Statement of solidarity with the Irish people and support for the Hunger Strikers in Turkey
A chairde, a gcomrádaithe daor,
We salute the Easter Uprising 1916 and its legacy that is still claimed by true anti-imperialists and revolutionary republicans.
We honour the martyrs of the Easter Rebellion and republican movements that have fought against British imperialism and its collaborationist entities. We salute the Irish men and women tirelessly fighting the brutality and attacks of imperialism.
We send you the revolutionary greetings of the people of Turkey fighting against fascism and imperialism. The struggle of the revolutionary movements in Ireland and the legacy of Bobby Sands and his friends have been a beacon for our struggle for many years.
The people of Ireland have always been supportive of the struggle for justice in Turkey. We have witnessed this during the great Death Fast Resistance against the isolation plans aimed at political prisoners, where fascism in Turkey obeyed the demands of imperialism and built F-Type prisons just like the H Blocks to make the political prisoners surrender. To deprive them of their belief in socialism and freedom.
From 2000 to 2007 political prisoners opposed this attack and 122 died during the Death Fast. Today political prisoners are again under heavy attack and brutality towards them continues at barbaric levels.
Their rights are violated and prisons have become a place where hundreds become sick and die without appropriate treatment. People are arrested with fabricated digital evidence, secret witnesses, trumped up charges and statements by slanderers. Enemy laws are implemented where the rule of law of the land and universal laws are violated.
Political prisoners that became sick due to heavy isolation policies are either not treated or their treatment is arbitrarily delayed. They let political prisoners die.
Ali Osman Köse is the single example of this. He has been in prison for 38 years and contracted many illnesses and finally he became ill with cancer. He is not fit to stay in prison, but fascism denies him his right to be freed under the laws.
Rights of prisoners are violated arbitrarily and disciplinary proceedings result in years of visit bans, refusal to give him publications sent to prisoners, and solitary confinement over many months and years.
Due to these planned attacks against the people and political prisoners, revolutionary and political prisoners Sibel Balac and Gökhan Yıldırım have started a Death Fast Resistance.
Special needs teacher Sibel Balaç, who has been arrested and imprisoned because of her support for the workers and academics purged after the farcical coup in 2016, is on Death Fast since 19thDecember 2021.
Gökhan Yıldırım, who started his Death Fast Resistance on 26th December 2021, before his incarceration was actively fighting against the degeneration policies of the fascism within the poor neighbourhoods of Istanbul. His fight against drug lords and gangs has given hope to the people and empowered them to fight against the policies of fascism and for their rights and freedoms.
They have given Gökhan a 46 year jail sentence to stop his fight against injustices and to threaten the people by saying this is what will happen to you if you oppose our rule. Those who are responsible for poisoning our people and the youth are supported and revolutionaries imprisoned. The ministers of the ruling party the AKP are involved in drug trafficking, which has been exposed, must be put on trial and imprisoned, not the revolutionaries.
The resistance of Sibel and Gökhan is reaching a critical state. Their demands are:
1- Release those arrested on the grounds of digital evidence!
2- Release those sentenced using anonymous witness statements and slander!
3- Sick prisoners must be released, especially Ali Osman Köse!
4- Use of single cell prisoner transport vehicles must be abolished!
5- Prisoners should be given books and publications unconditionally!
6- Disciplinary penalties should be abolished with all their consequences!
7- Right to 10-hour conversation amongst prisoners must be implemented!
8- The drug lords and mafias must be put on trial and sentenced!
These demands are humane and legitimate. We call on the people of Ireland to stand with Sibel and Gökhan.
We request you to contact your representatives and ask them to put pressure on the fascist Turkish government and demand them to accept their legitimate demands.
It’s up to us to save Gökhan and Sibel from the claws of fascism.
Call and send protest messages to the Turkish Embassy and Ministry of Justice of Turkey. International solidarity is the hope and power of the oppressed people.
Silence Kills, Solidarity Will Save Them. Once again we honour the struggle of the people of Ireland for independence and freedom and those who fell as martyrs in this honourable struggle.
Tiocfaidh ár lá
Down with Fascism, Down with Imperialism!
People’s Front (Turkey)