From: "Irina Malenko" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 22:34:31 +0100 To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "Editor" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "Svetlana" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: sipil�, heikki <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Please also forward it to our Turkish comrades - Irish solidarity Turkish hunger strike raised in Dail As the death toll in the hunger strike in Turkey reached 26 last week, Sinn Fein TD Caoimhghin O Caolain raised the issue in the Dail [the lower house of the Dublin parliament] and called on the Irish government to protest in the strongest terms to the Turkish government. The Sinn Fein TD raised the hunger strike in the Dail on 28 June. He said: "Since late last year, hundreds of prisoners from Turkish and Kurdish political organisations have been fasting in protest at the imposition of a new prison regime which adds greatly to the brutality already experienced by political prisoners in that country. Relatives have also fasted in solidarity and are among the dead. "In our struggle for freedom, 22 people have died on hunger strike since 1917 and three of them - Terence McSwiney, Bobby Sands and Kieran Doherty - were elected representatives of the Irish people. Former Deputy Kieran Doherty was elected in Cavan/Monaghan, the constituency I have the honour to represent in this House. "A prison protest by political prisoners has a deep resonance with the Irish people. The comparisons between the current crisis in Turkish jails and our own experience in Ireland are striking. In December last year, prisoners were forcibly transferred from large dormitory-style prisons to new maximum security prisons with one or three person cells. This forcible movement took place among scenes of great violence in which prisoners were killed. Just as attempted criminalisation in the H-Blocks replaced imprisonment of political prisoners in Long Kesh concentration camp, so the Turkish regime is attempting to criminalise its political hostages in F-type prisons. "The prisoners concerned come from a wide variety of political groupings with varying demands. However, it is clear that all are victims of prison brutality in a state which is notorious the world over for its human rights violations. Turkey has more than 10,000 political prisoners and they are trade unionists, human rights activists, democrats, artists, socialists, writers, Kurdish nationalists and so on. "The torture and isolation in Turkish prison have been condemned by groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch and the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture. The Turkish government has remained impervious. A media wall of silence has surrounded the prison crisis inside and outside Turkey. "Given the fact that Turkey is one of the states seeking membership of the EU under enlargement, and given the fact that we who opposed Nice were told we were against enlargement and were isolationist, this media and political silence is ironic. I strongly urge the government to protest in the strongest possible terms to the government of Turkey. I look forward to the Minister of State's reply." Replying on behalf of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen, Minister of State, Martin Cullen said the government "remains seriously concerned about the situation in Turkish prisons". He said the Irish ambassador to Turkey had raised the matter of the hunger strikes at the highest level, including with Foreign Minister Cem and the ambassador had "strongly reiterated the government's appeal of 25 April to the Turkish government to continue its efforts to address existing problems and to prevent further tragic loss of life". Cullen said they had also called on the prisoners and their representatives to participate as a matter of urgency in efforts to seek a solution. "Most recently, at the EU Association Council with Turkey, held in Brussels on 26 June, the Union stressed to Foreign Minister Cem the priority it attached to a just and humanitarian resolution of the hunger strike issues and to the general reform of the prison system in Turkey," said Cullen. _________________________________________________ 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] __________________________________________________
