>From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: "[Ozgurluk.Org]" TP: Background on Hungerstrike/US knew what was >24 December, 2000, Turkish Probe issue 414, > >The Cost of 'Return to Life' is High > >According to official sources, 18 people, according to the unofficial >sources about 40 people died during operation 'Return to Life' which was >organized to save prisoners on death fasts. But the death fasts did not >end and the prisoners taken to hospital objected to treatment The >ministers of health, justice and the interior made contradictory statements >about the operation and this raised certain questions. Another point which >raised questions was about a telephone call made between prisons and >filtered to the media The greatest reaction against the operation was that >of the mediators who tried to achieve agreement between the prisoners on >death fasts and officials. As the transfers to the F-type prisons began >the mediators stated one after the other that they 'had been deceived' > >Inci Hekimoglu > >During the large-scale prison operation code named "Return to Life" and >intended as a forced rescue of prisoners who were on death fasts in order >to protest the F-type prison project, 18 people died according to official >figures while the death toll is said to be close to 40 based on unofficial >accounts. > >Hundreds of people were injured and two soldiers died during the operation. >While the aim of the plan based on 20 prisons across Turkey was to end the >death fast, the protest had in fact entered its 63rd day at the time of >writing. Numerous protestors who were taken to hospital rejected medical >intervention. Numerous of demonstrators throughout Turkey have been taken >in custody after being beaten with billy-clubs and ill-handled. > >Meanwhile, the intervention of security forces lasted rather long in the >Umraniye and Canakkale prisons because of the stiff resistance. Worried >that the death toll may increase, chair of Istanbul Bar Association Yucel >Sayman offered to start a new mediation effort but government officials did >not agree and stated that the prisoners should "surrender unconditionally." > >As the operation continued transfers to F-type prisons began despite the >promise of the justice minister two days prior to the operation that, >"There will be no transfers to F-type prisons until such time as social >consensus is reached and the opening of F-type prisons is postponed >indefinitely." The representatives of civic associations and intellectuals >who had mediated for days between the government and the prisoners in order >to forestall a possible operation reacted strongly to the event and said >they had been "deceived" to which Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk >retorted: "The operations were the last resort. No one has been used or >deceived." > >The statements that were made as the operation went on raised a number of >questions. For instance, Health Minister Osman Durmus said regarding the >death fasters who were hospitalized that: "Their condition is good. There >is no death fast and this is why we cannot say which day [of the fast] they >are on." The justice minister said these people had taken some "dry foods >and vitamins" but the chairman of the Ankara Doctors' Chamber (ATO), Umit >Erkol, said that they had observed all the symptoms of death fasters on the >people who were brought to Numune Hospital after the operation. Another >pointaised doubt was the cassette distributed by the Interior Minister. >The minister said that this was a taped recording of a phone conversation >between inmates in two prisons. According to the recorded conversation, >the leader of an organization in Bayrampasa Prison had called someone in >Bartin Prison after the start of the operation and gave an order for people >to burn themselves. Yet no cell phones were found during a subsequent >search in Bartin prison. > >The beginning of a 'dramatic story' > >The event needs to be traced back to 1996 when the discussion about F-type >prisons first surfaced and 12 political prisoners died in death fasts. The >then justice minister, Sevket Kazan, made statements that have become >classics by now and said that "no one is on a death fast, everybody is >eating" until the corpses started to come out of the prisons. The >"cell-type prison project" was suspended thereafter and brought up again >last July. It was clear at the time that the construction of the prisons >which had proceeded silently and without anyone's knowledge would be >completed only after bloodshed. A number of civic associations, >professional organizations and intellectuals predicted the outcome and made >countless efforts to create a social debate and consensus around a solution >offered by the government instead of having an "imposed" solution. A >number of groups including the bar, doctors', engineers' and architects' >associations called the government to a "debate," yet a participatory >framework which people had been trying to create for five months was >ignored by the authorities who preferred a policy of "silence and >imposition." > >The relatives of arrested and convicted individuals missed no opportunity >to tell the government and the press that "these prisons should not be >opened; otherwise, the children will resist on all counts." The families >which wanted to meet authorities in order to make their voices heard and >express their concerns were stopped at city limits or inside and beaten -- >some of them to the point where they were hospitalized -- until they made >their way to Ankara. Discussions were fruitless and the justice minister >sought to persuade the families by telling "the benefits of the F-type." Of >course they were not convinced. The ministry then organized "prison tours" >in order to convince the press and told "selected" journalists that they >were on a par with luxury hotels. Yet the discussion did not end since the >main problem was not with the architecture of the buildings but the >functioning of the system. > >Later on, a group consisting of the prison committee of the Istanbul Bar >Association and representatives of the Turkish Doctors' Union (TTB) and the >Turkish Union of Engineers' and Architects' Chambers (TMMOB) researched >F-type prisons and prepared a report. According to this report these >prisons that were geared to break the personality of the prisoners by >isolating them had a number of drawbacks for their physical and mental >health. In fact, some among the European countries and state governments >in the United States had seen these drawbacks early on and were replacing >the F-type prisons with the modular system. And their action was motivated >by security as well as humanitarian concerns. Melda Turker, a specialist >in criminal procedures law who worked in a number of U.S. prisons, argued >for the benefits of the modular system and criticized the F-type on the >following grounds: "These prisons are not high-security like they are >purported to be. They are a version of the linear system whose ecurity >drawbacks were scientifically proved." Yet as the voices of the experts >and concerned groups fell on deaf ears and the drawn-out but unilateral >discussions seemed to be fruitless, hunger strikes started in a prisons all >over Turkey and then turned into death fasts. > >The 'fatal' ultimatums > >The countdown started with the death fast. The fast which started 67 days >ago was initially met with silence. As the days passed, it was first >mentioned with a few lines and then appeared in the columns. >Representatives of professional organizations, several writers, journalists >and Parliamentary Human Rights Commission member Professor Mehmet Bekaroglu >were worried about this silent process and offered to mediate. > >The demand was accepted by the both sides and the doors of the prison >opened to mediators. Hopeful meetings stopped soon thereafter. The >justice minister promised the prisoners by saying: "We postpone the F-type >prison project for an indefinite period. We won't implement it unless >social consensus is reached." But the fact that he did not want to discuss >how many people would stay in the rooms and insisted that there would be no >return to the ward system did not satisfy the prisoners. Still, the fact >that he talked about "postponement for an indefinite time and social >consensus" was a positive step for some people. > >Moreover mediators tried to persuade the demonstrating prisoners that this >was good enough at this point and to start the discussion process. But the >fasters revealed their distrust of the state by saying "they gave promises >beforehand but they did not keep them." Similarly, the minister of justice >had not given orders for the "Ulucanlar massacre" but he then had to defend >it. The demonstrators said, "We cannot see a concrete reason to stop the >action." It was difficult to go further at this point. > >The ultimatums of "death" received an answer after a short time. The prime >minister made a statement shortly afterwards and said "If the press does >not write about it, the problem will be quickly solved." Then the State >Security Court (DGM) stated that "some news about the death fasts showed >the state as weak" and announced a ban. The "silent tension," which >started when the meetings were interrupted, was slowly dispelled through >the initiatives of Virtue Party (FP) Deputy Mehmet Bekaroglu and Istanbul >Bar Association Chairman Yucel Sayman. But according to Bekaroglu, the >justice minister did not respond to this initiative and said "it was no >longer necessary." > >Reactions > >The reactions to the operation were divided into two. Almost all the >deputies expressed support for the government and said it was "even late to >intervene." The only stray voice came from Mehmet Bekaroglu, who acted as a >mediator. Bekaroglu said in hard terms that he "had been used and deceived >by the government." He continued: "Minister Turk should resign. In >addition, if the transfers to F-type prisons are permanent, I will also >resign from the parliamentary human rights commission." Journalist Oral >Calislar, one of the mediators, also claimed that the public was deceived. > > >The fact that transfers to F-type prisons started despite the promise given >by Turk also drew the reaction of Sayman. His response was similar to that >of Bekaroglu; he said that he sought to establish contact with the >government and continued: "A solution could be devised. The prisoners had >expressed a demand to restart the negotiations. Yet Turk did not accept. >A solution could have been found but it was not tried. In addition, the >fact that the transfers were started despite the minister's promise raised >the question of 'was the operation made to start the transfer to F-type >prisons' and put into doubt the sincerity of the minister." > >Among the people who reacted to the events were the bar associations, >TMMOB, TTB, the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Union (DISK) and >the Confederation of Public Employees' Unions (KESK), the Freedom and >Solidarity PDP) and the Laborers' Party (EMEP). > >It seems as though reaction and discussion will continue for some time >after the operation is over. But has the problem been resolved? The >demonstrators are continuing the death fast in the hospitals and other >places to which they have been transferred. In addition, reliable sources >state that a number of the patients suffer from a trauma of the head or >body. The bill of this operation made to save lives but which led to high >causalities has been high. The public now expects that the number of >casualities and the reasons for death be stated with utter clarity. > > > > > >Contradictions > >The Health Minister Osman Durmus said, "There is no death fast so how is it >possible to determine how many days have gone by?" as a response the >Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk who said, "The action was at a vital >point and so interference was necessary." Interior Minister Sadettin Tantan >made a similar statement and said, "There is nobody on a death fast." In >addition, Tantan said: "Operations had been organized for one year. >Models of the prisons had been prepared and everything was planned in >details," as a response to Turk who said: "Nobody was deceived, we were >forced to carry out the operation." > >Another suspicious situation appeared about telephone records, which were >distributed by Tantan to the media. According to the tape records, the >leader of the organization in Bayrampasa Prison instructed the prisoners in >Bartin Prison "to set themselves on fire" via mobile phone. But the mobile >phone was not found in the investigation in Bartin Prison. And these >questions then came up: > >1- If the information that the mobile phone networks were closed before the >operation, how were the conversations possible? If the information is not >true, why were measures to prevent the conversations not taken? > >2- It is said that there are satellite phones in prisons but it is also >stated that satellite phones cannot be used in prisons. Is this >information true? > >3- Is it a coincidence that the words "okay" and "our units," which often >came up the phone call, are also frequently used on the police wireless? > > > > > >Why Did the US Close its Consulates? > >Another claim, which became a current after the operation, was that the >United States had been informed about the prison operation 10 days in >advance. According to the claim, the U.S. closed its Adana and Istanbul >consulates and information centers because of the possibillity of an attack >by the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C). The U.S. >Embassy in Ankara, which followed F-type discussions closely, sent a report >to Washington 10 days before the operation and stated that "there is no >development in discussions and the government is making preparations for an >operation." The United States then considered the probability that DHKP/C, >which is included in its list of "terrorist organizations," may attack >their offices after an operation. > >The United States closed the consulates on Dec. 12 and stated that the >offices would not be opened until the tense situation in Turkey was over. > > >-- >Press Agency Ozgurluk >In Support of the Revolutionary Peoples Liberation Struggle in Turkey >http://www.ozgurluk.org >DHKC: http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc > > _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi _______________________________________________________ Kominform list for general information. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Anti-Imperialism list for geopolitics. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________________
