Since January 5, 2020, the investigation into the disappearance of Gülistan Doku has continued as a missing person case that has been tearing at Turkey's conscience. While the disappearance of the 21-year-old Munzur University student has been described as ’missing“ for years, recent statements and allegations of evidence tampering have taken the matter to a completely different dimension. Former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel's statement to the prosecutor's office yesterday was shared on social media, especially on the X platform, and became one of the most talked about topics. But will the matter be closed with the statement given by the governor at the prosecutor's office?
The real questions still remain.
Is the fact that the then governor of Tunceli has been arrested for the time being as a result of the prosecutor's testimony and the judge's interrogation regarding the events related to the Gülistan Doku case sufficient to absolve the other officials of the state in the province from responsibility? Where was the provincial police chief at the time?
What was the provincial commander of the gendarmerie doing?
Within what framework did the director of the Public Security Branch fulfill his job description?
Was the mechanism we call the state being placed in the hands of a single person, or were responsibilities “evaporating” as everyone sat in their positions?
We need to speak frankly: When you have all the powers of the state, intelligence units, security forces and judicial mechanisms at your disposal, does “just watching” what is going on fall under the definition of duty?
Or were responsibilities temporarily suspended even though those seats were occupied?
The governor seems to have taken on everything: He became a police officer, a prosecutor, a judge, a doctor, a crime scene investigation team, an IT specialist, a CCTV operator... But for some reason no one saw, heard or noticed anything. To accept this picture as “normal” would really be a story worth telling.
More serious, the career backgrounds of some of the names of that period are remarkable. In particular, the provincial police chief of that period is a man with years of experience, having served at the executive level in the Intelligence Department of the General Directorate of Security between 2002-2009 and 2013-2017.
Let's be clear: When you have intelligence units, security forces and judicial mechanisms at your disposal, is “just watching” what is going on part of your job description?
Is it possible for someone in such a critical unit to be “completely unaware” of an event of this magnitude in the province? If it is possible, it means a much deeper problem in the overall functioning of the system. If not, then we are faced with a completely different picture. The decision is for the public and the judiciary to decide.
This is not a matter that can be closed with the testimony of a single person. On the contrary, it is a matter of collective responsibility involving the entire security and judicial chain of the state. No link in that chain can easily get rid of this burden by saying “I didn't see it, I didn't know”. Because the state is not the sum of individuals; it is built on institutions, procedures, control mechanisms and accountability. If the offices are not “decorations”, it is the most natural right to question whether those sitting in those offices are on duty.
Gülistan Doku's fate is still awaiting clarification. Her family's years of grief, the public's expectation for justice and the credibility of the state show that this case cannot be glossed over with the statement of a governor. As the investigation deepens, the fate of the evidence, camera records, SIM card processes and the role of all relevant units must be revealed one by one. Because justice is served not only through individual testimonies, but through the accountability of every link in the chain.
This incident should not reinforce the perception that “the state was everything and no one was anything”. On the contrary, it should remind us once again that in order for the state to truly be “everything”, responsibilities at every level must be fulfilled to the fullest. Otherwise, similar situations will inevitably repeat themselves.
Public conscience and the rule of law demand a transparent and complete clarification of this case.