Prison conditions claim 72 Turkish martyrs: Turkish regime licks Uncle Sam's boots The semi-colonial, semi-feudal regime in Turkey is lining up to support u.$. imperialism in its war in Afghanistan. Naval forces from Turkey are already backing up U.$. forces and joining British ships preparing ground forces for Afghanistan.(1) The Turkish ruling class is especially happy to see the united $tates focus on "terrorism," because in the past, the State Department has defined Turkish revolutionaries as "terrorists." In fact, the October 5th State Department legal list of "terrorist" groups(2) includes the Revolutionary People's Liberation Front of Turkey (DHKP/C). According to the DHKP, "The prime minister Ecevit, all the ministers of the cabinet, the members of parliament from MHP (Grey Wolves Party) and the generals are almost fainting with excitement at prospect of a 'war against terrorism' emanating from the USA. With the idea of hiding and minimizing the evidence of them being murderers and torturers, without restraining themselves they are talking and threatening shamelessly. Together with its generals, police chiefs, bureaucrats and journalists, the regime is now aiming to legitimise their tyranny and to oppress all resistance against the same tyranny. Their first targets are revolutionaries and the Death Fast resistance. The second in rank general from the General Staff, General Major Yasar Buyukanit, gave a speech on September 26th with this mentality. He said 'this bloody organisation gave the order for the death fasts from abroad... some countries which are lecturing us about human rights are supporting this terror.'"(3) MIM has big disagreements with the DHKP/C that advanced revolutionary scientists should study. Nonetheless, in Turkey, there are many revolutionaries of various stripes, and we count the DHKP/C as revolutionary, not "terrorist." In Turkey, there is an ongoing prison hunger strike claiming the lives of the various revolutionary forces. The Turkish state is attempting to implement "F-type" prisons to isolate prisoners and make their killing inside prison easier to carry out. So far 72 prisoners have died in hunger strikes and related resistance. We list them here according to a report from the DHKC. Turkish martyrs 19 December Ahmet İbili (DHKC), Ali Ateş (DHKC), Ali İhsan Özkan (TKP(ML)), Alp Ata Akçagöz (DHKC), Aşur Korkmaz (DHKC), Berrin Bıçkılar (DHKC), Cengiz Çalıkoparan (DHKC), Ercan Polat (DHKC), Fahri Sarı (PKK/ DCS), Fidan Kalşen (DHKC), Fırat Tavuk (DHKC), Gülser Tuzcu (DHKC), Halil Önder (DHKC), Hasan Güngörmez (DHKC), İlker Babacan (DHKC), İrfan Ortakçı (DHKC), Murat Ördekçi (TKEP/L), Murat Özdemir (DHKC), Mustafa Yılmaz (DHKC), Nilüfer Alcan (DHKC), Özlem Ercan (DHKC), Rıza Poyraz (DHKC), Şefinur Tezgel (DHKC), Seyhan Doğan (DHKC), Sultan Sarı (PKK / DCS) , Umut Gedik (DHKC), Yasemin Cancı (DHKC), Y. Güder Özturk (DHKC) 21 March 2001: Cengiz Soydaş (DHKC), 7 April 2001: Bülent Çoban (DHKC), 7 April 2001: Adil Kaplan (TKP(ML)), 10 April 2001: Gülsüman Dönmez (TAYAD), 11 April 2001: Nergiz Gülmez (TKP(ML)), 11 April 2001: Fatma Ersoy (DHKC), 12 April 2001: Abdullah Bozdağ (DHKC), 12 April 2001: Celal Alpay (TKP(ML)), 12 April 2001: Tuncay Günel (TIKB), 13 April 2001: Erol Evcil (DHKC), 14 April 2001: Murat Çoban (DHKC), 15 April 2001: Canan Kulaksız (TAYAD), 16 April 2001: Gürsel Akmaz (DHKC), 18 April 2001: Ender Canyıldız (TKP(ML)), 21 April 2001: Sibel Sürücü (TKEP/L), 23 April 2001: Şenay Hanoğlu (TAYAD), 23 April 2001: Hatice Yürekli (TKIP), 25 April 2001: Erdoğan Güler (TAYAD), 25 April 2001: Sedat Karakurt (DHKC), 28 April 2001: Fatma Hülya Tümgan (DHKC), 7 May 2001: Cafer Tayyar Bektaş (TKP(ML)), 7 May 2001: Hüseyin Kayacı (MLKP), 27 May 2001: Uğur Türkmen (DHKC), 16 June 2001: Veli Güneş (DHKC), 26 June 2001: Aysun Bozdoğan (TKEP-L), 29 June 2001: Zehra Kulaksız (TAYAD), 4 July 2001: Gökhan Özocak (DHKC), 8 July 2001 : Ali Koç (DHKC), 14 July 2001: Sevgi Erdoğan (DHKC), 3 August 2001: Muharrem Horoz (TKP-ML), 14 August 2001: Osman Osmanağaoğlu (DHKC), 31 August 2001: Hülya Şimşek (TAYAD), 8 September 2001: Gülay Kavak (DHKC), 10 September 2001: Uğur Bülbül (DHKC), 14 September 2001: Ümüş Şahingöz (DHKC), 18 September 2001 İbrahim Erler (DHKC), 20 September 2001: Abdulbari Yusufoğlu (TAYAD, 27 September 2001: Zeynep ARIKAN (DHKC), Ali Rıza DEMİR(DHKC), 28 September 2001 Ayşe BAŞTİMUR (DHKC), Özlem DURAKCAN (TAYAD) Others have died in the streets attending funerals. In fact, the Turkish regime took advantage of the World Trade Center spectacle to attack a funeral of a fallen hunger-striker. Later on October 23rd, the police tortured a prisoner to death in Istanbul--Yunus Guzel. More prisoners are in the process of dying and new prisoners sign up for the hunger- strike. According to DHKP, "18 men and women of the DHKP- C, 7 of the TKP(ML), 5 of the TKP/ML, 4 of the TIKB, and 4 of the MLKP from several isolation prisons declared their fight against the new F- type cells." MIM especially supports the TKP/ML. The European Union imperialists claim to seek a more moderate Turkey, a Turkey without even a death penalty. The European Union leaders tell Turkey that it cannot join in the economic benefits of the European Union until it improves "human-rights." Hence, the European Union should be doing more to bring an end to F-type prisons. Turkey is especially vulnerable to European Union pressure. Even according to its ally the United $tates, the Turkish regime is a "human-rights violator" consistently: "Torture, beatings, and other abuses by security forces remained widespread."(5) Turkey is also squeezed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in which the united $tates plays the single largest role. Perhaps even more important is the historic role of the CIA in assisting the regime murder revolutionaries and the military aid the United $tates provided the Turkish regime. Between 1980 and 1999, the U.S. Government gave the Turkish regime $4.6 billion in military aid and $2 billion in military loans. In fiscal year 1999, the Turkish regime imported $1.56 billion in weapons from the United $tates.(6) Formally, the United $tates had cut-off military aid, largely out of the desire for Greece and Turkey to desist in conflict. Now the Turkish regime buys its U.$. weapons. According to the prestigious bourgeois military analysts "Jane's," Turkey is the only NATO country to increase military spending since the end of the Cold War.(7) The latest spending by Turkey is for attack helicopters from Textron, a U.$.-based company. Israel was planning to help Turkey develop the computer for these helicopters, but computer development has proved a source of contention with Uncle Sam. Turkey has also asked to buy joint Israel-U.$.-developed "Arrow 2" missiles.(8) If the U.S. Government does not approve the sale of Textron helicopters the way Turkey wants, Turkey is threatening to buy Russian-Israeli helicopters instead, despite past political pressure from Clinton's Secretary of State Madelaine Albright.(9) Protest fax numbers in Turkey: Minister of Internal Affairs Tel: 0090-312-418 13 68 Fax: 0090-312-418 17 95 Minister of Justice Tel: 0090-312-419 60 50 Fax: 0090-312-417 39 54 President for Turkey (Mr. Bulent Ecevit): 00 90 312 417 04 86 Prime Minister for Turkey (Mr Ahmet Necdet Sezer): 00 90 312 468 50 12 Istanbul Police Headquarters: 00 90 212 532 39 39 Governorship of Istanbul: 00 90 212 512 20 86 Notes: 1. http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/10/26/ret.british.forces/index.html 2. http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/rpt/fto/2001/index.cfm?docid=5258 3. http://www.dhkc.org/english/article.php?sid=83 4. The TKP/ML may be found at www.partizan.org 5. U.S. Government human-rights report 2000, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2000/eur/index.cfm?docid=844 6. http://www.fas.org/asmp/profiles/turkey_fmschart.htm 7. http://idex.janes.com/landforces_data/majorplayers03.shtml#turkey 8. http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/000325/2000032510.html 9. http://www.russiajournal.com/weekly/article.shtml?ad=3302