We sit in a restaurant, eating and talking. It's been
a hectic, tiring day, full of anxiety about what the
decision would be.
I had gone to her house before I went to work today -
31st of March, 2005 Thursday - to find some
unpublished photographs of the murdered Cypriot
journalist Kutlu Adali to be published in ALITHIA and
YENIDUZEN newspapers. We looked at a bundle of photos
with my sister Ilkay and her daughter Kut who had been
at home this past week because she was down with flu.
`Should we published the photos of the murder?`
`Last time one newspaper did and there was a lot of
reaction.`
`Yes. Maybe we shouldn't, after all.`
Today is the day when the European Human Rights Court
will disclose its decision concerning the murder of
Kutlu Adali. It is a case entitled, `Adali v. Turkey`.
My sister Ilkay sued Turkey for the murder of her
husband and has been fighting a legal battle in
Strasbourg for the last eight years. She was blaming
the police for not investigating the murder properly.
Throughout these eight years she went through hell,
being constantly harassed and intimidated by the
regime, especially during days just before court
proceedings in Strasbourg. She was constantly under
`surveillance`, her phones tapped, her letters opened
and always having some people come and go sent by the
regime to find out the details of her life. She knew
each and every one of these `spies of the regime`
because when you live under harsh conditions, you
develop your sixth sense in order to survive in life.
You can sense danger much easier than anyone else
living under normal conditions. You develop a sense of
feeling other people approaching you and you need to
feel what their intentions are. It's a killing game
since you live in uncertainty and have to create a
balance so that you do not go totally paranoid!
Today is the day we will find out what the decision of
the court will be.
`Shall we call Il?`
Il is the other daughter who had to emigrate to
Istanbul since they would not give her work in Cyprus
due to her father. So did her son, Er who also lives
in Istanbul. Only Kut remained in Cyprus though she
did try once to live in Istanbul but didn't like it
there, preferring Cyprus to anywhere else in the
world. So she came back and lives in Cyprus, working
on a `temporary basis` in the BRT TV and getting her
`share` of the harassment and uncertainty of living in
the northern part of Cyprus.
Kutlu Adali was not a favorite of the regime. He had
been a close aid of Rauf Denktash when he was very
young, touring the villages with him, publishing
newspapers with him, being his official private
secretary, seeing too much, knowing too much. But as
time passed, it was natural that he would have
conflicts with Denktash and this time, start writing
against Denktash, against the regime, against what he
saw was the problems of Cyprus. He was very critical
of the policies of Turkey in Cyprus. He was writing a
lot about `Cypriot consciousness`, pointing out the
number of flags present on the island: Instead of just
the Cypriot flag, we had flags of Turkey, Greece, UK,
UN dancing in the wind. He was writing a lot about the
guns and tanks used by Cypriots against each other
that were made in the USA. He was complaining a lot
that the Cypriots did not have a `national anthem` but
only used the anthems of the so-called `motherlands`.
But these were ideas that the regime was trying to
destroy! RADIKAL newspaper in Turkey published in
August 2003 a detailed report about the
`Psychological War Plans` and `Psychological
Operations` organized by The National Security
Council of Turkey. According to the media reports NSC
and Psychological Operations Department under the
General Staff of Turkey were carrying out the
`psychological war plans`. According to columnist Ali
Bayramoglu from YENI SAFAK newspaper, `The Operation
Falcon` psychological war plan carried out in the
northern part of Cyprus aimed to stop the idea of
`Cypriotness` from taking root among people and its
targets were both the media and the people. So Adali
annoyed the regime so much that they made him retire
at an early age, shot at his house and finally killed
him in front of his house in the middle of the street
back in 1996.
In the afternoon we find out what the decision is: the
Adali family has won the case against Turkey in the
European Human Rights Court! Turkey is held
responsible for not carrying out a full investigation
into the murder and will have to pay 20 thousand EURO
to my sister and 75 thousand EURO to her lawyers. Of
course it's not the money that's important - what's
important is the decision where Turkey is held
responsible in this case. My husband says, `After
Titina Loizidou and now your sister's case, it is
clear that even if a bird flies in north Cyprus,
Turkey will be held responsible.` We smile at each
other.
My sister is so happy! And so is her daughter Kut. In
the evening, after things settle down a bit, we sit
down to talk in a restaurant about their feelings. I
interview them for ALITHIA and YENIDUZEN newspapers
and here it is:
*** Ilkay Adali: `I suffered a lot during these eight
years.`
Question: How do you feel?
Ilkay Adali: I am very happy! Psychologically I got
released in the name of my husband Kutlu Adali. I am
very happy about the decision.
Question: You struggled for eight years in Strasbourg
and gave a legal battle. You suffered a lot during
this time.
Ilkay Adali: I had to go through a lot of pain. I got
a lot of repression, threats and harassment. My phones
were tapped. Three days after the murder, I got phone
calls saying `We are coming to your house to rape
you!` They were trying to push us away from Cyprus, to
leave and go to south Cyprus to live. But we did not
leave. Each time I was going to Strasbourg for the
case, a few days before, the harassment would
intensify. They even killed our dog! From time to time
they would cut the electricity and water of my house
or sometimes when I was speaking with my daughter,
those listening to the phones would intervene and say
`It's enough!` And they would cut us off!
Question: Did you feel lonely during this process?
Ilkay Adali: During these 8 years, many people did not
come to my house because they were afraid. Some of
those who came were sent by the regime. But the real
patriots continued to come. Each year we've been
commemorating Adali, we founded the Kutlu Adali
Foundation in his name, we published a lot of his
books. Due to the Adali case in ECHR, I focused on the
case. I would collect documentation and would prepare
for six months and then go to the court because I
would be facing seven lawyers representing Turkey and
north Cyprus. I had to prove that what they were
claiming was not true. Sometimes I would be proving
that they were lying through the documents I had and
then, I was feeling very happy! From time to time they
would cut my electricity, water, telephone lines. When
I first sued Turkey in ECHR, some people were against
this and told me, `Will the ECHR save you?!` They
implied that I was doing this for money. But we had no
such intention as a family. We were not after money.
We wanted the details of the murder to come out and
those guilty to be disclosed.
Question: A lot of those responsible were questioned
by the European Human Rights Court.
Ilkay Adali: With our request some of them were
questioned. If I did not open this case, there would
be no judicial investigation. Even though Kutlu Adali
was murdered in 1996, the judicial investigation was
only carried out in 1998! From 65 witnesses, only 5
were questioned! Some of the eye witnesses of the
murder were sent to Turkey, some died and some of them
were not called to give testimonies. After our
insistence some of these witnesses were questioned in
2002! In June 2003 the ECHR held its hearings in the
Ledra Palace Hotel, questioning some police and
military officials. This was happening for the first
time.
*** Kutlu Adali's daughter Kut Adali:
`He had a great deal of tolerance.`
Question: How do you feel?
Kut Adali: I am both happy and sad. I'm happy with the
decision. But I am sad because my father is not here.
Unfortunately I cannot say that I am very very happy.
We are the first family to open such a case, therefore
I think that this case will open the way to our
community. Maybe others whose families have been
murdered will open similar cases in the European Human
Rights Court in the future. It will be an opening for
those who want to look for justice. I am happy in the
sense that the government in the north could not get
any results but as a family we got results from the
ECHR.
Question: How did you feel the lack of your father all
these years?
Kut Adali: These last eight years were like a
university education for me. I learnt what life is
from the way people behaved towards us. I found out
that there are both good but also very bad people in
this world.
Question: What sort of a person was your father?
Kut Adali: He was very tolerant, peaceful, loving
person. He conquered you with his mind.
Question: When you were a small kid, you always sat
behind him, as he was studying in bed. You were
playing with his hair! And he would continue to read
and write!
Kut Adali: I think he tolerated me most among his
children! He spoiled me a lot! What I liked most about
him was that he did not force any rules, I have the
same attitude. He loved the nature and animals. We
practically grew up with cats and dogs around us. He
was a very patient person and rarely he got really
angry.
I think it is no coincidence that one of his books is
entitled `The weapon of the mind is peace.` We proved
this through this legal battle. We are against
violence and we followed through this path of fighting
legal battles to get results.
Published in ALITHIA newspaper on the 3rd
of April, 2005.
Adali was a True Cypriot hero!
So who are these "unknown" persons or self-interest groups that caused everyone on Turkish side to lose and the enemies of Turkey to gain?
