From: aries-AT-pyromedia.org
Subject: AUT: Hunger Strike in Turkish Prisons
Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2001 14:08:02 -0400 (EDT)


The political prisoners in Turkey who started a hunger strike against 
new "F Type" prison complexes started dying. Today, on the 176th day of the hunger
strike, two more prisoners died and the death toll in the hunger strike
rised to 11. There are still 500 prisoners on the hunger strike,
96 of them is in critical condition at the moment.

As a part of the governments prison reform of the past year, Turkish prison
complexes are transformed into cell type prisons from bigger
dormitary model. (The other part of prison reform package was a general petition
for non-political prisoners; the prisoners of every kind of criminal acts were released
but the political prisoners were not). The reaction and resistance of political prisoners
against this new model received popularity and public support and turned
into hunger strike in December. Prisoners resisted to be transferred into new prison
complexes and threatened to burn themselves if they are forced to.
In january, government used police and military forces
to break into resisting prisons. As a result of brutality 18 prisoners died, 
any many of them were critically wounded; 
a few as a result of burning themselves, most were killed by gun shots and by beating. 
Media was kept away during these operations which lasted a few days in some of
the prisons. In the end, prisoners were transferred to new complexes by force,
where they continued the hunger strike.

Turkish government still refuses to care about the reaction; they still does 
not listen to the demands of prisoners and refuse discuss the issue.
The leader of the military junta of the 1980's coup, Kenan Evren
had once stated "why should we feed them raher than executing?" 
regarding the political prisoners. Obviously, the same mentality still rules.
This is another way of execution.

 


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