Tragedies from Turkey's recent past are returning to the agenda like a recurring nightmare. One such disaster that cannot be swept away is the massacre at Maras, a southeast city from which almost 80% of its Alevi residents were forced to flee to major cities and abroad. The more the state tries to forget such incidents, the more interest they arouse.

This year a major observance was planned to commemorate the Maras killings, but the government brought in 2,200 police and gendarmes from neighboring cities to try to prevent people from accessing Maras. Those who came in buses were not allowed to enter the city. Those who managed to get in individually organized a small observance. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which profusely discusses the Dersim massacres, for which it blames the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), cannot tolerate even the mention of incidents like Maras, which implicate nationalists and conservatives.

In Maras during Dec. 19-26, 1978, explosives and gun fire — amid provocations of “Communists are burning mosques” and “Our religion is at stake” — resulted in the deaths of 111 people, according to official sources, or 150, according to civil society sources. Most of the victims were Alevis. More than 200 Alevi houses were set on fire, and at least a hundred businesses were destroyed.

In the aftermath, 804 people were tried in court. Some were punished, but the real culprits and planners were never unmasked. What happened in Maras was one of the factors behind the Sept. 12, 1980, military coup. Many believe the deep state blamed the killings on nationalists and religious people to justify the September coup.