LABOR NEWS FROM TURKEY 10/01/94
mbayram at igc.apc.org
mbayram at igc.apc.org
Sun Nov 6 16:31:54 GMT 1994
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LABOR NEWS FROM TURKEY
October 1, 1994
Compiled from several newspapers and journals
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Ozgur Ulke 09/25/94
Guerilla Raids on Two Police Stations
2 sergeants and 3 soldiers were shot dead during battles with
ARGK guerrillas on Ciraw Mountain.
ARGK guerrillas raided Cambulak paramilitary Station of
Dersim's Ovacik district on September 22nd. One soldier was killed
and four others were wounded in the attack.
The same day another ARGK attack targeted Elmasirti
paramilitary station and Kalekoy train station of Bingol's Solhan
district. Additionally, the beginning of a wide range of ARGK
operations have been reported.
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Ozgur Ulke 09/25/94
Unemployed Lose Their Confidence in the State
Unemployment has increased swiftly among a third of the
working population and has reached an explosion point.
Both the number of unemployed in the industrial sector and the
number of unreported unemployed workers in the agricultural sector
has increased. The total number of unemployed workers in the
agricultural and industrial sectors has reached 7 million.
In contrast to the increased number of unemployed, The
Organization to Find Work and Workers (Is ve Isci Bulma Kurumu)
has
become less and less effective. Cities in Kurdistan, where the
population has seen huge increases, the applications for work to the
Organization has decreased 50%.
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Ozgur Ulke 09/25/94
Guerilla's Sick Mother is Under Arrest
Wounded guerilla fighter Mahmut Demirel was captured at the
Edirne's Kapikule border. Later, his home in Kozluk was raided by
security forces and his 55 year old sick mother was arrested on
August 30th.
His brother said, "My mother has hypertension and she needs
treatment continuously. I am anxious about both their lives. I want her
to be released right away. My brother is wounded. I doubt whether he
can live without treatment in this condition. My mother had 75 million
Turkish liras (about 2200 dollars) with her and the police have
confiscated it and now deny that they have taken it. My mother was
arrested just because she is the mother of a guerilla." He added that
he is being followed continuously and their house is under
surveillance. He said that his 2 other brothers are under surveillance
as well.
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Ozgur Ulke 09/25/94
Decision of Action at the Mines
A committee of representatives of Zonguldak Mine Workers
went to Ankara yesterday and met deputy prime minister Murat
Karayalcin and prime minister Tansu Ciller. They returned to
Zonguldak and gave a report to 2,000 workers about their meeting
with the officials. They said that the government had already decided
to sell the Zonguldak TTK's Amasra and Kandilli Coal Mines and
Zonguldak's Iron and Steel Works. The talks were cut off, and the
committee representing 1,300,000 workers has decided to hold a
demonstration.
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Ozgur Ulke 09/26/94
Food Embargo for 117 Villages
While the government promises welfare to the villages where the
by-elections are scheduled, the peasants are not allowed to meet even
their essential needs. The peasants can only meet their needs through
the ration-cards which are issued by security offices and the army.
The peasants also stated that they have to buy their food in large
quantities because the roads will be closed for 6 or 7 months in winter
due to seasonal conditions, but the officials only allow half of what
they demand to buy, claiming that they supply the guerrillas with the
rest. The peasants also say that the security forces give the ration
cards to whomever they please and say "go to hell! Do whatever you
like, we don't care!" to the rest.
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Ozgur Ulke 09/26/94
The Forests are Burning in Dersim
52 soldiers are claimed to have been lost in clashes in the
Kutuderesi region between Dersim's Pulumur and Nazimiye towns.
While no detailed reports are available, it is being reported that many
villages are being bombed by government war planes and helicopters.
Local resources inform that 12 peasants have, died including children,
and it is feared that the number of deaths could increase.
Because of the bombardments in the regions including Dersim,
the forests are ablaze.
At the same time military expeditions to the region from the
cities of Erzincan, Erzurum and Elazig are continuing.
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Ozgur Ulke 09/26/94
Raids to Capture Deserters in Mersin
In the Gundogdu district of the city of Mersin, a woman said that
the police had suddenly raided their house, destroyed personal
belongings and took her son into custody yesterday. They had taken
one of her other sons before, claiming that he was a deserter from the
army.
Yesterday, the police brought the son accused of desertion to
her house. She said he was in very bad condition. They proceeded to
tear pictures from the walls, wreck the house, and took her other son,
as well, kicking, hitting and insulting him, claiming that he was a
draft
dodger.
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Ozgur Ulke 09/26/94
Most of the People Arrested are Political Prisoners
Haluk Gerger, a professor jailed for his articles, announced that
the prisoners in jails are imprisoned because of their ideas and
therefore, he said, all of them should be considered as prisoners of
conscience and should be released.
The assistant professor of Political Science, Dr. Haluk Gerger,
has said that a total of 1,000 political prisoners have been found
guilty because of their ideas and that their rights to democratic
expression through peaceful means have been blocked.
He said that, first, for democratization to begin, all political
prisoners should be released.
Gerger was arrested and imprisoned, after being accused of
being a separatist as a result of a speech he delivered at the
anniversary of the execution of Turkey's revolutionary militant of the
1970's, Deniz Gezmis.
In his speech, he said discussions were being held on "the
punishment of thought", but that only some cosmetic changes were
being made in current laws. In this way, the changes demanded by
intellectuals for are circumvented.
Gerger said that, people are fooled by the purely rhetorical
response prompted by the reactions from the Western World. He
added that in Turkey, today, the State is trying to limit the freedom of
expression while pretending to reform. He said that this denial and
the terror the Turkish government is using against the Kurdish people
is a sorry contradiction.
Gerger says,"Democratization should include: the release of all
the political prisoners, "freedom of thought", "freedom of expression",
and "freedom of organization". Otherwise, he continues," the nation
will continue to carry the shame of 'The punishment of thought' and
will be judged accordingly in the civilized world's conscience. But,
he cautions, these questions cannot not be resolved under military
rule."
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Ozgur Ulke 09/26/94
Fight for Democratization
Some time ago, some organizations, in order to fight for
democratization and against privatization, had come together to
establish a Democratic Platform against privatization, breaking of
unions, and anti democratic actions. The biggest of the organizations
which established the platform, Turk-Is (Confederation of Labour
Unions of Turkey) has suspended its relations with the other members
(DISK:-Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Unions, and Hak-Is:-
Confederation of Workers' Rights Union). As a result, the Platform's
Secretary cannot get the members together to decide on various
issues. The Turk-Is spokesman declared that they had problems within
their own organization, and that, they cannot attend the platform
meetings, and yet, do not want to abandon the platform either.
Some members responded to this situation by demanding to
exclude Turk-Is from the platform, while others say they could wait
until Turk-Is solves its internal problem. At the moment, it appears
that Turk-Is will remain in the platform despite the temporary
withdrawal.
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Ozgur Ulke 09/26/94
At the Municipalities: "Either You Accept or You Go"
In the town of Birecik in Urfa, 47 Municipal workers out of 58
began working for minimum wage due to layoff threats. 11 workers
who would not accept a pay reduction to the minimum wage were
fired.
The Belediye-Is' ( Municipal Workers' Union) head of the Urfa
branch, said, in response, "any action taken by a municipality cannot
void the collective agreement signed at the work place between the
Union and the Municipality. "We have lodged a complaint against the
Municipality in the Work Authority's Regional Office. As a result, the
Mayor has forced us to sign a petition saying: 'we don't want our
social rights', or in case you don't sign it, he said, all of you will be
fired".
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Ozgur Ulke 09/27/94
"Confessors" At Work
The southeast city of Diyarbakir, where three parliamentary
seats are will be decided in the upcoming by-elections, has become
a city of "murders by unknown people". The reason is the "release"
of 32 "confessors" who were held in prisons on charges of helping or
being a member of the guerrilla organization PKK.
These "confessors" were armed by the police forces. After the
release, killings have increased in great numbers.
About 2 months ago, after the release of these "confessors"
from Diyarbakir E type jail, 27 people were killed in and around
Diyarbakir by "unknown people". The people killed by the "unknown
criminals" include a 10-year old boy and a 66-year old man who was
attacked with a cleaver.
Halit Aslan, a known "confessor" who was released from the
Diyarbakir jail and has participated in house searches wearing a
bulletproof vest and armed with a rifle and has threatened some
households. He was also seen among the civilian police who have
raided two other people's houses.
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Ozgur Ulke 09/27/94
Another Kurdish Soldier Victim of an "Accidental Bullet"
Veysel Elitas, from Adiyaman, a city of Northern Kurdistan, was
murdered while doing his military service in the western city of
Balikesir. While the company captain first claimed that he had
committed suicide, Balikesir's Cakirhoyuk village Police Station
officers later said that it was an accident.
The soldiers hastily buried the corpse not allowing anyone to see
it. Later, the peasants found it, they saw two bullet holes; one in the
shoulder and the other in the head. The peasants ask, why would
anyone committing suicide should shoot himself twice?
Another peasant, stating the uneasiness among them, said the
following: "There is a great anger towards the state. People no longer
trust it. Especially the Kurdish families who do not want to send their
sons for the military service."
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Ozgur Ulke 09/27/94
Attacks by Government Forces
In Adiyaman, a city in the Northern Kurdistan, two villages
(Azikan and Axcali) were attacked by government Gendarmerie
Forces
(JITEM) 4 times since August 31st. During the operations, 5 people
were taken into custody and no information had been given about
them since. Their relatives said, "They were taken to Camyurdu
Military Station and when we inquired there, we were told that our
relatives were taken to Adiyaman center of JITEM. But in spite of our
appeal, we could not get any information about our relatives from
there either."
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Ozgur Ulke 09/27/94
Three People Disappeared Under Custody in Adana
During the Administration of Ramazan Er, who was Diyarbakir's
(the largest city in northern Kurdistan) Security Administrator, contra
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murders and disappearances under custody had increased
dramatically. Now, after his arrival in Adana, assuming, the same
position, disappearances under custody in this city have increased
also. In spite of their families search for them in the Adana Security
Administration, no information was available on three people arrested
in Adana weeks ago. When relatives of the disappeared asked to
open and look at a grave to identify the corpse, they were prevented
from doing so. Another detainee taken into custody on August 15
underwent intensive torture and was seen in a very bad condition as
he was taken to a hospital. No one has heard from him since.
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Ozgur Ulke 09/27/94
Harb-Is Trade Union Called on Workers to Challenge the
Government
Turk Harb-Is Union's General Representatives Committee called
on workers to struggle against the agreement which was signed
between Turk-Is (Confederation of Labor Unions of Turkey) and the
government. It said that the coalition government, which restricted
democratic and unionist rights, has stolen trillions of Turkish Liras in
1994 from millions of workers.
The Turk Harb-Is Union said that this agreement is a result of the
April 5th Government Restriction Decisions and is a dark smear on
the
history of Turkish Unionist Movement. It said that the agreement is
not legal and contradicts the terms of the contracts signed between
the workers and the employers.
At the end of its report, Harb-Is General Representatives
Committee called the Turkish Unionist Movement for action to
invalidate the agreement between the Turk-Is Union and the
government.
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Ozgur Ulke 09/28/94
Yes! For a Democratic Election
HADEP (Peoples' Democratic Party) city chairmen have claimed
that in an election where democratic conditions exist, HADEP will be
the leading party in Kurdistan. "But we say that it is not right to
participate in an election where the population does not have free
will".
Ankara's (Turkey's capital) chairman of the party said that in an
election where democratic conditions do not exist, the representatives
elected in the cities of Northern Kurdistan will not be Kurds'
representatives, but MGK's (National Security Council's).
Istanbul chairman of the party has said that they can only take
part in the elections if the government takes measures to remove the
war conditions and to open the elections to the inspection by
international organizations.
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Ozgur Ulke 09/28/94
Huge Military Accumulation in Dersim
During the Kutuderesi Operation in Dersim where the forests are
burned and the villages are bombed by Turkish Military Forces,
10,000 soldiers have gathered in the Ovacik town center.
According to the population of Ovacik, which is 3,600, the
number of soldiers outnumber the population three to one. The
Military Forces have used the troops to burn the forests and bomb
the villages.
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Ozgur Ulke 09/28/94
The Position of the Main Trade Unions and the Employers' Union in
the By-Elections
For the December 4 elections , Turk-Is (Confederation of
Labors' Unions of Turkey) calls on its members to not vote for DYP
(Right-wing Straight Way Party in government) or the SHP (Social
Democratic Populist Party in coalition with DYP in the government).
The reason for this call is the DPY and the SHP have not kept their
promises. This means that Turk-Is' votes will be cast for ANAP the
(Right-wing Motherland Party) and for the DSP (Democratic Socialist
Party).
Head of DISK (Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Union)
says that DISK will not be on the defeated side (he means the social
democratic side) and adds that for the first time in its history, DISK
will be in the audience, watching the elections but not participating in
the vote.
Hak-Is' (religious Workers' Rights Party) General Secretary of
Education says that this system is obstructed and should be
reconstructed. The new system should include democratic liberties
and should be one with both public enterprise and control and should
exclude the official ideology of authority. He adds that the only way
to achieve this result is to vote for parties alternative to this system
and that their votes will be cast in this direction.
TISK's (Confederation of Turkish Employers' Union) chairman
said that the federation's views and the democratic-left wing parties'
views did not coincide and that the their votes would go to the right.
And these rightist parties, of course, will be the DYP (the ruling right-
wing Straight Way Party), the ANAP (right-wing Motherland Party)
and the MHP (fascist Nationalist Movement Party).
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Ozgur Ulke 09/29/94
PKK General Secretary Ocalan: "The conditions for a democratic
election does not exist"
Ocalan said they would not support any of the parties in the
upcoming elections. He noted the contrast between the arrest of the
DEP's (pro-Kurdish Democratic Party) former deputies from the
parliament and current urging for them to take part in the elections
again. "If they were going to be elected again, why were they thrown
out of the parliament?" he asked. He added that their view remains
the same and has not changed since they were removed from
Parliament.
He also said: "The Turkish government has probably informed
the states of the region that we were going to hold our press
conference in Europe. This caused a security problem, so we could
not bring it into realization. It would have been good if we had".
He added that the PKK also wants to escalate the guerrilla war
against the Turkish state. They will go into a wider military struggle
and will be working to increase the number of guerrillas to around
50,000.
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Ozgur Ulke 09/29/94
Workers Resistance Tents in Erhaz are Destroyed
35 workers working in the Erzincan Clothing Industry and who
were protesting their unpaid wages and unpaid overtime payments
August 5 are fired.
The workers put up a resistance tent in front of the plant and
continued their struggle from there. The tent and the workers were
attacked by the employers goons the other day. The workers say that
they will continue their struggle to the end.
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Ozgur Ulke 09/29/94
Workers' Action to Get Wage Difference Payment.
Although the contracts between the employer and the workers
openly state that the wage differences due to inflation should be paid,
the Turk-Is (Confederation of Labor Unions of Turkey), accepted the
government's recommendation of non-payment of these additional
wages.
This agreement between Turk-Is directors and the government
is strictly opposed by the majority of workers. Opposition turned into
protest when thousands of workers gathered at Kocaeli's Petkim
Yarimca Complex and in front of Aliaga refinery to protest and
demand their wage differences. Another group of about 200 workers
gathered in front of Petkim's Yarimca Refinery to protest non-payment
of their second six month raise and said that their wages had shrunk
to 65% from 83%.
Turk-Is' (Confederation of Labor Unions of Turkey) Petrol-Is
branch declared that they would not accept the Turk-Is' directors
decision.
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Ozgur Ulke 09/30/94
Order to Silence Kurds
The State secretly ordered the silencing of the pro-Kurdish
parties, HEP (People's Labor Party, which has been closed) and DEP
(Democracy Party, which has also been closed), and pro-Kurdish daily
newspaper Ozgur Gundem. Forces carrying out the secret order are
"murder teams" referred to as "independent justice".
Now, the Ozgur Ulke newspaper has obtained the secret
document which exposes the true face of the Turkish Republican
State. This secret document reveals the illegal actions ordered by the
State in a region which it claims to control.
The Interior Ministry had prepared the order numbered
BO50HID0000073/30 issue and No.3 and the BO50HID0000073/35
issue and No.4 - the "Enlightening Actions Application Orders" on
June 18th, sending them to the Gendarmerie Forces, General Security
Headquarters, 23 governors of the cities under military "Extraordinary
Rule" in the East and Southeast.
The orders were carried out one by one. The daily newspaper
Ozgur Gundem's publication was stopped. Mardin's (a city in the
Northern Kurdistan) former DEP deputy Mehmet Sincar was
murdered.
Efforts to close down DEP (the pro-Kurdish Democracy Party) were
implemented. Journalists working for Ozgur Gundem, Ferhat Tepe and
Aysel Malkac were kidnapped and murdered. Journalists and
columnists writing for right-wing papers have been have been put on
the payroll as paid propagandists. Ozgur Gundem's owner Yasar
Kaya
was arrested.
Bulent Ciftci, the Ozgur Ulke correspondent who obtained this
secret document, was arrested by the security forces and is now in
the Mus (a city in Northern Kurdistan) jail.
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Ozgur Ulke 10/01/94
HADEP Demands Proper Conditions to Participate in the By-elections
HADEP's (the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democracy Party) leader says
that they will not be a party in the "election game". He stated the
conditions necessary for a democratic election as the following:
-Registration of the people who are not registered. (Turkish
government is not registering Kurds in many places.)
- No interference with the voting-boxes.
- No armed men or officers around the voting-boxes.
- HADEP must have equal propaganda opportunities with other
parties.
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Ozgur Ulke 09/30/94
Guerrilla Attack on Turkish Army Battalions in Sirnak and Hakkari
-Guerrillas raided Sirnak's Uludere town's Yemisli village
Commando Battalion on September 28th. During the clashes a
lieutenant and a first-lieutenant were killed. A security guard's wife
was also wounded.
-In raids against the Topkirankale village, 2 peasants who
reported 7 guerillas to the government forces were killed.
-According to the Kurdish-German Press Agency (KURD-A), in a
raid by ARGK guerrillas (the military wing of PKK) against the
Hakkari's Mergeh Paramilitary Battalion 1 officer and 11 soldiers were
killed. After the raid, as the government forces were withdrawing
from the village, guerrilla land minds killed 2 more soldiers and a
security guard.
-In another raid against the military forces on Agri Mountain, 20
soldiers were killed. After the military retreated, guerrillas confiscated
8 military tents and a large number of arms and military provisions
left behind..
-3 security guards were killed and 2 were wounded in and
ambush by guerrillas in the Batman's Seyhah (Tekevler) district. In a
second ambush in the same place, 4 members of a pro-government
special team were killed and 1 was wounded.
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Ozgur Ulke 10/01/94
Turk-Is (Confederation of Labor Unions of Turkey) Punished Its
Branch
Turk-Is Discipline Committee punished its head of Istanbul
branch, Yol-Is Ercan Atmaca with disapproval, because of the
declarations he made to the media.
Atmaca accused the general management of the Union of
complicity in the erosion of the gains that had been won through the
workers' struggle. He held the union's management responsible for
the this erosion of union gains.
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Ozgur Ulke 10/01/94
Protest for Layoffs
450 workers of Goodyear in Adapazari protested the employer's
layoff of 100 workers. The protest is the decision of Lastik-Is (Tire
Workers' Union) who says the plant is not in an economic crisis as the
employers claim. It adds that they will continue their protests until the
layoffs are stopped.
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GERCEK 09/24/94
Public Reaction Causes Pressure at Ciller's Ceremonies
Prime Minister Tansu Ciller meets with protests demonstrations
everywhere she appears for the upcoming December 4 by-election
campaign. Even when she promises investments she can not assuage
the protesters.
In Eskisehir she was met with protests of DSI (State Water
Works) workers, 552 of which were laid-off recently, demanding two
months of unpaid wages. The workers said, "When it comes to paying
the high interest rate State Promissory notes, it is O.K., the State is
able to pay them; but when it is the workers' wages they say they are
not able to. They make good rhetoric. The schools have opened and
we could not buy even a book for our children". When Ciller came to
the city, the workers opened their placards and turned their back to
the prime minister, making a silent but a meaningful protest. Later,
police intervened and collected the placards.
Ciller met with similar protests in Bozuyuk and Bilecik and in
Samsun and Izmir.
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GERCEK 09/24/94
Warning to Turk-Is Confederation from its Branches
At the September 15 meeting, which half of the Turk-Is'
(Confederation of Labor Unions of Turkey) 86 Istanbul unions
attended, the issues on the table were:
* An agreement not to pay wage differences, made between the
Turk-Is administration and the government without the
approval of the workers.
*Turk-Is administration non-convening of the Workers' General
Assembly.
*The problem of privatization.
*The problem of challenging the tyranny against the workers.
At the meeting the head of one of the unions talked on behalf of
privatization and the neo-liberal New Democratic Movement which is
carried on by TUSIAD (Turkish Industrial Businessmen's
Association).
This brought a huge reaction from all the other unionists accusing him
for being fickle and taking the side of the TUSIAD's (employer's)
side.
The decisions made at the meeting were: to hold a meeting
every month, the workers' assembly should be held unconditionally;
and the work on the Democracy Platform should continue.
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GERCEK 09/24/94
The Protest Against the Attack on the Workers
The protest of laborers working at the ASKI (Ankara Water and
Sewerage Administration) of Ankara Municipality continues. When
workers went to the Municipality to explain their problems, they were
attacked by the right-wing fascist MHP (Nationalist Movement Party)
and by the religious RP (Welfare Party) groups. Unions and mass
organizations made a strong protest against the attack. DISK's
(Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Unions) Genel-Is (General
Workers' Union) Mersin branch; Mersin's Unions' Platform, Turk-Is
(Confederation of Labor Unions of Turkey)), and Mersin Public
Workers Union Platforms arranged a press conference and declared
that they strongly condemned the attack.
In the southern city of Adana, Tum Maliye Sen (Finance
Workers' Union) gave a statement and protested the attack as well.
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GERCEK 09/24/94
Another Attack on Prisoners in Canakkale Prison
A Letter:
The capitalists and their fascist state find themselves more and
more helpless due to the deepening of the crisis, and find the solution,
as always, in increasing the scale of terror.
And we, the political prisoners, are continuously, for various
reasons, face to face with fascist pressures, especially to become
"confessors".
About 10 days ago one of our friends transferred from another
prison was beaten by the prison guards.
Again, on September 14th, 2 of our friends, one of whom is a
woman, were beaten by security forces in the prison in front of the
prison administrator and their belongings were stolen.
Being conscious of the fact that we are a part of the public
opposition, we will not be silent in regards to the attacks on us today
and which will probably continue. We will continue our challenge
with
a more decisive and responsible uprising and we will persistently
resist every kind of attack directed at us, to stop us, to drown our
voice. We call on the public to be more sensitive to our plight.
From Canakkale Prison
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AYDINLIK 09/24/94
Protest from Izmir
Izmir Unions' Sub-divisions and Representatives Platform
protested the contract signed between Turk-Is (Confederation of Labor
Unions of Turkey) and the government. The Platform declared that by
this action, Turk-Is has shown that it is on the side of the capitalists
and that the administration of Turk-Is is aiming to pacify the unionists
who want to struggle. It is also stated that the unions are the centers
of struggle and that general-strike and general resistance are important
goals in the struggle. The Platform called the other unions in the
region to join them and said that the working class is going to take its
future into its own hands, is going to react against the attacks with
its own collective actions, and is not going to let its gains be taken
away from them or from the workers themselves.
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AYDINLIK 09/24/94
Usurpation of Workers' 120 trillion TL.
The government has taken 120 trillion Turkish Liras from the
workers since the beginning of 1994 by various means.
These include unpaid bonuses and unpaid differences of wages
set by contracts signed between the trade unions and the
government.
If a worker objects he may file suit against the government.
However, even though the court may decide for the worker, a case
could take at least two years and in the end the government may say
that it has no money. The government debt cannot be distrained.
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