The online sale of T-shirts printed with images of the White Toros, vehicles that became symbols of thousands of enforced disappearances and unsolved murders, by major shopping platforms Trendyol and Hepsiburada has sparked strong public outrage. The White Toros cars are known to have been used in many of the 17,500 unsolved murders that marked the dark years of the 1990s.

Eren Keskin, Co-chair of the Human Rights Association (IHD), spoke to ANF and said: “It is horrifying to profit from people’s pain by producing such T-shirts. As the IHD, we will not let this go unchallenged.”

This situation was reported to IHD’s Şırnak branch

Eren Keskin said, “We were informed through our Şırnak Branch that such T-shirts were being sold on Trendyol and Hepsiburada. IHD Şırnak Branch immediately reported the matter to the headquarters, and we issued a public statement right away.”

The sale of these T-shirts is a result of denying state crimes

Eren Keskin stated that crimes committed by state forces have long been met with impunity, stressing that the use of the White Toros in this way is a direct reflection of this ongoing policy of impunity in Turkey. She noted that these crimes were committed during a period when discussions on resolving the Kurdish question were still ongoing. Keskin said: “On one hand, the political authorities claim that the era of the White Toros was a mistake, yet on the other, Mehmet Agar, the chief driver of the White Toros has remained silent to this day. It is exactly this policy of impunity that fuels the denial of such crimes. In fact, the sale of these T-shirts is the direct outcome of that denial, a continuation of the crimes committed by the deep state and JITEM (Gendarmerie Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Unit).”

As long as impunity exists, this space remains open

Eren Keskin called the brazen printing of White Toros images on T-shirts and their sale on the largest e-commerce platforms a grave indication. Keskin said: “It is horrifying to profit from people’s pain by producing these T-shirts. As the IHD, we will pursue this to the end. Impunity is what encourages this. We will both file criminal complaints and submit applications to every necessary authority. As long as impunity exists, this field will always remain open; such crimes can always be committed. Because neither the perpetrators of the counter-guerrilla murders nor those responsible for enforced disappearances have been punished to date, these kinds of crimes can be carried out so easily.”