Turkish PM Calls Hunger Strike by Kurdish Prisoners a “Show”
Experts say that if prisoners lose their lives in this strike, it will negatively impact Turkey, both on a domestic and an international level.
The prisoners began their hunger strike 55 days ago. It was initiated by Faysal Sariyildiz, a Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) MP, in the Mardin jail.
The protestors have a number of demands, including allowing Abdullah Ocalan, jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), to meet with his lawyers. Ocalan has been denied access to his lawyers for more than 400 days.
Another demand is allowing political prisoners the right to defend themselves in their native language, which in this case is Kurdish.
Ridvan Kaya, chairman of the human rights association Özgür-Der, said, "It is a universal right for political prisoners to defend themselves in their native language. Denying Ocalan access to his lawyers is also a violation of human rights."
Kaya added that it is currently difficult to assert pressure on the government through other means because “the latest attacks by the PKK have caused a lot of concern and it is very difficult to influence public opinion at the moment."
"If one of the strikers dies, it will cause a disaster in Turkey. The death of these strikers will not be taken lightly abroad. This issue will be very dangerous for peace and social accord in Turkey," Kaya said.
During a recent visit to Germany, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan answered a question from Rudaw during a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Regarding the hunger strike, Erdogan said: "There is no strike; there is a show."
"This statement by Erdogan was a fatal mistake,” Kaya said. “Has he not learned from the 1996 strike and the statements of Sevket Kazan? The minister of justice made positive statements during his meeting with representatives of the strikers, but the PM is trying to agitate his opponents and this is very dangerous.”
Except for some officials of the government, members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have not commented on the hunger strike.
Ziwer Ozdemir, a Kurdish MP from the AKP in Batman province, believes that there is no reason for a hunger strike or for people to risk their lives as their demands have already been addressed.
Regarding the right to defense in Kurdish, Ozdemir said, “This was addressed by Erdogan at the AKP congress. He said that work is being done to solve this issue and results will come out next week.”
Furthermore, addressing the other demand of the strikers, Ozdemir said, “The AKP minister of justice said that Ocalan has met with family members but that Ocalan's family is no longer willing to meet with him without the consent of the BDP and PKK."
Many political observers believe that the hunger strike can be solved by Europe. For the first time, Erdogan is setting a deadline for Turkey to join the European Union -- by 2023. The unresolved Kurdish issue, especially a hunger strike by Kurdish prisoners, is likely to impact the process of Turkey's membership in the EU.
Ozdemir said that it is not right to blame the hunger strike on the AKP government. "The statements of Erdogan in Germany were true. The BDP called upon people in Batman province to shut down shops and schools and stop using public transportation. If that is not a show, tell me what is? Is not setting public schools on fire and throwing Molotov cocktails a violation of human rights?" he said.
He added, "All the civil society groups have called upon the government to take rapid steps in this crisis. The government has no choice but to listen to them. But doesn’t the BDP take any responsibility? If a couple of people lose their lives due to Demirtas' [co-leader of BDP] provocative speech last Tuesday, wouldn’t he be responsible for their deaths?"
Last Friday, Demirtas and Turkish Minister of Justice Sadullah Ergin held a closed meeting to discuss the situation of the hunger strikers. Pervin Buldan, deputy leader of the BDP bloc in Turkish Parliament, visited Sirnak prison and convinced two prisoners, both 15 years old, to stop their hunger strike.
This was seen as the beginning of the end of the strike, but Sebahat Tuncel, a BDP MP, dismissed these rumors. "The meeting of our party co-leader with the Turkish minister of justice was only to exchange views. No agreement was made. The only ones who can end the strike are the strikers themselves. BDP can only mediate."
Regarding how Buldan was able to convince two prisoners to end their strike in Sirnak, Tuncel said, “They were children. After six hours of tough negotiations, Buldan was able to dissuade them."
The most well-known hunger strike in Turkish history took place in April 1950 by the famous Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet. His strike was against the 35-year prison sentence he had been given and became internationally known.
Turkish leftist leader Deniz Gezmis was arrested after the coup of 1971 and went on a hunger strike for 12 days with other leftist prisoners.
In 1981, four PKK leaders -- Kemal Pir, Hayri Durmus, Akif Yilmaz and Ali Cicek -- lost their lives during a hunger strike.
In 1996, there was a hunger strike against solitary confinement of political prisoners. Sevket Kazan, then minister of justice, stated that the strikers were secretly eating food after the 50th day, but a few days later 12 strikers lost their lives.
Four years later, in October 2000, PKK prisoners began a hunger strike against the decision to transfer them to an F-type prison. On the 60th day of the strike, the Turkish army attacked the prison to end the strike, which resulted in the death of two soldiers and 30 political prisoners.
Rudaw:
