week-long ban that had previously prevented the Saturday Mothers from meeting at Galatasaray Square[3].
During the vigil, the group released a statement reflecting their decades-long struggle, declaring “We want our disappeared ones. We want to leave our carnations not at Galatasaray, but at the real graves of our loved ones.”[5] They vowed to continue searching for their loved ones until they find them[5].
The Saturday Mothers have faced police violence, legal obstacles and arbitrary restrictions over the years, with their 700th gathering in 2018 violently dispersed by police[2][4]. However, they have remained resolute in their demands for accountability and justice[3][4].
On the eve of the 1,000th vigil, 39 members of parliament from New Zealand wrote a letter to President Erdoğan and other Turkish officials urging them to allow the gathering without obstructions and implement the Constitutional Court’s rulings affirming the group’s right to assemble[2].
Citations:
[1] https://bianet.org/haber/saturday-mothers-people-to-hold-1000th-gathering-in-istanbul-295699
[2] https://www.duvarenglish.com/new-zealand-mps-pen-letter-to-president-erdogan-on-eve-of-saturday-mothers-1000th-gathering-news-64392
[3] https://stockholmcf.org/mothers-of-enforced-disappearance-victims-hold-1000th-saturday-vigil-in-istanbul/
[4] https://www.lemonde.fr/en/turkey/article/2024/05/11/turkey-s-saturday-mothers-vigils-call-for-answers-over-enforced-disappearances_6671064_219.html
[5] https://ihd.org.tr/en/saturday-mothers-1000th-week/
Hakkı Özdal at X:
There are thousands of people who have disappeared after being detained or abducted by state forces. The Saturday Mothers’ protest, which has been going on for 1000 weeks to uncover the fate of the disappeared and to bring the perpetrators to trial, has turned into a resistance that has permanently entered the history of the country. Galatasaray Square is now a memorial.
Artists’ tributes to #CumartesiAnneleri (#SaturdayMothers), civil society group in Turkey that held their 1000th weekly demonstration today demanding justice for enforced disappearances in ’80s and ’90s. From a popup exhibit this past week at Adasanat. #CumartesiAnneleri1000Hafta says Jennifer Hattam
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