BY GEORGES MEHRABIAN

ATHENS, Greece - Thousands of political prisoners in Turkey ended a 69-day-old hunger strike on July 28 after the government of Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan conceded some of their demands.

Twelve prisoners have died, and doctors said as many as 100 others remain in danger, weakened by their long fast.

The protesters are mostly young people who have been imprisoned on charges of belonging to left-wing political organizations, which are banned by the government in Ankara. They won the removal of 102 fellow inmates from the Eskisehir high-security prison in central Anatolia, notorious for abuse of prisoners. The government also promised no more political prisoners would be transferred there.

Turkish justice minister Sevket Kazan said the authorities had also agreed to end the abusive treatment of prisoners, improve access to medical care, and stop dispersing prisoners far from the location of their trials. But the government refused to shut down the Eskisehir jail.

Authorities claim the main organizers of the strike were 900 inmates in Istanbul's Bayrampasa prison. The action began before Erbakan's government took office, after the previous regime issued a decree in May ordering the transfer of prisoners from jails like Bayrampasa - where they are held in communal wards - to Eskisehir, a newer institution with tiny individual cells.

About 300 people at 43 jails for political prisoners were on what they termed a "death fast," taking only sweetened water. The strike became a major challenge to Ankara. Some 2,000 other inmates supported the core group of hunger strikers. Toward the end of July, another 4,000 Kurdish prisoners held on charges of supporting an independent Kurdistan had joined the strike.

Solidarity actions were held across Turkey, often resulting in violent clashes as police assaulted protesters. Indignation against Turkish authorities grew among working people as television news broadcast scenes of relatives of strikers being roughed up by cops, with women dragged by the hair or turned away when they attempted to visit their loved ones. Protests and support rallies also spread in several European countries with large Turkish populations - especially Britain and Germany. Several solidarity actions of hundreds were also held here.

Meanwhile, Kurdish immigrants have continued a protest at a square in downtown Athens, demanding political asylum.

"For three months now, about 200 of us have been camped out here in this square, living in these shacks," said Ali, as he pointed to dozens of shanties made of pieces of wood and scavenged card board. "Is this the way human beings should live? This is like a strike. We will not be moved until the authorities give us a decent place to live. It is the government's responsibility."

Most of the protesters are Kurds from Iraq. They escaped Iraq, walked their way through Turkey and down to the Greek capital, hoping to win refugee status. A few are Kurds from Turkey and Iran.

"The Greek government says it is the friend of Kurds. But we have seen no friendship. We have been denied political refugee status because we are Iraqi Kurds and not Turkish Kurds. We have been declared illegal and deportable, and have no work permits or place to live," said Ahmad.

Often, some refugees from Turkey are given preferential treatment by the Greek government, which tries to use these cases to justify their territorial claims and trade offensives against Ankara.

The police initially gave the protesters a June 5 deadline to vacate the square or be arrested. Responding to a solidarity appeal, a coalition of 30 immigrant rights and anti-racist groups called for a protest at the site, which received widespread press coverage. The authorities backed off and extended their deadline. On June 12, after a meeting with representatives of the immigrant rights coalition, the mayor's office reportedly agreed to provide the protesters with free housing at hotels and rented rooms for three months and promised no one would be deported. But at the end of July, no one had been offered housing or prospect of asylum.

Solidarity actions have continued. A flow of food and clothing has come from the Catholic church and concerned groups and individuals.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home