An Urgent Appeal to the Government of Turkey and the International Community
Upon conclusion of their visit to Turkey, members of the International Peace Delegation to Imrali launched an Urgent Appeal to break the forced isolation of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and thus allow the more than 300 persons on hunger strike in Turkish prisons and elsewhere to end their solidarity action. The complete text of the Appeal follows below.
Abdullah
Öcalan’s unlawful and inhumane isolation must be ended immediately. Otherwise
hundreds of people who are on hungerstrike in Turkish prisons and outside
Turkey face certain death in the coming days and weeks. Today, 15 February
2019, marks both the 20th anniversary of Mr. Öcalan’s abduction and
the 100th day of HDP MP Leyla Güven´s hunger strike. The situation
now for Ms. Güven and the more than 330 others on hunger strike around the
world is beyond critical. By failing to exert pressure on the Turkish
authorities to abide by their own laws and constitution and the most basic
international human rights standards, the international community must be regarded
as complicit in serious human rights abuses committed by the Turkish government.
We therefore urge the international community to break its silence.
We, the undersigned, appeal to the
government of Turkey to immediately break the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan, and
thus open up the way for peace negotiations. Öcalan has been held in a state of
aggravated isolation since 2015, andhas not been allowed to contact a lawyer
since 2011, in violation of the most basic human rights. The policy of
isolation that has been imposed upon Öcalan, and the three others imprisoned on
İmralı Island, is not
only in violation of International Law and the European Convention on Human
Rights, which Turkey is obliged to uphold as a member of the Council of Europe,
but is also a violation of Turkey´s own domestic laws and constitution. We
regret not having been granted a meeting with the Turkish Minister of Justice
in accordance with the request in our letter dated the 21st of
January, where we raised our concern forthe state of human rights in Turkey, and
the systematic practice of imprisonmenton political premises.In this meeting, wehoped
for the opportunity to voice our concerns and hearthe minister’s reactions.
We, the undersigned, echo the call ofthe
Council of Europe urging Turkey to authorize immediate publication of the CPT´s
findings on Turkey. Furthermore, we would like to call attention to the
resolution passed recently by the Council of Europe regarding the worsening
situation of human rights in Turkey. The Council expressed their deep concern,
calling on Turkey to, among other things, abide by the basic human rights
principles adopted by the Council of Europe concerning the imprisonment of Öcalan,
release the members of parliament that have been imprisoned, and implement
reforms to ensure an independent judiciary.
During our visit, we have met with various
groups, including the Human Rights Association, the BAR Association, the
Democratic Societies Congress, trade unions, the Women´s Movement, the Peace
Mothers, and the lawyers of Abdullah Öcalan. We have also met with HDP MP Leyla
Güven, then on her 98th day of hunger strike. She said to us that
her hunger strike is not an act of suicide, but rather an act of love for life;
to be able to live with human dignity.
We wish to amplify this message, and make
it echo throughout parliament halls and congress chambers around the world. The
sole demand of Ms. Güven, the 313 individuals on hunger strike in prisons across
Turkey, and the other hunger strikers in Hewler, Strasbourg and Wales, is to
end the isolation imposed on Abdullah Öcalan. This demand is ultimately a very
simple one; that Turkey comply with and enforce its own laws. It is our firm
belief that this critical situation could be changed for the better in a very
short time, depending on the actions of the Turkish authorities.
The ultimate reason for the hunger strikes,
and the point we have heard repeated continuously by every group we have met
with, is ajust peace. It is ubiquitously believed that the first step to
restart the peace process and realize a lasting peace is to end the policy of
isolation imposed on Abdullah Öcalan and the other prisoners of İmralı Island. This is because Öcalan
is recognized as the political representative of the people of Kurdistan, he
has been a consistent and convincing voice calling for peace, and he has provided
a detailed roadmap to achieve a peaceful resolution of the Kurdish question and
a democratic settlement of the Middle Eastern conflict.
The situation of the hunger strikers is at
a dangerous point, and it is imperative that the government of Turkey acts to
end the isolation now, before there is further violence and bloodshed. During
our visit, many people have asked us how it could be that the world has
remained so silent on the obvious human rights abuses in Turkey for so long. We
share their astonishment and outrage, and moreover, we agree with them that the
key to the solution of this critical and worsening situation lies in the hands
of the Turkish government; all they must do is turn it.
INTERNATIONAL PEACE DELEGATION TO IMRALI
-Istanbul,
15 February 2019
--SIGNED—
Ögmundur Jónasson - Former Minister of
Justice, Iceland
Beverly Keene – Coordinator, Dialogue
2000-Jubilee South Argentina
Connor Hayes – Student of Philosophy,
University of Edinburgh, Scotland
Manuel Cortes – General Secretary,
Transport Salary Staff Association, UK and Ireland
Maxine Peak - Actress and playwright,
England
Paul Scholey – Trade union rights lawyer and
Senior Partner, Morrish Solicitors, England
Tony Burke – Assistant General Secretary,
Unite the union, UK and Ireland