On the night of December 28, 2011, two Turkish F-16s attacked a group of civilians crossing into Turkey from Iraq, killing thirty-five, many of whom were children (one only twelve years old). The Turkish government has described it as an unfortunate accident and promised an investigation, but many believe the attack was intentional, especially given that this was a well-known smuggling route for Kurds along the Turkish-Iraqi border. It was, according to the head of the Turkish Human Rights Association, Öztürk Türkdoğan, quite simply, “a massacre… an extrajudicial execution.”
Clearly, without a transparent inquiry, the truth cannot be known. But, will the Turkish government be willing to fully investigate these deaths and hold those responsible to account? Despite the promises of Turkish government officials, early signs are not positive. The investigator has, for example, refused to meet with Turkish human rights organizations, despite multiple petitions. Protests in response to the deaths were met by arrests.