Interview with DHKP-C prisoners (Turkey)

[ozgurluk at xs4all.nl]

note 'oe'=ouml
     'ue'=uuml

Taken From the "Rote Hilfe" (Red Aid)

INTERVIEW WITH DHKP-C PRISONERS 

"The hungerstrike till death from 1996 has, because of its results,
achieved the character of a political victory..."

Two years ago, a hungerstrike by political prisoners in Turkey kept
the whole country in its grip for months, determining the political
agenda.

Prisoners from ten revolutionary organisations participated in the
hungerstrike till death, which lasted for 69 days, and 12 prisoners
died:  Aygun Ugur(TKP(ML)), Altan Berdan Kerimgiller (DHKP-C),
Ilginc Ozkeskin (DHKP-C), Huseyin Demircioglu (MLKP), Ali Ayata
(TKP(ML)), Mujdat Yanat (DHKP-C), Tahsin Yilmaz (TIKB), Ayse Idil
Erkmen (DHKP-C), Hicabi Kucuk (TIKB), Yemliha Kaya (DHKP-C), Osman
Akgun (TIKB) en Hayati Can (TKP(ML)).

Last summer, co-workers from the "Rote Hilfe" (Red Aid) from Kiel
(Germany) had an interview with DHKP-C prisoners in Turkey. Two years
after the hungerstrike till death, we want to hear from them about the
present situation and how the their struggle is going now. 

How has the prison situation been since 1996?

Before answering this question, maybe we should explain what was the
goal of the hungerstrike of 1996 and what a victory this action was.
Then the answer to your question is easier to understand. The
hungerstrike till death of 1996 was not held for the recognition of
limited rights in prison. Because of its results, the hungerstrike
also has the character of a political victory, looking at the future
of the revolutionary struggle, where the heart of the struggle is
formed by the existential struggle of the revolutionaries against
fascism.

In those days, fascism did everything to carry out its plan of beating
back the revolutionary struggle and repressing the demands of the
people for rights and justice. Their plan was directed against all
segments of society. As their first level of attack, they chose the
prisons and the revolutionary prisoners. It has been important to beat
back fascism at its first step when it increased its attacks in prison
in a deadly way. The hungerstrike till death then transformed into an
existential struggle, destroying the core of the fascist plan,
silencing the people and the revolution.

In short, we can say our action cannot be reduced to the demand of
closing the isolation prison in Eskesehir and giving back the rights
for defence and medical treatment. The action, besides pushing through
the demands (albeit at the cost of 12 deaths), also brought a
political victory which in a very short time revealed the true face of
fascism in Turkey to all the people in the world. Furthermore, the
attempt to take the revolutionary struggle hostage was stopped and
beaten back.

The action found a lot of resonance, it developed new values and new
possibilities for the revolutionary struggle and thus it reached its
goal. 

Turkey is a country which is ruled by fascism. Under the conditions of
fascism, the existential struggle between fascism and the revolution
continues, even though the intensity of the struggle might differ from
time to time. The prisons also constitute one of the many places where
the struggle is waged. From this view, the revolutionary prisoners
thus are a favourite target of fascism. The prisoners try to gain
their rights through several actions, fascism tries to curtail these
rights and then the prisoners resist this and struggle again. Fascism
takes a step back and prepares for new attacks. This law is in
existence since the beginning of the revolutionary struggle and it
will remain in existence for as long as fascism exists. So it's no
mistake to keep this aspect in mind in evaluating the phase after the
hungerstrike till death of 1996.

As first demand of our action, the isolation prison in Eskesehir was
closed. The denial of our right of defence and medical treatment, the
attacks against our families, arresting them, it all clearly
decreased. However, after this period the attacks took another form
and they occurred on several levels. For instance, they no longer
talked about a central isolation prison as in Eskesehir, now isolation
cells were built in the individual prisons in stead. They also denied
us the right of medical treatment. Because of that, we have had more
deaths recently as a result of lacking medical care. We call this
silent annihilation afterwards. The relatives and family members of
the prisoners are being arrested again, their visits are being
prevented by all kinds of pestering and nagging. And then there are
always the provocations, or something is thought of the create
provocations. 

Severe attacks occur again and again. On March 30, 1998, for instance.
In Buca Ten DHKP-C prisoners were kidnapped from prison. But this
attack as well was beaten back because of the determined resistance of
the prisoners. Even though circumstances might differ in the
individual prisons from time to time, most important is our determined
resistance against the attacks and assaults of fascism, to beat back
the attacks, making every sacrifice necessary. Because this will be a
factor which will make fascism retreat permanently, creating a basis
at the same time for a fertile ground for our achieved successes. 

How do you organize your activities and your life?

The reason why fascism chooses prison as a permanent target for their
attacks is at the one hand the fact that we have transformed it into a
place of the revolution, into schools of our party, that we don't give
up our struggle in jail, that we do not loose our faith in the
revolution, and that we succeeded in becoming a moral institution in
the eyes of the people. Our lives and our activities must be seen and
judged in that context. The question is who poses the question of
power in prison, the revolutionaries or fascism.

However circumstances in prison might be, we determine reality and the
issue of power in the prisons. What we do and how we live is
determined by is alone. We do not allow fascism to enter here. We see
our line of life as a part, as an ideological, political and practical
support for the revolutionary struggle. In that sense we also have a
written statute which determines our communal life, our political
education, our relations with our relatives, our principles and rules
in all details. This statute was discussed and approved by all members
of the DHKP-C, it's valid for all imprisoned members of the DHKP-C. In
all prisons, these common principles form the basis for our lives and
our activities, naturally considering local circumstances. The common
frame of mind develops in real life the collectivity on the basis of
revolutionary principles. On the other hand, the collectivity
strengthens our mental and moral unity in real life. It's fundamental
in our life to permanently practice revolutionary discipline,
collectivism, political education, productivity and an attitude which
prevents the dissolvment of the revolutionary struggle.


On that basis, we are living in a community, we participate in joint
political education, and we also are active culturally and in sports.
Besides that there are of course the individual activities which
support the struggle in a positive way. For us, such a life
constitutes a shield which protects us against the attempts of fascism
to destroy us, to break our consciousness. Our socialist conviction,
our love for our people and our country, our responsibility for all
our peoples, is reflected in our entire life and it strengthens our
consciousness. That's why fascism tries to isolate us, and if that
doesn't succeed, sabotage our lives. It's not important whether we are
with 300 people or alone, our lives and our activities stem from this
consciousness. 

It cannot be ignored that the people are organizing on all levels.
Students, workers, civil servants, the people's councils for instance.
How do you see your place in that?

The struggle inside the prisons signified important phases of the
revolutionary struggle in our country. We might even say that one of
the special characteristics of the revolutionary struggle in our
country is the role of the revolutionary struggle in the prisons. The
practice of the revolutionaries in the prisons has time and again
played a determining role, on the one hand for the future of the
revolutionary struggle, but on the other for the future of the
individual political prisoner as well. In our country, the
revolutionary prisoners are influenced by the struggle of the people,
and vice versa their struggle influences the people. Our struggle
inside the prisons has become stronger and broader, not for realizing
more agreeable conditions of life, but rather on the basis of the
revolutionary struggle and the problems connected with that. In their
30 year history, the DHKP-C prisoners have always interpreted
imprisonment from these aspects. It's important that imprisonment,
keeping the body within four walls, does not jail the mind. Under
those circumstances, prisoners with a free mind can overcome
imprisonment and its consequences and they can become part of the
struggle of the people. Then they are able to fulfil their given tasks
in the struggle with success. In our country, there were times when
the struggle inside the prisons was decisive for the struggle outside.
For example during the period of the coup. The junta had tortured
hundreds of thousands of people outside, thousands were arrested. All,
revolutionaries, democrats and intellectuals were driven together in
prison and under those circumstances, every fight for rights, every
struggle for freedoms, transformed into resistance against the terror
of the junta against the people. A struggle which served as a
barricade against all the repression and aggression could only develop
inside the prisons. After the junta had silenced the unions,
associations, even the bourgeois opposition, with repression and bans,
it turned against the prisoners. If the revolutionaries and their
consciousness could be broken inside the prison, the road would be
paved for their system of exploitation.

Therefore they started with forcing the prisoners to wear prison
clothing to destroy their individuality and dignity, but the prisoners
did not allow that. In January 1984, three of our comrades and a
comrade from the TIKB lost their lives during a 75 day long
hungerstrike, but the junta's plan was stopped. The political victory
of 1984 has, besides gaining existential basic rights, made an
impression upon the people and it became a propelling force in the
struggle against fascism. As our example shows, prisons and
revolutionary prisoners can become of strategic importance at certain
times. In that sense it constitutes an important part of the struggle
in our country. The level of importance can vary, increase or
decrease, from time to time, but it is never without importance. That
means that the prisoners have to resists under all circumstances, they
must never surrender to fascism, they must be part of the struggle. As
we have said after your first question, the prisons were attacked at a
moment when hundreds of thousands of people on the outside took to the
streets: the politicizing of the people, the increasing level of
organizing and the political struggle as a whole had to be stopped.
The barricade struggle in 1995 when three of our comrades fell in
Buca, or January 4 when four comrades were murdered during an
operation of the security troops and when we counteracted these
attacks with barricades and taking security officers as prisoners,
must be seen in that context.

Looking at the present situation, the role of the revolutionary
prisoners and the prisons in the struggle hasn't changed in itself.
The prisoners are an active and inseparable part in the struggle and
the organizing of the people. This role can come to the foreground
from time to time, depending on the attacks by fascism. But just as
the students, the workers and the civil servants, they are organized
and function as a part of the people's struggle. The only difference
is that the prisoners are confined within four walls. Nothing changed
in their responsibility towards the people and the country in the
struggle against fascism. That is to say that they are a part in the
struggle for power. 

The state tries to lock up the prisoners in isolation cells. What will
be the reaction of the prisoners in such a situation?

Maybe we should start with clarifying why the state wants to implement
such a policy. To begin with, it has to be clear that what the state
wants to force upon the prisoners, whatever they call it, whatever the
form, indifferent when, is to take them hostage. Taking them hostage
means to separate them from their conviction, from their ideology they
have fought for till now, where they have been tortured for, locked up
in prison for years, lost their comrades... in short they are supposed
to betray themselves and their people. 

This taking hostage is not something physical, and it's not the giving
up of the revolutionary struggle by an individual or by one hundred
prisoners, it's rather the effect of such a process, that is to say
the effect of the persons, driven to betrayal, not wanting to know
anymore of their ideology and conviction, this effect upon the people
and upon their comrades. When you think about that it is perfectly
clear that such an effect influences the struggle negatively and that
these people are being misused to destroy the self-confidence of the
people. For the state, the most important goals in this are to spread
mistrust, the giving up of the conviction and the goal, the breaking
of the own identity. Revolutionaries have become moral standards who,
whatever the form of torture and repression, will not break their word
to the people, who will not hesitate to die for their conviction, thus
giving the people conviction and determination as well. This
constitutes a danger to fascism, therefore one attack follows the
other. The demand for building isolation cells, since 1977 time and
again on the agenda, constitutes the continuation of these attacks. 

As you know, an isolation prison was opened in Eskesehir in 1996.
Present policy is to build isolation cells in all prisons so that they
all become "Eskesehirs". Spreading the attacks aims at splitting up a
given resistance because simultaneous resistance in several prisons
gives a stronger position of negotiation towards the state. With the
decentralization of its isolation policy, that is to say with
introducing isolation cells in all the local prisons, the state aims
at breaking a centrally organized resistance, at the other hand they
also want to win the public opinion for this policy by putting
non-political prisoners in the isolation blocks as well. But the
reality of fascism and the fascist policies are manifest.

That's the state's calculation. The policy of introducing isolation
blocks, constantly reappearing, aims at separating the political
prisoners, at weakening the resistance and, in course of time, making
the political prisoners into collaborators. But introducing the
separate isolation cells in the prison at different times will not
change anything about our central co-ordination, that is to say the
simultaneous co-ordinated resistance in all the prisons. Even when
only one of our comrades is put into isolation, hundreds of prisoners
will rise up in all the prisons. That was shown on March 30, in Buca.
Our comrades were kidnapped gangster style so there whereabouts would
be unknown but all the DHKP-C prisoners reacted with actions like
taking the guards hostage, building barricades or refusing to be
counted. The state tried to test the reactions inside the prisons but
when it became obvious they couldn't act like they pleased, the state
withdrew. As mentioned before, such a retreat is only temporary, of
course, and when the preparations are finished, or when a suitable
situation occurs, attacks will be launched again. But our reaction
will be swift. None of us will disappear into a isolation cell. We
will resist, if need be we'll die. We will break down these cells with
our hands and teeth. All the DHKP-C prisoners are that determined.
Given such a situation, the full attention of the country will be on
the prisons, the resistance of the revolutionaries, again. 

There are several forms of repression in Turkey. Which is the most
problematic?

Of course there are different forms of repression in our country. It's
not always possible, or even necessary, to differentiate according to
their importance because they are all based on the same, fascism.
Fascism is expressed in all its cruelty in our country. Exploitation
and barbarism rule on all levels. This state is a contra-guerrilla
state which wages a war against the people, using the methods of the
contra-guerrilla. Oppression, tyranny, exploitation, disappearances
and murders, the cruelties against the Kurdish people, the burning
down of villages, forced deportations, torture, fascist terror
attacks, et cetera. We could list a dozen other forms of repression,
from mass lay offs to provocations at demonstrations. To see the
fascist tactics on all the levels of life isn't difficult at all. The
cruelties which occurred in the gas chambers of Hitler are reflected
in our country in the collections of the cut off ears of the
revolutionaries. Is it possible to make a difference between
Hitler-fascism and fascism in our country, at least in the way it is
applied to individuals, when we look at the way our comrades are
massacred? This is the naked truth we have to face. Turkey is ruled by
fascism. Fascism is a way of government which is based on repression
and that influences all the practices and policies which are applied.
When we speak about the different forms of repression in Turkey, we
speak about fascism in Turkey, nothing else. When we apply your
question to the prisons in particular, we can see many parallels. What
is implemented now is a fascist policy we call "silent destruction".
How is this done? Let us give a concrete answer. As you know, the
survivors of the hungerstrike till death of 1996 suffered serious
physical and psychological damage. Already during the first phase, the
justice department refused medical treatment in the Bayrampasa prison.
The doctors were refused entrance in the other prisons as well. Even
the treatment in hospital of the prisoners which were near death,
shortly after the hungerstrike till death was ended, was hindered.
Although even official forensic-medical institutions regarded the
continued imprisonment of severely handicapped prisoners as
irresponsible, they are still incarcerated. Prisoners who are unable
to move without help, who cannot carry out their daily activities,
were given medical statements which said: there are no objections to
continue imprisonment. This not only applies to the participants of
the hungerstrike till death, it applies to all prisoners. As a
consequence of this policy of annihilation, several prisoners have
died lately like Umit Dogan (...) in the prison of Aydin, Kalender
Kayapinar in Canakkale, Yunus Yaman in Ankara, Kazim Tunc in Nevsehir
and Polat Iyit in Sagmalcilar. 

Another dimension of this practice is that medical treatment of
prisoners, for as far as they are brought to external hospitals, is
prevented by soldiers on the spot. It even goes as far that prisoners
how should be medically treated are being beaten and tortured. 

In short, this policy of silent destruction can be regarded as another
form of the policy of hostage taking. Thus fascism states "when I
cannot kill with bombs and bullets, I'll do it by means of illnesses".
Prison conditions create the physical causes for diseases, epidemics,
completing this policy. That fascism breaks its own laws is in its
nature, but this policy creates conditions which makes all shiver. 

How can the struggle of the political prisoners be supported by
institutions in Europe? What can we do?

To begin with, we want to emphasize that all have to make the
anti-fascist struggle their own, apart from the fact that this is of
course the task of the people which are governed by fascism. More than
ever, it's important that internationalist consciousness and
internationalism are kept alive. On the one hand, this will give us
the opportunity to keep alive our mutual relations, on the other hand
we can make concrete our responsibility towards the other peoples of
the world. 

We as DHKP-C are and always were an internationalist movement and
dozens of actions and activities resulted from that. Comrades fell
during these actions. As prisoners as well, we have kept
internationalism alive inside the prisons. We have realised resistance
and action on an internationalist level. In the future as well, we
keep high this consciousness which gives us strength and pride.
Therefore every form of support from people in other countries, from
revolutionaries, democratic groups or individuals, is important to us
and really valuable. It's clear that the more we are. the sooner we'll
achieve freedom, the sooner we'll achieve a world in which we can lead
a dignified life. There are concrete ways in which institutions in
Western Europe can support our struggle. We have always considered
this kind of international actions of great value. At this moment
there are comrades, also from other revolutionary organisations, who
have survived the hungerstrike till death but who can no longer
survive under prison conditions. So there could be actions to demand
the release of these prisoners. Besides that, material support is
needed for the treatment of our comrades. There are so many comrades
who cannot  be operated because the state will not cover the costs.
The people in Europe could also unmask fascism in Turkey. 

Finally we want to emphasize again that we were very glad with your
compassion and solidarity. 

It's of the greatest importance that you support our struggle, that
you have chosen the side of the peoples in Turkey. 

We thank you and wish you good luck with your work.

Attached is a list of DHKP-C prisoners who urgently need medical help,
most of them as a consequence of the hungerstrike till death. All
their illnesses are backed by reports of recognized hospitals. The
illnesses vary from leukaemia, hepatitis b, tuberculosis, chronic lung
illnesses, paralysis to neurological illnesses. Most of them can no
longer carry out the most elementary needs without help. There are
illnesses like the Wernike-Korsakov syndrome as a consequence of the
hungerstrike till death.

Bayrampasa Prison (Istanbul):

Ali Yalcin. Hungerstrike till death (HS). Wernike Korsakov

Mehmet Yaman. HS. General weakness, hypersensitive for light and
sounds, hearing loss, equilibrium disorder, problems with sight. 

Mustafa Goek. HS. Wernike-Korsakov.

Mehmet Goevel. HS. General weakness, equilibrium disorder, dizziness,
problems with sight. 

Sengi Mert. Chronic bronchitis. No reply to his request for treatment.

Einali Sarielmas. Severe bronchitis. 

Oktay Karatas. Deaf at both ears since the attack on the UEmraniye
prison in 1995. Not treated because of lacking money.

Yazgi Goender. TB

Gamze Mimaroglu. TB

Seyjan Dogun. Hepatitis B

Gencali Karabulut. Hepatitis B

Ali Simsek. Hepatitis B

Cengiz Bayir. Epilepsy. At present two attacks weekly. 

Bursa Prison:

Ibrahim Dogan. HS. Memory loss. Wernike-Korsakov.

Bartin Prison:

Abdulaziz Nakci. HS. Cannot remember important events of the past and
present, equilibrium disorder, hypersensitive for sound. 

Selmani OEzcan. HS. Equilibrium disorder, speech disorder, tremors.

Cankiri Prison:

Serdar Gelir. HS. Memory loss, general weakness, motion disorders. 

Maximum Security Prison of Ankara:

Zeynap Goengfuermez. HS. Memory loss, equilibrium disorder. 

Aydin/Buca Prison:

Ali Teke. HS. Can no longer function independently.

Bernar Satar. HS. Not capable of carrying out activities of everyday
life. 

Tamer Cadirci. HS. Leukaemia, prison authorities prevent treatment. 

-- 
Press Agency Ozgurluk
For justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan!
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