MERSİN - İsmet Kaplan who was sentenced to death penalty which was later turned into prison sentence and was released after a while with an amnesty granted to prisoners said: "While the prisoners go on a hunger strike for their honour and their rights, what changes the outcome is the pressure on the governments from the outside" and called for support for hunger strikers.

 

Thousands of prisoners are on hunger strike protesting the violations of rights and the isolation on PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, since November 27. While the hunger strike action enters day 40, with more than 2.500 prisoners participating from almost 100 prisons, the prisoners demand the isolation to be lifted and violations of rights to be eliminated and that their action will continue until the demands are met.

 

A political prisoner arrested in 1981, İsmet Kaplan (62), have been in many hunger strikes throughout his time in prison said that the governments targets everyone who opposes them and declare them to be enemies. Stating that the revolutionaries and socialists are mostly targeted, Kaplan said: "The government puts in place a number of torture practices to transform and integrate the prisoner and finally to lead them to betrayel.  Under conditions of isolation, they implement policies such as depersonalization and surrender by isolating political prisoners. There has been many hunger strikes and death fasts throughout our history." 

 

Underlining that isolation is a violation of Turkey's own laws, Kaplan pointed out that the government has to ensure prisoners at least the right to live under humane conditions. Stating that the revolutionary prisoners are the pioneers of the society, Kaplan said: "They are trying to deprive the socierty of their leaders. They think this will weaken the opposition. And when the opposition weakens, fascist dictatorship and capitalists will take over and robbery and exploitation will continue."

 

Underlining that the prisoners will react to insults and attacks on their faith, principles and cause, Kaplan said: "Eventually the prisoners will go on a hunger strike or even a death fast to take back their rights. They depend on the pressure applied from their comrades outside but mainly they depend on their own power. The demand of the prisoners is humane living conditions. The hunger strikes to ensure this, must be supported. It is expected that the families of the prisoners and the revolutionary and democrat public should support them with press releases, force international community to act and support their demands. The most powerful support for the current hunger strikes is mass demonstrations. People must flock to the prisons and organize sit ins in front of the prison gates. But its obvious that the government will prevent this using the pandemic as an excuse and people are already avoiding crowds. This is a disadvantage but social media can be a tool to raise awareness in these circumstances." 

 

 

MA / Ömer Akın