'We Do Not Approve Inmates Ending Their Lives'

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Four political organizations have released a statement on the hunger strikes and deaths in prisons.

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Peoples' Democratic Congress (DTK), Democratic Society Congress (DTK), Democratic Regions Party (DBP) made the statement at the HDP provincial building in southeastern Diyarbakır province.

HDP Co-Chairs Sezai Temelli and Pervin Buldan, HDK Co-Chair Gülistan Koçyiğit, DBP Co-Chair Mehmet Arslan and DTK Co-Chair Bedran Öztürk attended the meeting.

The statement said the following in brief:

An answer to 'You don't have a place in this land'

"The Newroz celebrations were held with great masses and without any negativity. Millions of people gave very clear messages despite repression, oppression and preventions in our provinces and districts, especially in Amed, Van and İstanbul.

"All the forces for democracy, with the Kurdish people being in the first place, gave an answer to the government's insults and words that say 'You don't have a place in this land."

'Isolation is humanely and legally unacceptable'

"In the hunger strikes that are being carried on against the inhumane, unlawful, aggravated isolation that has been continuing for four years on Abdullah Öcalan (leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party/PKK) in İmralı [Prison], 139 days have passed in the person of Leyla Güven and 101 days have passed in the prisons.

"This isolation has been continuing for four years, about 1460 days. This isolation is unlawfully being carried on against the existing laws, the Constitution, and the international democratic conventions that Turkey signed. A situation that is humanely and legally unacceptable is occurring."

'Let's defend life'

"Unfortunately, four corpses have come from the prisons in the last 10 days. Four inmates have ended their lives in protest of the isolation. One person who set himself on fire could not be saved, unfortunately.

"As all the institutions, we, of course, defend not death but life and making people live.

"Our all struggle and efforts are for not losing even one life and for ensuring the peace by solving the problems.

"For this reason, we make a call to everyone for the discontinuation of this type of deeds. Let's struggle against oppression by defending life."

'Abducting corpses is a great shame'

"The government's stance on the corpses of the people who lost their lives in prisons are unacceptable in terms of both law and faith and humanity and morals.

"Abducting the corpses from the families, burying them without taking the families' approval and violating their right to bury, preventing people from fulfilling their religious duties is a great shame." (EKN)