Massacre in Prisions
December 20, 2000

Following you will find the press statements made, respectively on 19th and 20th of December, by our party concerning the interventions by the state forces to 20 prisons around our country:

The Prime Minister is declaring the political prisoners going on a death fast as terrorists.

With this mentality, the button is pushed for an intervention which will end with deaths in prisons and the news of deaths have already started to reach the public.

The state is talking about saving and rescuing those in prisons from terror, but on the other hand the public is being completely terrorized with midnight operations targeting homes, street arrests, pressures, violence, censorship and raids to political parties.

What the state is rescuing is its own prestige, not humans and all this is also a show of power.

Today it is better understood that, the determination and the claim of rescuing Turkey from ward system in prisons means an inhuman intervention targeting the lives of humans and oppression.

With this operation, it has been once more seen why the hunger strikers wouldn't trust the state despite the explanations of the Minister for Justice.

This operation must be stopped at once to avoid the greater bills of crime committed by the state, the confrontations shouldn't be escalated and the political prisoners shouldn't be send to cell prisons.

Massacre and tens of deaths among the political prisoners of Turkey... This is the method of the government for 'problem solving'.

Afterwards, the statement that "the operation has been completed 'successfully' and the nest of the terrorists has been broken up".

We learn from the statement of the Interior Minister himself that this intervention, termed as a 'Resurrection', 'Rescuing humans' or 'compassion' without any embarrasment and with personal satisfaction, was actually planned long ago.

It is understood that their genuine desire is dispersing the Bayrampasa Prison which is seen as 'the nest of terrorists" and activate the F Type cell prisons and that in order to achive their goals, they are venturing everything including sending people to death. Yet it has been made clear of today that this method will not be a solution.

All of the public has been openly deceived and those exerting efforts with good intentions have been used for the preparation of the atmosphere for this attack.

Beginning with the Prime Minister, Justice and Interior Ministers, the whole of the government is primarily responsible for the deaths. The government has shown its face which is 'alienated to the people and to humanity' in a ruthless and violent way.

That is the portrait of administrating with violence, of helplessnes and of coming to an end.

The destruction of the people who are under their own protection by those who are also attacking all the economical and democratical rights of the people cannot be hidden by any kind of false propaganda.

No matter what the pretext is, the mentality that has organized and put into practice this massacre has no right to govern this country.

Those responsible for the attack and slaughter will not be acquitted from guilt in front of history.

The government should resign and those responsible must be judged.

LEVENT TÜZEL
PRESIDENT