AMED – In the final declaration of the “Road to Peace: Memory and Justice” conference held by the Human Rights Association (İHD) in Amed (Diyarbakır), participants called on building social peace. The gathering emphasized the importance of collective responsibility, truth, and justice for a lasting peace process. 

 

The conference took place on June 21-22 in Amed and brought together a wide range of actors, including citizens affected by conflict, civil society organisations, bar associations, researchers, rights defenders, and academics. The final declaration was presented during a press conference at the İHD Amed Branch, with İHD Co-chair Huseyin Küçükbalaban in attendance. 

 

Speaking at the press conference, İHD Co-Chair Hüseyin Küçükbalaban stressed that the testimonies from victims and families once again highlighted the urgent need for peace. 

 

Referring to Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan’s “Call for Peace and a Democratic Society” issued on February 27, and the PKK’s subsequent ceasefire and disarmament congress held on May 12, Küçükbalaban said: “While some parties have taken steps in the past eight months, the state has not taken any serious steps visible to society. Despite statements from figures like Bahçeli, the government remains largely inactive in the process.”

 

Küçükbalaban warned that ongoing Turkish military operations in South Kurdistan pose a serious threat to the ceasefire and disarmament process: “These operations against a party that has declared a ceasefire risk sabotaging the entire process. The state must take steps at the political, military, and bureaucratic levels, at the very least, it must halt military operations and open space for political dialogue.”

 

TESTIMONIES CALL FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE

 

Ercan Yılmaz, Chair of İHD’s Amed Branch, read the final declaration and stated that the conference was shaped by the testimonies of people directly affected by war and violence. “Testimonies of extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, village evacuations, curfews, and military operations revealed that the need for justice remains unmet,” Yılmaz said. 

Messages from the mothers of Uğur Kaymaz and Eren Bülbül were also highlighted as symbolic efforts to bridge collective suffering and strengthen a shared call for peace.

 

The declaration noted that issues such as impunity, the state’s avoidance of responsibility, and its failure to reckon with the past have deepened social mistrust. Still, many participants emphasized their commitment to peace and the need for everyone to assume responsibility.

 

MAIN CHALLENGES IDENTIFIED

 

The key problems identified during the conference included: 

 

“*Lack of truth and reckoning with the past; continuation of policies of impunity

 

*Persistence of militarized, security-based approaches despite the declared ceasefire

 

*Exclusion of civil society organisations with expertise and experience from the process

 

*Underrepresentation of women, youth and minority identities in dialogue mechanisms

 

*Failure to document and preserve collective memory through testimonies

 

*Absence of a peace-oriented discourse in government and pro-government media

 

KEY RECOOMENDATIONS FROM CIVIL SOCIETY 

 

On the second day, civil society actors shared their experiences and solutions. The declaration outlined several key recommendations: 

 

“*Organize inclusive gathering that bring together all communities affected by conflict, including those from opposing social and political backgrounds

 

*The parliament must immediately address the issue of ill and political prisoners, eliminate discriminatory practices in the Penal and Anti-Terror Laws

 

*The release of public servants held by the PKK would contribute positively to the process

 

*Implement European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and Constitutional Court rulings without delay

 

*Recognize civil society actors as legitimate stakeholders and include them in the process

 

*Establish independent truth commissions and open state archives to researchers

 

*Enable the return of displaced villagers under safe and dignified conditions

 

*Reinstate public servants dismissed by emergency decrees (KHK) and ensure legal protections

 

*Guarantee women’s equal participation in all peacebuilding processes

 

*Complete and open the Diyarbakır No. 5 Prison Memory Museum to the public

 

*Provide constitutional guarantees for mother tongue and cultural rights based on equal citizenship

 

*Cancel the appointment of trustees (kayyım) and reinstate elected mayors”

 

Yılmaz concluded: “The testimonies of victims and families underscore the urgent need for a new societal foundation based on truth and justice. The wide participation in the conference and the diversity of perspectives show that peace must be pursued not only as a political goal but as a collective social responsibility.”