Burcu Karakaş

How is genocide documented? How can spatial design be used as an instrument of genocide? What is the relationship between architecture and genocide? In what ways does urban planning play a role in genocide? Eyal Weizman, an architect, has pursued these questions. He was inspired to develop the concept of “forensic architecture” by what he witnessed in the land where he was born and raised. He recently gave an eye-opening talk titled “The Architecture of Genocide” in Istanbul, based on “Forensic Architecture” reports documenting Israel’s genocide in Gaza. We met Weizman during the summit for a ceasefire in Gaza, where he issued important warnings regarding the reconstruction process.

Following the 3-year and 9-month prison sentence given to Van Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayor Abdullah Zeydan, another DEM Party municipality was appointed a trustee. Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality also faced two trustee appointments in 2016 and 2019. We spoke to Serra Bucak, Co-Mayor of Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality, about the social and political consequences of the trusteeship practices after Zeydan was sentenced to prison. Regarding the trustee appointments, Bucak said, ‘Even though the government persistently and stubbornly does not learn lessons from undemocratic methods, the people have always said and will say, 'No matter what you do, we are on the side of the just struggle.' The government must now digest and accept the will of the people and give up these anti-democratic practices."