>Subject: "[Ozgurluk.Org]" Turkey: Hungerstrike Looming > >27 August ,2000, Turkish Probe issue 397 > >Hunger Strikes Looming > >TAYAD members who have voiced their protests over F-type >prisons are preparing to start a hunger strike >More than 200 people were taken into custody in just two months >of protests over F-type prisons > >They were mentioned in every hunger strike that was staged in >prisons, every operation by security forces and in every >uprising. They went on a hunger strike, kept vigil in front of >the prisons or went to hospitals to be informed about their >injured relatives. They were mentioned in every news program >about prisoners arrested and convicted on political grounds. >For the past month they have organized frequent demonstrations >against F-type prisons, an issue that has become highly >charged. These people who have made themselves heard through >their political actions are the prisoners' families. They >formed an organization called TAYAD, which stands for the >Association for Inmates' Families' Solidarity -- a group >established to champion the cause of arrested and convicted >individuals. > >The relatives of thousands of people who were taken into >custody and tried after the coup d'etat of Sept. 12, 1980, >joined forces to get information about their lost relatives or >to find where they were buried. These people, who due to >circumstance met each other in front of prisons or police >stations, decided to act together to address their common >problems. This attitude crystallized in the 1980s, when the >repercussions of the military intervention were felt most >strongly. > >The first action by prisoners' relatives was triggered by a >hunger strike started by prisoners arrested or convicted on >political grounds. At the time they had wanted to protest >against human rights infringements. They applied to the chief >of general staff, Parliament, the ministries and other >institutions and presented petitions. They visited academics >and journalists. They also staged a sit-in in front of the >Presidential Palace in Cankaya. > >When they did not achieve results they decided on another >sit-in in Istanbul and organized a march to the Taksim >monument, unfurling a banner that read, "Improve the state of >prisons, end the hunger strike." This is also when they >endured their first public beating. While the hunger strike >ended with the deaths of four people, some of the demands made >by prisoners' relatives were accepted. Their experiences, the >beatings and detentions caused people to come together under >one roof. TAYAD was officially founded on Feb. 3, 1986. > >'There will be much bloodshed' > >TAYAD members did not give up on their imprisoned relatives >even when they were tried in court. They have been very >anxious recently and with their 20 years of experience >following the coup d'etat, they say, "There will be bloodshed, >the blood of our loved ones will be shed." They are referring >to their children, husbands and brothers. They add, "But they >will have to kill us first." The reason for these words is the >new smaller-cell-type prisons. They are determined, but their >eyes remain tearful and they say insistently: "They won't make >our children enter those cells. We won't stand by passively. >They will kill us first and then only them [our loved ones]." > >TAYAD members describe F-type prisons as, "The places where >our children will be buried alive." The families, who state >that their children say, "We won't lie in these coffins, we >will die if necessary," accept that there are problems in >prisons and enunciate them as follows: > >"The problem is that sick people are prevented from getting >medical care and are left to die. The problem is their right >to a fair defense is obstructed and they cannot meet their >lawyers under favorable conditions. The problem is the pain >and insults we have to suffer when we visit them. The problem >is that our children enjoy no personal security and are killed >under torture. But the solution to these problems is not >cells. On the contrary, the cells will make all these issues >more difficult and cause new problems. Prisoners will be >isolated and separated from each other. Can you imagine a life >when you are deprived of your needs? ... It is forbidden to >talk to friends, listen to music or read newspapers. Lonely >days for months or years... How can someone bear it?" > >Small-cell-type prisons, which became a major issue with >proposed implementation of the plan at Eskisehir Prison in >1986, were not put into practice because of opposition from >families. In 1996 hunger strikes in response to the planned >changes in cell structures turned into "death fasts" and the >decision [to build F-type prisons] was withdrawn following the >deaths of 12 people. Not only detainees but also families >participated in the fasts in mass protest. > >Reminiscent of days past, the relatives of arrested and >convicted individuals say that a hunger strike is impending. >They say, "Solve this problem before there is a 'death fast' >and 10 or 15 people die." The families are resolute: "If they >go on a hunger strike, so will we; if they start a 'death >fast,' so will we. Even now we are unable to enjoy a meal." > >Some relatives point out they cannot bear to see their family >members dying slowly, and say: "Do not let them go on a >[hunger] strike this time. If necessary, we will do it. If >they kill us, then they will be next. But let's do our best >first." They add: "We know that they will die because of a >'death fast' or in operations by security forces. But no one >can persuade them to enter the [new type of] cells." > >Nadire Celik: There Will be Much Bloodshed > >Nadire Celik is 60 years old. She has been a TAYAD member for >10 years. Her two sons are in prison. She is among the group >that went to Ankara from Istanbul to meet with the minister of >justice about F-type prisons. Six people were taken into >custody after the meeting. They were released two days later. >Celik, among those who were beaten several times by police on >the way back to Istanbul from Ankara, was also beaten during a >sit-in staged on Aug. 12. Photographers captured the incident >in which she fainted. She has been sick for a week. This is >what she has to say about F-type prisons: > >"They will probably go on a hunger strike. I will start a >hunger strike with them. I support my children. A life without >them means nothing to me. When they put them in the cell, they >should also establish an asylum. We said to the minister of >justice: 'There will be much bloodshed. You will be >responsible. Find a solution.' They find only enough energy to >move around with the meal that we bring them. In any case, >they do not get enough food. They won't be able to take a meal >to their cells. Perhaps they will be strangled and it will be >said that they committed suicide. Or they will be taken to >bathrooms in large numbers to be tortured, as happened in >Ulucanlar Prison. What is not possible in a cell?" > > >Safire Unal: We Don't Want to Lose Anyone Else > >Safire Unal is 40 years old and a TAYAD member. Her husband >has been in prison for four years. She says the following >about F-type prisons and hunger strikes: > >"We paid a high cost... How can a person live alone for months >and years? And someone whose movement is restricted and >monitored... It is terribly painful. They will destroy their >brains and turn them into robots. They will be of no use to >their families when they get out. They will have no quality of >life. > >"We no longer want to lose people. I do not want them to go on >a 'death fast.' I do not want them to go on a hunger strike. I >prefer that they die while putting up a struggle. Everybody >should be against the cells. All civil social institutions and >the public should react." > > > >Mehmet Donmez: They Should >Kill Us First > >Mehmet Donmez is 66 years old. His >son and son-in-law have been >arrested. He is among the group that >went to Ankara. He visited the F-type >prison in Sincan. He says following: > >"There is no [quality of] life in >those prisons. The water and >electricity supply to the cells are located outside of them. >Light and water will be provided if they [the officials] feel >like it. There is a hole in the door to pass food through. >There are two doors. One of them is opens onto a hall and the >other onto a small area outside. The walls are soundproof. >They could torture people if they wished and no one would hear >or see a thing. > >"One thing in particular was noteworthy. They showed us a >large cell; it has neither a window nor a toilet. We were >curious and wanted to know the function of this place. They >said it would be used to incarcerate people who were drunk and >insane. What do you feel when you get such an answer? Is this >a detention room? No, it is prison. What does a mentally >disturbed person do there? None of us were convinced. Maybe >hunger strikes and 'death fasts' will begin again. But I don't >want this to happen. Let us do what is necessary first; let >them kill us and then it will be the turn of our children." > >-- >Press Agency Ozgurluk >In Support of the Peoples Liberation Struggle in Turkey and Kurdistan >http://www.ozgurluk.org >DHKC: http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc > _______________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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