From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sat, 28 Apr 2001 02:25:22 +0200 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Ozgurluk] TDN: Prisoners situation still unsolved 04-27-01 Prisoners situation still unsolved Serdar Alyamac Despite the bills prepared by the Justice Minister to change the Article 16 of the Anti-terrorism Law allowing the inmates in F-type prisons to come together for sports, education, work, social and cultural activities, the death fast launched by the members of the leftist groups in Turkey's various prisons continues. The inmates demands are as follows: the cancellation of the application of the new cell-based F-type prison, annulment of the State Security Court (DGM) and a formation of a commission including the doctors, lawyers, prisoners' relatives and representatives of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to inspect the prisons. The bills concerning the execution of judgeship, the watching committees on Punishment and Execution Institutions, were approved in the Justice Commission in Parliament. Though some organizations announced they support the bills, which should be immediately passed in Parliament, it was not enough. The assistant chairman of People's Democracy Party (HADEP) Hamit Geylani in his written statement called for the Justice Minister to implement the Article 16 changes of the Anti-terrorism Law without waiting for the approval of Parliament. Saying that the state continued to witness inmates deaths, Geylani claimed that the state has procrastinated in stopping the death fasts. Pointing out that the bills had been on the agenda for months, Geylani said that though the bills were complicated, HADEP supports this change which would be the beginning of a positive development. He added that the a rooted solution would be with a rooted democracy. Geylani said that the state has to do whatever it must do to end the fasting, because all citizen's lives were under the state's responsibility and guarantee. The Chairman of the Izmir Bar Association, Noyan Ozkan also said that there was no time to lose. He added: "It was wrong to implement policy on these bills prepared by the Justice Ministry. It is not certain that these bills would be approved in Parliament. The Justice Ministry should make some administrative changes and without waiting for these bills' approval in Parliament, all the changes underlined in these bills should be implemented. They say that they would send the bills to Parliament next week, but until next week, at least 10 inmates or more could die." Ozkan, talking about the bills, said that it was a reform act and should be supported. The executive committee of the Confederation of the Turkish Labor Union (Turk-Is) released a written statement and called for the government to end the fasting immediately. The statement said: "The death fast has caused 19 people to lose their lives so far and brought a lot of inmates to the door of the death. For that reason, hours, even minutes are important now." In the statement, it was claimed that with the bills prepared by the Justice Ministry which would allow the inmates in the F-type prison to come together for sports, work, social and cultural activities meant the government accepted the non-humanistic conditions in prisons. "Leading the prisons to international standards of human rights is more important to Turkey than everything. It is clear that the lives of inmates are under the state's responsibility. We as the executive committee of Turk-Is, call for the government to do everything to immediately end the death fast which is damaging Turkey's image in world public opinion," the statement said. Chairman of the Izmir Chamber of Doctors, Fatuh Surenkok said that faster prisoner Ayse Eren, who accepted the medical treatment when she was about to lose consciousness is getting better though her condition is severe. In a related story, one of two fasters, members of Ozgur TAYAD (Association for Solidarity for Inmates' Family), who have been on the death fast in order to support the inmates in prisons, was hospitalized on the demand of his family. Following the death of Erdogan Guler on Tuesday, Ahmet Candemir Ozdemir's family has applied to the prosecutor to hospitalize and medically treat Ozdemir. Izmir - Turkish Daily News -- Press Agency Ozgurluk In Support of the Revolutionary Peoples Liberation Struggle in Turkey http://www.ozgurluk.org _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
