Political prisoners of PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) and PAJK (Kurdistan Women's Liberation Party) in Turkey’s prisons called for awareness on the hunger strikes. The prisoners say, “To say ‘no’ to the death trap the system has attempted to set upon our peoples will be the start of breaking the attack” and added: “Victory will come to those who resist in truth.”

Deniz Kaya sent a written statement on the hunger strikes in the name of all PKK-PAJK in prisons in Turkey and Kurdistan.

The full text is as follows:

“The AKP government doesn’t accept a democratic political solution and transformation and aimed to prolong their existence by pushing fascism to the ultimate limit and institutionalizing it and pushing the Kurdish people to be without status one more time in the reorganization of the region. All their policies are geared towards this.

All the oppression, violence and rights violations reflect on the prisons with the arrests. The operations to break the will and to intimidate those on the outside are attempted to be completed with practices inside. These attacks targeting human dignity are carried out with this in mind.

While there are attacks and rights violations in all prisons, some are specially selected as pilot torture centers. They are attempting to break our will with these, and on the other hand they want every dungeon to bother with their own problems and be unable to follow or support others sufficiently.

“WE MUST PREPARE FOR BUILDING WITH NO OBSTACLES OR EXCUSES”

As PKK and PAJK prisoners, with the awareness of the historic period of resistance we are experiencing, we are aware of the importance of us connecting the time and space we are in with the universal developments and playing our role in this destiny defining period. In the basis of total revolutionary resistance against total attack, we are taking every moment as an area to defend our honor and build the free character and free life. Our people stuffed in prisons will develop their awareness and their experience in the struggle, thus going through a strengthening of will that will make fascism regret ever attacking us. For this reason, we consider it our primary duty to prepare our comrades for resistance in all circumstances and building the free life, without seeing the now daily occurences of exiles and attacks as obstacles or excuses.

“LIFE IN ŞAKRAN HAS BECOME HELL”

On top of the mass actions we partake in, we must be aware of the pilot regions fascism tests itself in and strenghten solidarity with our comrades in those areas. One of these areas is Şakran T4 Prison that has comrades from other parts of Kurdistan held together. Life in this prison has become hell. All prisoners and families are forced to strip searches. The administration is forcing dishonor and submission through practices like standing up for roll count, walking in single file in the corridors and pinning the prison ID to clothes. Prisoners in five wards in this prison are completely isolated from communicating with each other.

CALL FOR CHP MPS AND NGOS

We are calling on the NGOs in Turkey and CHP MPs who support human rights to see the situation in this prison and to make it visible for others. As PKK-PAJK prisoners, we will press charges against this prison administration, write to international institutions on the practices in this prison and thus show solidarity.

“SAYING ‘NO’ WIL BE A START”

Today, the irreversible unlimited hunger strike in several prisons including Şakran, Sincan, Edirne and Van has left more than 30 days behind. In all other prisons, unlimited irreversible hunger strikes have continued since March 15. We are aware that the boundless isolation imposed upon our Leader is at the center of all attacks inside and outside. For this reason, to stop all practices of oppression, torture and denial, the isolation must stop. To be able to say ‘no’ to the death trap the system attempts to set upon our peoples will be a start to breaking the attacks.

The period we are experiencing is one when we will not only understand and commemorate Mazlum’s, Kemal’s and Ferhat’s, but to show to the whole of humanity and history that we are their comrades and successors. As prisoners well over ten thousand in the dungeons, we are aware that with our ten thousand families, we are a large scale force of resistance and we believe that we can play our historic role in this baseline we share life and meaning with our Leader and we can be the creators of great triumphs. Victory will certainly come to those who resist in the truth.”