İSTANBUL - While the hunger strike initiated by the prisoners against the isolation in İmralı enters its 39th day, families of the prisoners adressed the NGOs and political parties and called for their support.

 

The hunger strike against the violations of rights in prisons and the aggravated isolation in İmralı continues. Approximately 2.500 prisoners from almost 100 prisons participated in the hunger strike action.

 

İsa Çetiner, brother of Selman Çetiner from Kandıra No 1 Type F Closed Prison spoke about the situation in prisons and the hunger strike action.

 

THEY ARE COMMITTING A CRIME

 

Stating that his brother will be participating in the hunger strike with the next group if the demands are not met, Çetiner said: "They are committing a crime with the whole world watching. Isolation is a indictable offence. There is a government committing genocide against the Kurds. They want to annihilate the Kurds. In order to end this, the isolation against Öcalan must be removed. This is why the prisoners went on a hunger strike. As the families of the prisoners, we underline that their demands are our demands."

 

Çetiner called for the political parties and non governmental organizations to act in line with them and support them.

 

'THE ONLY THING THEY HAVE FOR A PROTEST IS THEIR BODIES'

 

Kezban Dal, sister of İdris Değirmenci from Tarsus No 1 Type T Closed Prison who participated in the hunger strike with the first group, said everyone is isolated in the person of Öcalan and it has to end now. Emphasizing that prisoners are subjected to all kinds of violations and pressures, Dal said: "The only thing they have for a protest, is  their bodies. And they use it in hunger strikes."

 

Pointing out that the main problem is the Kurdish problem, Dal said: "They don't want the Kurds to exist. They want to annihilate us. Or at least control us. But we say that we exist. We face with oppression and arrest when we say that we exist. We have never denied our identity so far and we never will. We are here even if we are in prison. We are Kurdish and we demand our rights."

 

 

MA / Mehmet Aslan