4 those of U who recently showed concern about Turkey's Prison Hunger Strikers
cyuma
>
>
> Thousands of hunger strikers in Turkish prisons declared victory July
> 28, after winning promises from the Turkish government that it would
> improve prison conditions.
>
> But the victory came at a heavy cost. Twelve of the hunger strikers,
> who had taken only sweetened water for 69 days, died. Ambulances
> rushed 170 more critically ill prisoners to hospitals after the
> negotiations concluded.
>
> The hunger strike began in May, when the government ordered prisoners
> from various jails to serve time at the Eskisehir prison--known as
> "the coffin" because of its tiny cells. Law yers for the prisoners
> charged that in addition to the brutal conditions at Eskisehir,
> authorities were trying to deny prisoners access to their families and
> legal representatives.
>
> The settlement between the hunger strikers and the government provides
> that none of the current or future prisoners will be transferred to
> Eskisehir.
>
> The original hunger strike comprised thousands of prisoners--including
> both Turkish militants opposed to the military regime and Kurdish
> supporters of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a
> 12-year liberation war for a Kurdish homeland. Of the original
> strikers, about 314 in 45 jails had declared a "death fast"--pledging
> to starve unless their demands were met.
>
> After the death July 21 of the first hunger striker, thousands more
> joined the action. The July 29 New York Times reported that 4,000 PKK
> supporters had joined, along with 2,000 other Turkish prisoners.
>
> Widespread Solidarity
>
>
>
> The hunger strike became a focus of struggle for Turkish workers and
> students around the world.
>
> In Turkey, anti-government protesters battled daily with police in
> Istanbul, Ankara, and other major cities. Turkishowned properties in
> Germany have been firebombed in solidarity with the movement in
> Turkey.
>
> The struggle was reported widely in European and U.S. news media. Most
> often it was described as "the first crisis" for the new government of
> Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan and his Islamic-based Refahyol party.
>
>
> While the hunger strike was launched before Erbakan took office, his
> representatives brokered the settlement. In the days before the
> agreement, the government had indicated that it might storm the prison
> to quell the strike.
>
> Imperialist powers in Europe, and the United States, had shown their
> preference for a deal. All the major capitalist powers in Europe
> "pressed Ankara to meet the hunger strikers' demands," according to
> the July 29 New York Times.
>
> Germany, Turkey's main European ally, had a particular interest in the
> settlement. Over 2 million Turks live in Germany.
>
> Two days before the settlement, the U.S. government issued a statement
> leaving the door open to support for repression against the prisoners.
> It recognized "repression and brutality" in the prisons. But the
> statement also echoed Anakara's description of the strikers as
> "hardened terrorists and extremists" who refused to accept the Turkish
> government's "olive branch," according to a July 26 UPI report.
>
> On July 26, the "olive branch" was the demand they end the hunger
> strike unconditionally.
>
> Beneath the mask of Erbakan's civilian government lurks the Turkish
> military, infamous for its brutality against the people's movement
> both in Turkey and in Kurdistan. In 1980, the military took over the
> government, ruling with an iron fist.
>
> During those years, Turkey came to be the third-biggest recipient of
> U.S. mili tary aid, trailing only Israel and Egypt.
>
> Five of the 12 fallen hunger strikers were members of the
> Revolutionary People's Liberation Front (DHKC). In a July 25 bulletin
> distributed on the Internet, the DHKC declared that "the uprising of
> the prisoners is the uprising of the people. It is a call for the war
> for an independent, democratic and socialist country.
>
> "Maybe we will lose many comrades," the bulletin continued, "but the
> uprising will spread step by step over the whole country."
>
> While the prisoners were able to force concessions from the government
> in this struggle, the Turkish military continues its genocidal
> campaign against the Kurdish people. Reuter reported July 25 that the
> Turkish air force bombed Kurdish camps in northern Iraq--the "no-fly
> zone."
>
> On July 27, Reuter reported a series of clashes between the PKK and
> the military, with 25 Kurdish fighters and 16 government troops
> reported killed.
>
> In its July 29 victory statement, the DHKC stated that "the 12
> comrades who died did not only win the struggle in the prisons against
> this most cruel and bloody government, they also used their bodies as
> a barricade against the attacks of this fascist state against our
> peoples."
>
>
>
cyuma
>
>
> Thousands of hunger strikers in Turkish prisons declared victory July
> 28, after winning promises from the Turkish government that it would
> improve prison conditions.
>
> But the victory came at a heavy cost. Twelve of the hunger strikers,
> who had taken only sweetened water for 69 days, died. Ambulances
> rushed 170 more critically ill prisoners to hospitals after the
> negotiations concluded.
>
> The hunger strike began in May, when the government ordered prisoners
> from various jails to serve time at the Eskisehir prison--known as
> "the coffin" because of its tiny cells. Law yers for the prisoners
> charged that in addition to the brutal conditions at Eskisehir,
> authorities were trying to deny prisoners access to their families and
> legal representatives.
>
> The settlement between the hunger strikers and the government provides
> that none of the current or future prisoners will be transferred to
> Eskisehir.
>
> The original hunger strike comprised thousands of prisoners--including
> both Turkish militants opposed to the military regime and Kurdish
> supporters of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a
> 12-year liberation war for a Kurdish homeland. Of the original
> strikers, about 314 in 45 jails had declared a "death fast"--pledging
> to starve unless their demands were met.
>
> After the death July 21 of the first hunger striker, thousands more
> joined the action. The July 29 New York Times reported that 4,000 PKK
> supporters had joined, along with 2,000 other Turkish prisoners.
>
> Widespread Solidarity
>
>
>
> The hunger strike became a focus of struggle for Turkish workers and
> students around the world.
>
> In Turkey, anti-government protesters battled daily with police in
> Istanbul, Ankara, and other major cities. Turkishowned properties in
> Germany have been firebombed in solidarity with the movement in
> Turkey.
>
> The struggle was reported widely in European and U.S. news media. Most
> often it was described as "the first crisis" for the new government of
> Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan and his Islamic-based Refahyol party.
>
>
> While the hunger strike was launched before Erbakan took office, his
> representatives brokered the settlement. In the days before the
> agreement, the government had indicated that it might storm the prison
> to quell the strike.
>
> Imperialist powers in Europe, and the United States, had shown their
> preference for a deal. All the major capitalist powers in Europe
> "pressed Ankara to meet the hunger strikers' demands," according to
> the July 29 New York Times.
>
> Germany, Turkey's main European ally, had a particular interest in the
> settlement. Over 2 million Turks live in Germany.
>
> Two days before the settlement, the U.S. government issued a statement
> leaving the door open to support for repression against the prisoners.
> It recognized "repression and brutality" in the prisons. But the
> statement also echoed Anakara's description of the strikers as
> "hardened terrorists and extremists" who refused to accept the Turkish
> government's "olive branch," according to a July 26 UPI report.
>
> On July 26, the "olive branch" was the demand they end the hunger
> strike unconditionally.
>
> Beneath the mask of Erbakan's civilian government lurks the Turkish
> military, infamous for its brutality against the people's movement
> both in Turkey and in Kurdistan. In 1980, the military took over the
> government, ruling with an iron fist.
>
> During those years, Turkey came to be the third-biggest recipient of
> U.S. mili tary aid, trailing only Israel and Egypt.
>
> Five of the 12 fallen hunger strikers were members of the
> Revolutionary People's Liberation Front (DHKC). In a July 25 bulletin
> distributed on the Internet, the DHKC declared that "the uprising of
> the prisoners is the uprising of the people. It is a call for the war
> for an independent, democratic and socialist country.
>
> "Maybe we will lose many comrades," the bulletin continued, "but the
> uprising will spread step by step over the whole country."
>
> While the prisoners were able to force concessions from the government
> in this struggle, the Turkish military continues its genocidal
> campaign against the Kurdish people. Reuter reported July 25 that the
> Turkish air force bombed Kurdish camps in northern Iraq--the "no-fly
> zone."
>
> On July 27, Reuter reported a series of clashes between the PKK and
> the military, with 25 Kurdish fighters and 16 government troops
> reported killed.
>
> In its July 29 victory statement, the DHKC stated that "the 12
> comrades who died did not only win the struggle in the prisons against
> this most cruel and bloody government, they also used their bodies as
> a barricade against the attacks of this fascist state against our
> peoples."
>
>
>