Kurtulus: Amnesty Discussion in Turkey

[ozgurluk at xs4all.nl]

Kurtulus Number 91, July 25, 1998

Freedom for all revolutionary prisoners, social prisoners and convicts

Once again the "amnesty" discussion is on the agenda.

In the view of the ANASOL-D government (translator's note: a coalition
of the Anavatan or Motherland Party, the Demokratik Sol Partisi or
Democratic Left Party, and the DTP or Democratic Turkey
Party. Anavatan and the DTP are rightist, while the DSP is "left-wing"
but in practice also rightist), conditions are favourable for
proclaiming a general amnesty. One of the most important reasons for
that is the interest that millions of people in our land have in the
release of almost 60,000 social prisoners and convicts. 

It did not take long for the people to lose confidence in the ANASOL-D
government which had come to power so noisily. Despite all its efforts
to dull the people's consciousness, it inevitably shared the same fate
as the governments before it. Within a year, its political prestige
has dwindled to nothing. It is no wonder that from the viewpoint of
the oligarchy, bringing a general amnesty on the agenda has become a
topic for discussion. In a period in which social crisis has reached a
critical point and the political crisis of the oligarchy has deepened,
they are now talking of declaring a general amnesty...

At the moment in our country there are about 45,000 social prisoners
and convicts and about 18,000 revolutionary and patriotic prisoners.

13,000 people have been jailed or placed in investigative detention
for murder, 16,000 for theft or robbery and 4,000 for rape or for
acting as pimps. The system does not abolish the reasons for these
crimes but promotes them at the same time, for through the conditions
it makes our people live under it actually forces them to commit those
crimes. In other words, the responsibility for people being in jail
rests with an unjust system which condemns people to hunger, misery
and dishonour.

The social prisoners and convicts are in jail because the system has
denied them the right to live like human beings, by driving them to
murder, living off immoral earnings and theft.

On the other hand, the revolutionary prisoners are in jail because
they fought against this system, against injustice. 

The injustice is obvious to everybody. Nobody expects justice any more
from this system. If the oligarchy is wanting to talk about an amnesty
at the moment, it is because it wants to temporarily put an end to the
people's lack of trust in all the institutions of the state, to
alleviate the crisis and defuse it. This is the reason for talking
about amnesty and about "social peace". The depth of the social crisis
the oligarchy is in explains this. While those who rob the people of
trillions of lira through embezzlement go free in court, those who
steal bread because of hunger go to jail. On the other hand enemies of
the people like torturers and murderers are declared to be "state
heroes" and are acquitted. Justice is the justice of those who have
money, it is ruling class justice. For poor people and workers there
is no justice. All responsibility for this injustice rests with the
exploitative and oppressive system. 

While the ANASOL-D government talks of a general amnesty, it stresses
that the reasons are not political but "human" for putting this on the
agenda. So were there no "human" reasons in the past? Have they become
conscious of "humanity" today?...

The people in charge of a system which has abolished life worthy of
human dignity never act for  "human" motives. The "human" reasons they
speak of are nothing other than their own interests and all their talk
is nothing other than demagogy... Their only concern is keeping the
system on its feet.

This system with its institutions is corrupt and unjust. The people
expect nothing more from parliament, the system parties and
politicians. It is this reality that the rulers fear, which forces
them to go for short-term success through various stratagems. Broad
sections of the bourgeoisie know this reality and in despair are
searching for solutions to save the system from collapse. An
example... Heper Dogan wrote in Milliyet on July 22 this year that
"Today in Turkey the man or woman in the street complains of
injustice. The judicial system, the guarantor of a state ruled by
justice, is bankrupt. It is no joke: perhaps for the first time in
Turkey, they have privatised the judicial institutions. Instead of
courts, people are turning to contract killers... And the 'state ruled
by justice' is mentioned in the first paragraphs of the
constitution. It is like mere window dressing."

Precisely, these lines by Heper Dogan mention certain facts. But he
describes the reason for the problems as being a lack of foresight by
the rulers and sees the solutions as lying within the system. This is
the view he puts before his readers...

The actual intention of the rulers is to keep the system going. So
they want to make the people believe that solutions are possible
within the system. Whatever is said, the source of injustice is not
the lack of foresight of the rulers but the exploitative and
oppressive system itself. This system stays in power through
oppressing and exploiting the people. Wherever there is exploitation
and oppression, there can be no justice...

ANAP and the DSP merely talk of an amnesty for social prisoners and
convicts. The bourgeois media too are scribbling away on this theme
until their wrists ache. One of the sore points is how far the amnesty
is to go... In other words whether the revolutionary prisoners should
be included in it or not...

Some bourgeois circles are of the opinion that "terrorists" should not
be subject to an amnesty, while others have the opinion that in the
name of "social peace and understanding" all prisoners should come
under the amnesty...

While the bourgeoisie goes deeper into such discussions, at the same
time they also try to influence the consciousness of the people in
directions favoured by them. By asking how far the amnesty should go
they are trying to portray revolutionaries as guilty...

The revolutionary prisoners want no amnesty from anyone. Only the
guilty ask for amnesty. They are not guilty. Thousands have fallen or
been taken prisoner in the fight against oppression and exploitation,
against this unjust system. Their struggle is the struggle for
independence, democracy and socialism. All of them are soldiers in
this war. Their struggle is just and legitimate. It is the fight to
drive imperialism from our land, to overthrow the exploitative,
oppressive and collaborationist oligarchy. It is imperialism and the
oligarchy who are guilty before the people, along with all their
henchmen and lackeys. There can be no amnesty from the oligarchy for
revolutionaries...

While the bourgeoisie conducts a discussion about a general amnesty,
there are also those who call for a "general amnesty without
discrimination". They call themselves progressive, democratic and
socialist. While they say that "thought crimes" do not count as
"terrorism", they talk the language of the bourgeoisie. In this way
they try to show that they are not fighting to overthrow the system
and are acting within the limits set by the bourgeoisie. While they
raise the issue of differentiation, they ask for amnesty for
themselves... These are the demands and the behaviour of reformists
and of circles seeking conciliation.  

The revolutionaries fighting imperialism and the oligarchy are seeking
amnesty from no-one. Only those who have turned their back on
revolution are begging for amnesty and clemency. Their words of
struggle are for a struggle inside the system, so it is not surprising
that they seek clemency from the bourgeoisie...

The discussions of the bourgeoisie and those who act under bourgeois
influence are confusing the consciousness of the people. The
revolutionaries on the other hand stress their own legitimacy and the
legitimacy of their struggle. 

There is no other way to achieve a life without exploitation, a life
of justice and humanity, other than through resolutely continuing the
struggle of the people against imperialism and oligarchy and for
setting up people's power. That is why the revolutionaries seek an
amnesty from no-one...

It is revolutionary behaviour to raise the demand for the
unconditional and immediate release of all prisoners and to make this
the demand of broad sections of the people. And at the same time to
demand the release of all social prisoners and convicts. To raise the
demand for the arrest and punishment of all torturers,
contra-guerrilla bands and fascists. It is revolutionary behaviour to
place no hopes in the bourgeoisie, to defend the rightfulness and
legitimacy of the revolutionaries and to make this the demand of broad
sections of the people, expanding the struggle...

Freedom for all revolutionary and social prisoners and convicts!

Immediate and unconditional release of all revolutionary prisoners!

Immediate arrest and punishment of all torturers, contra-guerrilla
bands and fascists!   

http://www.ozgurluk.org/kurtulus

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