Inside, Outside Tear Down the Prisons!

DETUDAK | 06 – 12 – 2009 | The price of the most recent economic crisis of the imperialist capitalist system once again cut to workers and toiling masses in the form of increased militarization, state terror and intensified imperialist aggression against the oppressed peoples of the world.

The number of prisons increase as the conflict between capital and labour intensifies and the most advanced and organized sections of the workers and toiling masses are filling up the prisons.

From Stammheim to Meza dungeons, F type prisons to Guantanamo, Abu Garib to secret CIA prisons borderless imperialist aggression wants to turn the whole world into a “global” prison for the toiling masses.

The history of prisons in Turkey is also the history of torture and cruelty, history of brutality and barbarism under the September 12 fascist military coup and history of Buca, Umraniye, Diyarbakir and Ulucanlar massacres.

F type prisons operated based on the principle of isolation treatment opened up with raids carried out simultaneously in 22 prisons between the dates of December 19 to 22 2000.

In these raids, ironically named “Return to Life” by the fascist Turkish state, 28 revolutionary prisoners were massacred and many others were transferred to F type prisons after brutally tortured and disabled.

Death Fast and Indefinite Hunger Strike Struggles in prisons in which revolutionary prisoners build barricades of resistance from their bodies and set an unprecedented example of heroic resistance left behind 122 martyrs and more than 600 disabled.

Attacks against the workers and the toiling masses, Kurdish people and progressive revolutionary sections of society continues increasingly alongside the supposedly “democratization” of the Turkish state.

According to the records of the Justice Ministry there are more than 115 thousand inmates and prisoners held in prisons with capacity to hold 97 thousand. While 5723 of these are political prisoners, 2814 of these are children and youth.

Prisoners are held in cells for 1 or 3 persons in F type prisons. Today, thousands of political prisoners are held especially in F type prisons under solitary confinement and conditions of isolation.

Solitary confinement and isolation treatment are intended to suppress the character and identity of prisoners, force them to renounce their thoughts and believes and eventually surrender.

The practice of solitary confinement and isolation is reinforced by rigid disciplinary codes and punishments outlined under the Punishment Enforcement Laws. In addition, physical attacks and torture are intensely used. Guler Zere, Erol Zavar and 21 other prisoners are facing serious health problems and counting days to death as a result of arbitrary disciplinary actions (visitors, letters, telephone etc), unhealthy conditions, malnourishment, brutal tortures, hunger strikes and long years of imprisonment.

Revolutionary prisoners struggling against the F-type aggression with courage, commitment and persistence have established the Centralized Platform of Prisons with an understanding that in order to beat back the attacks of the state and advance the struggle for rights “a strong centralized organization and common action” is an urgent necessity.

The urgent task of upholding and advancing this heroic resistance carried out by the revolutionary prisoners for the last nine years is front of us. In fact, on behalf of the prisoners it is their opinions and believes that is wanted to be isolated from society. On behalf of the prisoners it is the whole society that is wanted to be kept imprisoned and surrender.

Thus, removal of isolation treatment, providing needs and demands of the political prisoners are not only their but whole society’s problem.

Therefore, we the undersigned have began our activities as DETUDAK in order to advance the united organized struggle for abolishment of isolation treatment which is a crime against humanity, to build an international solidarity network with prisoners and campaign for release of sick and disabled prisoners wherever we are.

We, call on everyone to join and advance the struggle against isolation treatment, defend the political prisoners struggling for a free future of humanity and be their voice “outside” and tear down the prisons build inside and outside, all over our lives.

SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE WITH REVOLUTIONARY PRISONERS (DETUDAK)

Solidarity Committee with Free Prisoners, Confederation of Democratic Rights in Europe, International Solidarity Committee with Political Prisoners, Solidarity Committee with Free Prisoners in Europe, Bir-Kar