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The
hunger strikes, which started in October 2000 in Turkey's
prisons in protest against plans to introduce isolation
prisons for political prisoners, are still continuing.
The total number of martyrs in this struggle is now
95. This figure includes prisoners that died on hunger
strike whilst in prison as well as the deaths of released
prisoners who pursued the hunger strike outside prison.
Alongside the released prisoners the friends and relatives
of prisoners, notably from the TAYAD association for
solidarity with prisoners, have also died in the protest
while on hunger strike. In addition to these deaths,
several hundred prisoners have been left handicapped
to varying degrees as a result of forced feeding by
the prison authorities.
Murders
and massacres by the authorities are also part of
this toll. These include the December 2000 massacre
in which 28 prisoners lost their lives, and the November
5, 2001 Armutlu massacre in which three TAYAD supporters
and a hunger striker were murdered by police in the
Istanbul shantytown where they were continuing their
protest action.
The
protest is being led by the DHKP-C (Revolutionary
People's Liberation Party-Front). Its prisoners have
supplied by far the most martyrs in this struggle,
although other groups have been involved. The initial
hunger strike action involved the DHKP-C and two other
revolutionary groups. After the prison massacre when
the prisoners were transferred to the F-types, a number
of other groups joined in the hunger strike. At the
end of May 2002, most of these groups ended their
hunger strikes, claiming that a moral victory had
been gained. But this did not include the DHKP-C prisoners
who issued a statement on June 10 saying that they
were continuing on the grounds that the regime of
isolation had not been removed. The TKEP-L (Communist
Labour Party of Turkey-Leninist) is also continuing
to participate in the hunger strikes.
The
last month in Turkey has seen the martyrdom of four
more prisoners on Death Fast. All four of them were
women convicted under the country's anti-terror laws.
The all died in hospital after prolonged fasting and
force-feeding. They were Semra Basyigit aged 24 who
died on July 30th after fasting for 368 days. Fatma
Bilgin aged 30 who died August 10th after fasting
for 431 days. Melek Birsen Hosver aged 23 who died
on August 22nd after fasting for 330 days and Gulnihal
Yilmaz aged 36 who died on August 25th after fasting
for 449 days.
The
last month has also seen increased oppression against
the relatives and supporters of the Death Fast. On
August 11th police from the anti-terror branch raided
a suburb in Istanbul where three people were carrying
out a solidarity fast. Dozens were arrested and taken
into custody and were tortured for several days. They
were eventually released after being taken before
the no-jury State Security Court.
In
a protest against the European Union's support for
the F-type prisons a delegation of democrats including
the families of prisoners and their lawyers
tried to petition the French consulate in Istanbul
on August 16th. They were confronted by a large police
presence and attacked. As a result of this 13 people
were detained and many received serious head injuries.
The police had also subjected the funeral of Fatma
Bilgin to a physical attack several days before. 500
mourners were attacked and 11 people detained.
Four
days after the attack outside the French consulate
simultaneous raids were carried out by the police
in Istanbul on the offices of the weekly left wing
magazine 'Bread and Justice', the youth journal 'The
Youth in Our Country' and the offices of TAYAD. Police
from the anti-terror branch using oxygen cutting equipment
and sledgehammers gained entry to the premises and
arrested everyone there including people who visiting
the offices at the time. Dozens were detained and
the familiar story of people being tortured followed
by cases being started against them in no-jury courts
under the pretext of fighting terrorism continues
to repeat itself.
Like
in Ireland twenty years ago those who are sacrificing
their lives in the prisons are young people in the
prime of their life. But they are mature enough to
know their responsibilities. Until the regime of isolation
is lifted in the F-type prisons the Death Fast will
continue. The prisoners relatives and supporters are
also prepared to pay the same price as the prisoners.
The
Irish people with their own experiences of hunger
strikes and more recently with their rejection of
the Nice Treaty are in a position to oppose not only
the isolation cells in Turkey but also the parlance
of Western Europe that says: "Turkey is reforming"
"Turkey is becoming democratic". The massacres,
force-feeding, detentions, torture and censorship
show the reality of the IMF dependant, strategic NATO
ally that is the Republic of Turkey. As far as the
European Union is concerned this whole exercise has
been a successful harmonisation process. European
standards are now in place in the prisons and Turkey's
whilst at the same time fighting 'terrorists'. These
so-called European standards of the F-type prisons
are the same standards that led to the deaths of ten
Irish men twenty years ago.
This
current government has presided over the worst prison
massacres in the history of Turkey, they have carried
out acts that the junta dared not do twenty years
ago. The silence of Europe has been complicit in this
bloodbath. It is the duty of all democrats to oppose
isolation to show that solidarity is a greater weapon
than massacres.
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