Zini Gediği Massacre

The Dersim Operation began.

Seyit Rıza, his son, and five friends were executed in Elazığ.

The Dersim operations ended. Some of the survivors were exiled to various settlements in Western Anatolia and Thrace, primarily Çanakkale, Edirne, Balıkesir, Burdur, Susurluk, Keşan, and Kırklareli.

Doğan Kılıç, along with 15 relatives of the missing, initiated legal proceedings by applying to the Erzincan Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, demanding an investigation into the Zini Gediği Massacre and the prosecution of those responsible.

Doğan Kılıç, İzzet Algör, and Murat Koç applied to the relevant military authority, requesting a new investigation into the killing of their fathers at Zini Gediği. The file was sent to Erzincan; however, no action was taken, stating "no such incident occurred."

Initiated by Erdal Kılıçkaya, a comprehensive oral history project was launched to transmit the narratives of witnesses and relatives of the missing from the Zini Gediği Massacre to future generations. This work, which recorded the pain, testimonies, and search for truth, became one of the most important steps in the struggle for memory against oblivion.

Erdal Kılıçkaya brought the Zini Gediği Massacre to public attention with the YOL TV programs he prepared and presented. Extensive interviews with relatives of the missing were broadcast in segments, while the dark aspects of the massacre were addressed through special broadcasts and discussion programs.

Erdal Kılıçkaya contributed to the wider recognition of the Zini Gediği Massacre through national television programs, articles, and interviews.

Families who lost relatives at Zini Gediği gathered in Kılıçkaya village and commemorated the victims for the first time in 73 years. It was announced that legal proceedings would be initiated to locate mass graves, conduct DNA analysis, and return the missing to their families.

Following the emergence of human bones due to soil erosion, relatives of the victims officially applied to the Erzincan Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, requesting an investigation of the mass grave.

The Erzincan Public Prosecutor's Office evaluated the application without visiting the scene, examining media images, or collecting any evidence. It characterized the incident as "an event related to public order issues" and decided not to prosecute on the grounds of the statute of limitations.

Following the Erzincan Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's statute of limitations decision, CHP Dersim Deputy Hüseyin Aygün, Cihan Söylemez (one of the case's lawyers), Canpolat Yakar and Kadriye Çetinkaya (children of massacre victims), and former SHP Erzincan Deputy Ali İbrahim Tutu and İbrahim Aktaş held a joint press conference in the TBMM Group Management Hall.

The Tunceli High Criminal Court rejected the objection to the Zini Gediği file. Lawyers announced that they would take the case to the European Court of Human Rights (AİHM).

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç received representatives of the European Dersim Associations Federation and relatives of Zini Gediği victims. During the meeting, the demand for DNA analysis of the bones and their return to their families was conveyed.

The Confederation of European Alevi Unions and the Federation of European Dersim Associations, in their joint statement, called for the opening of the mass grave at Zini Gediği and the conduct of DNA analysis.

The TBMM Petition Commission processed the request for the investigation of mass graves from the Dersim 1937-1938 period, including Zini Gediği, and for DNA analysis to be conducted.

The Zini Gediği case was taken to the European Court of Human Rights (AİHM), and the process continues before the AİHM.

"Zini Memorial Sites Project Proposal" was prepared for Zini Gediği by Prof. Dr. Şükrü Aslan (sociologist), Prof. Dr. Bülent Çınar (sculptor), and Seçkin Bilgin (architect).

"Ateş Çemberi" was constructed in Kılıçkaya village of Erzincan in memory of the 97 lives massacred at Zini Gediği.

The "Ateş Çemberi" in Kılıçkaya village was dismantled and rolled into a stream.

The "Zini Gediği Commemoration-Remembrance Site" was constructed at Zini Gediği.

It was determined that the Zini Gediği Commemoration-Remembrance Site was destroyed by unidentified individuals.

The Zini Gediği Initiative published a press statement titled "Vandal Attack on Zini Gediği Memorial Site!" condemning the destruction of the memorial site.

HDP Istanbul Deputy Ali Kenanoğlu brought the attack on the Zini Gediği Memorial Site to the agenda of the TBMM General Assembly.

HDP Deputy Zeynel Özen brought the destruction of the Zini Gediği Memorial Site to the Parliament's agenda with a parliamentary question requesting a response from Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, and demanded that those responsible be held accountable before the law.

HDP Muş Deputy Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit, in her statement, called for a genuine confrontation with the Dersim Massacre.

Green Left Party Istanbul Deputy Celal Fırat submitted a parliamentary question to the TBMM, requesting a response from Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. Fırat demanded the disclosure of the names of those who ordered the Zini Gediği Massacre and the commanders serving in the 9th Corps, 3rd Division, and affiliated units of that period.

DEM Parti Istanbul Deputy Celal Fırat called on the TBMM to address the Zini Gediği Massacre and meet all legitimate demands of the victim families.

DEM Parti Dersim Deputy Ayten Kordu submitted a parliamentary question requesting the establishment of a Parliamentary Investigation Commission in the TBMM to investigate the Zini Gediği Massacre.

On the 88th anniversary of the massacre, the digital archive — Zini Gediği Massacre Memorial Center — compiling over 2,700 photographs, 87 videos, and more than 60 documents and testimonies collected by Erdal Kılıçkaya, was launched at zinigedigi.com.