On December 17, 2004, the European Union (E.U.) decided that Turkey should
continue to the next stage of its application to join the union by setting a date for the
start of formal negotiations for full membership. An impressive track record of human
rights reforms—including the abolition of the death penalty, new protections against
torture, greater freedom of expression, and increased respect for minorities—prompted
the positive decision. Unfortunately the reforms did not help the 378,335 people who
were internally displaced in Turkey during the 1990s.
Mehmet Gurkan, a Kurdish muhtar (headman) from the village of Akcayurt, Diyarbakir province, has not been seen since he was detained by security forces on 18 August 1994. It is believed his detention relates to statements he made to the press in which he alleged that he and many others were tortured while held in a containment area set up at Topcular gendarmerie post after the security forces had burned out his village.