Kurzbeschreibungen zu den in dieser Anfragebeantwortung verwendeten Quellen sowie Ausschnitte mit Informationen aus diesen Quellen finden Sie im Anhang.

PKK-Präsenz und Rekrutierung Minderjähriger in der Stadt Cizre

Es konnten keine Informationen zur Rekrutierung Minderjähriger durch die PKK spezifisch in der Stadt Cizre gefunden werden. Gesucht wurde mittels ecoi.net, Factiva und Google auf Deutsch und Englisch nach einer Kombination aus folgenden Suchbegriffen: Rekrutierung, Entführung, Zwang, Kinder, Minderjährige, PKK, Cizre

Die folgenden Quellen erhalten Informationen zur PKK-Präsenz in Cizre:

BBC News berichtet im Dezember 2015, dass die türkischen Sicherheitskräfte laut staatlichen Angaben bei einer zweitägigen Operation in Cizre und Silopi 23 mutmaßliche Mitglieder der PKK getötet hätten. In einigen Gebieten seien Ausgangssperren verhängt und Panzer eingesetzt worden. Cizre sei im September 2015 unter Ausgangssperre gestellt worden, wobei die Türkei die Stadt als Brutstätte von PKK-Aktivitäten bezeichnet habe. (BBC News, 17. Dezember 2015)

Die Washington Post (WP) schreibt im August 2015, dass die PKK-Jugendorganisation, die Patriotisch revolutionäre Jugendbewegung (YDG-H), insbesondere in den Bezirken Cizre, Nusaybin und Silopi eine starke Präsenz entwickelt habe. Die PKK übe laut WP eine bemerkenswerte Kontrolle über die Bevölkerung in den Gebieten aus. (WP, 21. August 2015)

Das Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP) veröffentlicht im Sommer 2020 einen Bericht zur kurdischen Bewegung und zum Zusammenbruch des Friedensprozesses in der Türkei. Laut MERIP habe der massive Druck der türkischen Sicherheitskräfte auf die kurdische Jugend und die Tötung mehrerer unbewaffneter kurdischer Aktivist·innen während des Friedensprozesses (2013–2015, Anmerkung ACCORD) dazu geführt, dass die kurdische Jugend No-Go-Areas für den türkischen Staat eingerichtet habe. Im Gegenzug hätten die staatlichen Sicherheitskräfte unter anderem Artillerie und Luftangriffe in urbanen Zentren wie Şırnak, Nusaybin, Sur, Cizre, Silvan and Silopi eingesetzt. (MERIP, Sommer 2020)

Rekrutierung minderjähriger KurdInnen durch die PKK in der Türkei

Das US Außenministerium (USDOS) schreibt in seinen Länderberichten der letzten Jahre zu Menschenrechtspraktiken in der Türkei (herangezogen wurden die Berichte der Jahre 2018 bis 2021, die den Zeitraum 2017 bis 2020 abdecken), dass die türkische Regierung behaupte, dass die PKK Kinder rekrutiere und gewaltsam zu Rekrutierungszwecken entführe (USDOS, 20. April 2018, Section 1g; USDOS, 13. März 2019, Section 1g; USDOS, 11. März 2020, Section 1g; USDOS, 30. März 2021, Section 1g). Laut den Berichten von 2020 und 2021 sei dies auch von einigen Mitgliedern der kurdischen Gemeinschaft behauptet worden (USDOS, 11. März 2020, Section 1g; USDOS, 30. März 2021, Section 1g). Viele in der kurdischen Gemeinschaft würden behaupten, dass sich Jugendliche im Allgemeinen freiwillig der Gruppe anschließen würden (USDOS, 20. April 2018, Section 1g; USDOS, 13. März 2019, Section 1g; USDOS, 11. März 2020, Section 1g). Zuverlässige Daten über die Rekrutierung junger PKK-Mitglieder seien 2017 bis 2019 nicht verfügbar gewesen. (USDOS, 20. April 2018, Section 1g; USDOS, 13. März 2019, Section 1g; USDOS, 11. März 2020, Section 1g)

Im aktuellen Länderbericht schreibt USDOS, dass eine Gruppe von Müttern ihren im September 2019 in Diyarbakir begonnenen Sitzstreik fortsetze. Die Mütter würden behaupten, dass die PKK ihre Kinder zwangsweise rekrutiert oder entführt habe. Nach Angaben der Kommunikationsdirektion der Präsidentschaft hätten 438 Kinder die PKK von Jänner 2014 bis Juni 2020 verlassen oder seien geflüchtet. (USDOS, 30. März 2021, Section 1g)

Auch das US Department of Labor (USDOL) schreibt in seinen Erkenntnissen zu den schlimmsten Formen von Kinderarbeit in den Jahren 2017 und 2018, die türkische Regierung behaupte, dass die PKK Kinder rekrutiert und gewaltsam zu Rekrutierungszwecken entführt habe. (USDOL, 20. September 2018, S. 2; USDOL, 27. September 2019, S. 2)

Das Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security schreibt in seinem Türkei-Länderbericht zu Kindern und Sicherheit vom Jänner 2017, dass Kinder von den Streitkräften rekrutiert und eingesetzt würden. Die PKK habe 1994 mit einer systematischen Rekrutierung von Kindersoldaten begonnen und verfüge über spezielle Regimenter von Kindersoldaten. Berichten zufolge würden Jugendliche regelmäßig an den Aktivitäten der PKK-Truppen teilnehmen, Daten seien jedoch schwer zu überprüfen. 2013 habe die PKK die Verpflichtungserklärung zum Schutz von Kindern in bewaffneten Konflikten unterzeichnet. Es seien trotzdem weiterhin Minderjährige durch die PKK rekrutiert worden. Kinder würden oft entführt und zwangsrekrutiert. Kurdische Familien hätten die Rückgabe ihrer Kinder gefordert. 2014 hätten sich Mütter aus Protest vor die Stadtverwaltung von Diyarbakir gesetzt und hätten die PKK dazu aufgerufen, ihre Kinder zurückzubringen. Im Jahr 2015 hätten türkische Sicherheitsquellen angegeben, dass die PKK in den zwei vorangegangenen Jahren rund 2.000 Kinder rekrutiert habe. (Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security, 31. Jänner 2017, S. 13)

Al-Jazeera veröffentlicht im Oktober 2020 einen Artikel zu den „Müttern von Diyarbakir“‘ und verschwundenen Kindern in der Türkei, in den Interviews mit Menschen vor Ort inkludiert sind. Die protestierenden Familien würden die PKK und die Demokratischen Partei der Völker (HDP), der größten pro-kurdischen Partei des Landes, für das Verschwinden ihrer Kinder verantwortlich machen. Die Anschuldigungen würden von der HDP zurückgewiesen. Mitglieder der Lokalbevölkerung würden den Familien vorwerfen zu lügen. Obwohl Hisyar Ozsoy, HDP-Abgeordneter von Diyarbakir, die Trauer der demonstrierenden Familien ihre Kinder als aufrichtig anerkenne, werfe er der Regierung vor, die Familien zu manipulieren. Sie würden bezahlt, von der Polizei Essen und Transportmöglichkeiten erhalten. Das Innenministerium habe Al-Jazeera gegenüber angegeben, dass die „Mütter von Diyarbarkir“ ihren Protest unabhängig gestartet hätten.

Laut Al-Jazeera würden Teenager in der Türkei durch die PKK rekrutiert. Es sei jedoch umstritten, ob sie sich freiwillig oder gezwungenermaßen der PKK anschließen würden und um wie viele es sich handle. (Al-Jazeera, 21. Oktober 2020)

Auch in den vergangenen Monaten berichte die staatliche türkische Nachrichtenagentur Anadolu Agency (AA), dass Familien aus der östlichen Türkei, im speziellen in den Gegenden Diyarbarkir, Van, Mus, Bitlis, Hakkari und Sirnak (wo die Stadt Cizre gelegen ist, Anmerkung ACCORD), weiterhin gegen die Rekrutierung ihrer Kinder durch die PKK und deren Unterstützung durch die HDP demonstrieren würden (AA, 11. Mai 2021; AA, 27. Mai 2021).

Quellen: (Zugriff auf alle Quellen am 20. Juli 2021)

·      AA – Anadolu Agency: Mothers in eastern Turkey long to reunite with PKK-abducted children, 11. Mai 2021
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/mothers-in-eastern-turkey-long-to-reunite-with-pkk-abducted-children/2236557

·      AA – Anadolu Agency: Families' sit-in against PKK terrorism spreads through SE Turkey, 27. Mai 2021
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/diyarbakir-mothers-on-children-watch/families-sit-in-against-pkk-terrorism-spreads-through-se-turkey/2256198

·      Al-Jazeera: ‘Diyarbakir Mothers’ demand return of missing children in Turkey, 21. Oktober 2020
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/21/hold-diyarbakir-mothers-demand-return-of-missing-children

·      BBC News: Turkey security forces kill 23 PKK militants in Cizre, 17. Dezember 2015
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35120148

·      Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security: Turkey Country Report: Children & Security, 31. Jänner 2017
https://www.childsoldiers.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Turkey-January-2017-Report-1.pdf

·      MERIP – Middle East Research and Information Project: The Kurdish Movement’s Disparate Goals and the Collapse of the Peace Process with Turkey, Sommer 2020
The Kurdish Movement’s Disparate Goals and the Collapse of the Peace Process with Turkey - MERIP

·      USDOL – US Department of Labor: 2017 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor: Turkey, 20. September 2018
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2000555/Turkey.pdf

·      USDOL – US Department of Labor: 2018 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor: Turkey, 27. September 2019
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2017678/Turkey.pdf

·      USDOS – US Department of State: Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2017 - Turkey, 20. April 2018
https://www.ecoi.net/de/dokument/1430322.html

·      USDOS – US Department of State: Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2018 - Turkey, 13. März 2019
https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2004277.html

·      USDOS – US Department of State: Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2019 - Turkey, 11. März 2020
https://www.ecoi.net/de/dokument/2026346.html

·      USDOS – US Department of State: 2020 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Turkey, 30. März 2021
https://www.ecoi.net/de/dokument/2048106.html

·      WP - Washington Post: A new episode in the Turkish civil war?, 21. August 2015
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/08/21/a-new-episode-in-the-turkish-civil-war/

 

Anhang: Quellenbeschreibungen und Informationen aus ausgewählten Quellen

Anadolu Agency ist eine staatliche türkische Nachrichtenagentur.

·      AA – Anadolu Agency: Mothers in eastern Turkey long to reunite with PKK-abducted children, 11. Mai 2021
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/mothers-in-eastern-turkey-long-to-reunite-with-pkk-abducted-children/2236557

„Mothers in eastern Turkey are waiting for the day when they will reunite with their children, who were abducted or forcibly recruited by the PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] terrorist group.

The families of the children have been protesting since Sept. 3, 2019 in southeastern Diyarbakir province, encouraging their children to give up their weapons and surrender to authorities.

Holding the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) responsible for the kidnapping of their children, mothers have also been staging sit-ins in various provinces, including eastern Van and Mus. The government accuses the HDP of having links to the PKK.

Saliha Mert, one of the protesting mothers from Bitlis province, told Anadolu Agency that her son was deceived and taken to the mountains from Istanbul by the PKK in 2015 when he was only 17 years old.“ (AA, 11. Mai 2021)

·      AA – Anadolu Agency: Families' sit-in against PKK terrorism spreads through SE Turkey, 27. Mai 2021
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/diyarbakir-mothers-on-children-watch/families-sit-in-against-pkk-terrorism-spreads-through-se-turkey/2256198

„After mothers in Diyarbakir, a province in southeastern Turkey, first staged a sit-in to protest the PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] terrorist organization abducting or forcibly recruiting their children, families with the same grievance have converged on other cities across the region as well.

The families in Diyarbakir have been protesting since Sept. 3, 2019, encouraging their children to give up their weapons and surrender to authorities. […]

So far, 225 families have joined the sit-in, with dozens still protesting every day. Their efforts have not been in vain, as 25 of their children have laid down their weapons and surrendered to Turkish authorities.

Those who surrender to the Turkish state are eligible for sentence reductions under a repentance law.

First having started in Diyarbakir, the sit-in protests have now spread to the provinces of Sirnak, Hakkari, Van, and Mus.

Sirnak

Hamdiye Aslan and Emine Ustek, whose sons were abducted by the terror group, began their demonstration on Sept. 10, 2020.

The two mothers continue their sit-in protests every Thursday in front of the HDP [Peoples' Democratic Party] provincial building.“ (AA, 27. Mai 2021)

Al-Jazeera ist ein in Doha ansässiger arabischer Nachrichtensender.

·      Al-Jazeera: ‘Diyarbakir Mothers’ demand return of missing children in Turkey, 21. Oktober 2020
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/21/hold-diyarbakir-mothers-demand-return-of-missing-children

„Diyarbakir, Turkey – Suleyman Aydin stood in front of an enormous Turkish flag wearing a T-shirt with a picture of a son he has not seen for five years.

As he describes it, when Ozkan was just 15 he was kidnapped by the PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party], the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which Turkey, the United States, and 28 European nations list as a ‘terrorist’ organisation. […]

In a tent in Diyarbakir, about 1,500km (932 miles) southeast of Istanbul, are dozens of other parents sitting in front of pictures of their missing children. They are part of a protest that has now lasted more than a year. Known as the Diyarbakir Anneleri – the ‘Diyarbakir Mothers’ – about 130 families are said to have joined them at some point.

And, sitting opposite the provincial office of the HDP – The People’s Democratic Party – they claim it is not only the PKK that has taken their sons and daughters, but the country’s largest pro-Kurdish political party as well. […]

It is an accusation the HDP rejects. On the mere practicalities, Hisyar Ozsoy, the HDP member of parliament for Diyarbakir, told Al Jazeera the claims lack credibility to ‘think that people who want to take the youth to the mountains, that they would use the HDP HQ, which is being surveilled by 200 police officers 24/7’ […]

In Diyarbakir, an HDP stronghold, suspicion of the protests was not hard to find. As one young man in Sur, the city’s old town, told Al Jazeera: ‘Those families? It’s a lie. They’re Erdogan-ists.’

For his part, HDP’s Ozsoy acknowledges the families’ grief as genuine. ‘Of course, when a family, when they are trying to find their children. Of course, if you are a human being, you feel the pain there.’

Yet he alleges also the government’s manipulation goes further than merely promoting the families’ cause. ‘We know those people are being paid. They are being paid salaries,’ he claims. ‘They are fed by the police. They are transported by the police.’

The interior ministry declined to comment directly on the allegations, but told Al Jazeera, ‘The mothers in Diyarbakir have launched their protest independently’. […]

Within Turkey itself, while teenagers have been recruited by the PKK, how they joined – willingly or by force – and how many is still disputed. As the US State Department concluded in March this year, ‘authoritative data on PKK youth recruitment remained unavailable’.“ (Al-Jazeera, 21. Oktober 2020)

BBC News ist eine britische Nachrichtenagentur.

·      BBC News: Turkey security forces kill 23 PKK militants in Cizre, 17. Dezember 2015
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35120148

„Security forces in Turkey have killed 23 suspected members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in two days of operations in Cizre and Silopi, authorities say. Twenty-two were killed in Cizre while one was killed in Silopi, state-run Anatolia news agency said. Curfews have been imposed and tanks deployed in some areas. Cizre was placed under curfew in September, with Turkey describing the town as a hotbed of PKK activity. Up to 10,000 police and army members have been deployed in the two towns, in south-east Turkey, since operations began earlier this week.“ (BBC News, 17. Dezember 2015)

Das Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP) ist eine gemeinnützige unabhängige Forschungsgruppe, die Berichte und Positionspapiere zu verschiedenen Nahostkonflikten veröffentlicht.

·      MERIP – Middle East Research and Information Project: The Kurdish Movement’s Disparate Goals and the Collapse of the Peace Process with Turkey, Sommer 2020
The Kurdish Movement’s Disparate Goals and the Collapse of the Peace Process with Turkey - MERIP

„During the peace process, the extensive pressure of Turkish security forces on Kurdish youth and the killing of several unarmed Kurdish activists provoked the Kurdish youth to set up no-go areas for the Turkish state. In return, state security used heavy weapons including artillery and aerial bombardment over urban centers such as Şırnak, Nusaybin, Sur, Cizre, Silvan and Silopi leading to the death of thousands and the razing of entire neighborhoods in at least two Kurdish towns—Sur and Nusaybin. The state then continued with an even broader criminalization of Kurdish politics when it shut down dozens of Kurdish media outlets and removed 100 Kurdish mayors from their posts, replacing them with state appointees. Thousands of HDP members were also arrested following the collapse of the process.“ (MERIP, Sommer 2020)

Das Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security (ehemals Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative) ist ein Institut an der Dalhousie University in Kanada, das es sich zum Ziel gesetzt hat die Rekrutierung und den Einsatz von Kindersoldaten zu beenden.

·      Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security: Turkey Country Report: Children & Security, 31. Jänner 2017
https://www.childsoldiers.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Turkey-January-2017-Report-1.pdf

„Children are recruited and used by armed forces. The PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] began a ‘systematic recruitment’ of child soldiers in 1994, and has had ‘dedicated regiments’ of child soldiers. There is profound concern over the recruitment of child soldiers by the PKK. Reports indicate that youth are regular participants in the activities of PKK forces, but the data are difficult to verify. In 2013, the PKK signed the Deed of Commitment protecting children in armed conflict.

Despite this, they continued to recruit minors. Children are often abducted and forcibly recruited. Kurdish families have called for the return of their children. For example, in 2014, mothers sat in protest in front of the Diyarbakir Metropolitan Municipality, calling the PKK to bring back their children. In 2015, the Turkish security sources reportedly stated that the PKK had recruited around 2,000 children during the previous two years.“ (Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security, 31. Jänner 2017, S. 13)

Das U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) ist das für Arbeitsangelegenheiten zuständige Ministerium der USA.

·      USDOL – US Department of Labor: 2017 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor: Turkey, 20. September 2018
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2000555/Turkey.pdf

„In 2017, the government alleged that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, recruited and forcibly abducted children for conscription. Authoritative data on PKK youth recruitment was not available.“ (USDOL, 20. September 2018, S. 2)

·      USDOL – US Department of Labor: 2018 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor: Turkey, 27. September 2019
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2017678/Turkey.pdf

„In 2018, the government alleged that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), designated a terrorist organization by Turkey and the U.S., recruited and forcibly abducted children for conscription.“ (USDOL, 27. September 2019, S. 2)

US Department of State (USDOS) ist das US-amerikanische Außenministerium.

·      USDOS – US Department of State: Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2017 - Turkey, 20. April 2018
https://www.ecoi.net/de/dokument/1430322.html

„Child Soldiers: The government alleged the PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] recruited and forcibly abducted children for conscription, while many in the country’s Kurdish community asserted that youth generally joined the terrorist group voluntarily. Authoritative data on PKK youth recruitment remained elusive as of year’s end.“ (USDOS, 20. April 2018, Section 1g)

·      USDOS – US Department of State: Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2018 - Turkey, 13. März 2019
https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2004277.html

„Child Soldiers: The government alleged the PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] recruited and forcibly abducted children for conscription, while many in the country’s Kurdish community asserted that youth generally joined the terrorist group voluntarily. State-run media outlet, Anadolu Agency, reported in October on several cases of alleged PKK recruitment of children. The report stated that one victim told authorities he was forced to join the group at age 13 and that children as young as 11 were lured by promises of monetary compensation and were taken to PKK training camps in Iraq. Authoritative data on PKK youth recruitment remained unavailable as of year’s end.“ (USDOS, 13. März 2019, Section 1g)

·      USDOS – US Department of State: Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2019 - Turkey, 11. März 2020
https://www.ecoi.net/de/dokument/2026346.html

„Child Soldiers: The government and some members of Kurdish communities alleged the PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] recruited and forcibly abducted children for conscription, while many in the country’s Kurdish communities asserted that youths generally joined the group voluntarily. In September a group of mothers began a sit-in protest in Diyarbakir alleging the PKK had forcibly recruited or kidnapped their children and demanded their return. Authoritative data on PKK youth recruitment remained unavailable as of year’s end.“ (USDOS, 11. März 2020, Section 1g)

·      USDOS – US Department of State: 2020 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Turkey, 30. März 2021
https://www.ecoi.net/de/dokument/2048106.html

„Child Soldiers: The government and some members of Kurdish communities alleged the PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] recruited and forcibly abducted children for conscription. A group of mothers continued a sit-in protest they began in Diyarbakir in September 2019 alleging the PKK had forcibly recruited or kidnapped their children and demanding their return. According to the Directorate of Communications of the Presidency, 438 children escaped and left the PKK from January 2014 to June.“ (USDOS, 30. März 2021, Section 1g)

Washington Post (WP) ist eine US-amerikanische Tageszeitung.

·      WP - Washington Post: A new episode in the Turkish civil war?, 21. August 2015
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/08/21/a-new-episode-in-the-turkish-civil-war/

„In recent years, the insurgency has deepened its control in Zone 1. The PKK’s [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] youth organization, the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H), has developed an intimidating presence, particularly in Cizre, Nusaybin and Silopi districts in southeast Turkey along the borders with Syria and Iraq. PKK sympathizers in this zone routinely dig holes and install barricades to halt police entry into neighborhoods or lure the police into traps. PKK’s remarkable social control is also reflected in the assassination of high-ranking commanders and the self-rule demands by groups affiliated with the insurgency.“ (The Washington Post, 21. August 2015)