Ballad of Withering Lives on the Roads: Mourning Songs for the Last Genocide in Anatolia

By Roh Nordic AB and Ramazan Faruk Güzel

Each chapter is enriched with both legal and academic information as well as individual stories and poems. This way, it becomes possible to understand not only the theoretical but also the real-life impact of genocide on people's lives.

This foreword and the book aim to voice the forgotten, in pursuit of justice and preventing similar tragedies in the future.

There are tens of thousands of people from all professions and groups who lost their lives on the roads while escaping the genocide in Turkey now...

It is necessary to give special place to each of them, and to remember everyone properly. But it is impossible to achieve this in a book.

That's why we tried to create this rough portrait with as many exemplary people as we could from every profession. I hope that as long as we live, we will try to include everyone's experiences. Therefore, those whose names we cannot include in the current study should forgive us.

• Language: English
• Publisher: RohNordic
• Release date: Apr 26, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224650781

Book preview

FOREWORD

In the Shadow of Oppression : The Bitter Legacy of the Erdoğan Regime

Throughout history, the efforts of governments and regimes to silence dissent have manifested in many different forms. One of the darkest of these is the transformation of prisons into final destinations for those fighting for freedom of thought.

Those who set out on the roads to escape torture in prisons, isolation from life, and those who lost their lives on these roads are other victims of this genocide process!

This foreword presents the actions in Turkey, especially under the Erdoğan Regime, not just as political oppression but as a reflection of crimes against humanity.

1-Marks of Tyranny: The Anatomy of Genocide in Prisons

The Erdoğan Regime's approach to dissenters is manifested through the deprivation of medical care in prisons, exposure to torture, and abandonment to death.

This situation emerges as a modern face of genocide; as dissenters are targeted solely for their ideas and become victims of a systematic policy of annihilation.

The severe persecution and pressures put forward also force people to take life-threatening paths, taking all kinds of risks. The casualties on these roads are the victims and victims of this genocide process...

2-Definition and Stages of Genocide

Genocide is typically defined as actions intended to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group. This process usually involves classification, symbolization, discrimination, organization, persecution, extermination, and denial stages.

In international law, genocide was defined as a crime under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Examples of genocide in human history include the Holocaust, Rwanda, and Srebrenica genocides.

3-The Dark Faces of Similar Regimes

Throughout world history, many regimes, similar to the Erdoğan Regime in Turkey, have followed a systematic policy of annihilation by imprisoning dissenters.

These regimes are known for human rights violations, tortures, and unlawful trials. Particularly, the 20th-century dictatorships in Latin America, the Stalin era in the Soviet Union, and North Korea stand out for such practices.

4-Genocide in Turkish and International Law

Turkish Law, reflecting international legal norms, recognizes genocide as a crime. However, there are significant challenges in practice regarding the definition of this crime and its prosecution.

In international law, genocide and crimes against humanity are regulated by documents like the Rome Statute and are under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

...

Turkey, as a state that has embraced the fundamental principles of international law, has defined genocide and crimes against humanity in its legal texts and prescribed punishments for them. In this context, the Constitution, the Turkish Penal Code (TPC), and international treaties constitute the foundation for the prosecution of these crimes within the Turkish legal system.

a) The Constitution and Genocide

The Constitution of the Republic of Turkey aims to protect human rights and ensure the fundamental rights and freedoms.

Although it does not directly reference genocide or crimes against humanity, the Constitution implicitly supports the prevention of such crimes within the framework of protecting fundamental rights and freedoms.

b) The Turkish Penal Code and Genocide

Articles 76 and subsequent of the TPC, titled Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, explicitly define genocide and the crimes committed against humanity and specify the penalties for them.

Genocide is defined as actions committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group. Crimes against humanity encompass a wide range of actions; these crimes are committed as part of a systematic attack against a civilian population and constitute offenses under international law.

c) International Treaties

As part of the international community in the prevention and punishment of genocide, Turkey has signed and ratified many international treaties, including the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

These treaties provide a basis for the prosecution of genocide and crimes against humanity within the Turkish legal system.

d) Supreme Court Decisions and Jurisprudence

In the Turkish judiciary, there are few cases related to genocide and crimes against humanity, and the trial of such cases is rare.

However, the Supreme Court's decisions on these crimes are interpreted and applied in accordance with international law norms.

When evaluating cases related to genocide and crimes against humanity, the Supreme Court considers the requirements of international law and the treaties to which Turkey is a party.

...

The Turkish legal system has adopted the fundamental principles of international law concerning the prevention and punishment of genocide and crimes against humanity. The Constitution, TPC, and international treaties create the legal framework for combating these crimes.

However, the limited number of judicial decisions and jurisprudence related to these crimes indicates a need for greater awareness and judicial capacity development in Turkey in this area.

Genocide and crimes against humanity are not only a national issue but also a universal responsibility and a common concern of the international community.

5-Conclusion: The Systematic Genocide by the Erdoğan Regime

This work emphasizes that genocide is not just a matter of history but a continuing crime against humanity today and highlights the human aspect of these processes.

...

Each chapter is enriched with both legal and academic information as well as individual stories and poems. This way, it becomes possible to understand not only the theoretical but also the real-life impact of genocide on people's lives.

This foreword and the book aim to voice the forgotten, in pursuit of justice and preventing similar tragedies in the future.

THERE ARE TENS OF THOUSANDS of people from all professions and groups who lost their lives on the roads while escaping the genocide...

It is necessary to give special place to each of them, and to remember everyone properly. But it is impossible to achieve this in a book.

That's why we tried to create this rough portrait with as many exemplary people as we could from every profession. I hope that as long as we live, we will try to include everyone's experiences. Therefore, those whose names we cannot include in the current study should forgive us.

...

Concluding the preface:

Endless thanks to everyone who helped translate the book into different languages and contributed to the book.

06 April 2024

Ramazan Faruk GÜZEL

BALLAD OF WITHERING LIVES ON THE ROADS

GETTING STARTED:

A note thrown into the sea...

THROUGHOUT THE ANNALS of time, humanity's narrative has been punctuated by the somber movements of those fleeing persecution. From ancient mythologies where mortals and deities alike sought sanctuary from celestial wrath, to historical exoduses that shaped the very continents we reside on, the quest for a haven has been a constant echo in the human