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No hunger striker in critical condition, Ministry of Justice says

04 November 2012 01:02 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The Ministry of Justice released a statement on Friday saying that no inmates on a widespread hunger strike are in critical condition, a day after Turkey’s main medical association said the strikers may start dying within the next 10 days, APA reports quoting Today’s Zaman.

The statement said there are 682 hunger strikers in 67 jails across the country and that the strikers are being examined by doctors every day. The ministry also denied allegations that it rejected the prisoners’ request that they be given lemon, water and sugar instead of food.

The hunger strike entered its 52nd day on Friday, with some 700 Kurdish prisoners refusing food in dozens of prisons across Turkey, demanding major improvements in the prison conditions of jailed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ã–calan, the right to receive education in their mother tongue and the right to address courts in Kurdish.

The inmates are consuming sugar, water and vitamins, which will prolong their lives and the protest by weeks.

The protests follow a surge in violence between Turkey and the PKK, which took up arms 28 years ago to try to carve out a Kurdish homeland in Turkey’s Southeast and which is designated a terrorist group by Ankara, the United States and the European Union.

"Our worry is that after around 40 days, lasting damage may occur and after 60 days deaths may begin,â€ Ã–zdemir Aktan, head of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB), which represents 80 percent of the nation’s doctors, said on Thursday.

Aktan’s remarks came during a meeting at a hotel in Ä°stanbul’s Taksim Square of intellectuals and representatives of nongovernmental organizations who called on the government to listen to the demands of the hunger strikers.

On Friday, Human Rights Association (Ä°HD) President Ã–ztÃ¼rk TÃ¼rkdoÄŸan denied the ministry’s claim that all strikers were in good health, saying that some were displaying serious symptoms of dehydration. He said the strike has been in place for 52 days, a dangerously long period. He also said TTB members were not being allowed in, appealing to the Ministry of Justice to cooperate with the TTB.

Health Minister Recep AkdaÄŸ on Friday responded to questions from the press about the hunger strike during a meeting about childhood leukemia. â€œThey are examined by doctors at times when they allow medical examinations. We are closely monitoring the issue.â€ He said the hunger strikes were a delicate topic and responsibility fell on all parties. â€œThose who are trying to exploit this as a political issue, for their own political interests, are in the wrong. The inmates that are being forced into this should be encouraged to stop these acts.â€

Iraqi politicians have also commented on the hunger strikes. Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) spokesperson Azad Jundiyan, in a written statement released on Friday, said, â€œProblems should be solved through dialogue in a democratic way.â€ He also said the PUK was exerting efforts for a solution. â€œWe are watching with concern to establishment of peace in Turkey, the hunger strike and armed conflict in Turkey. Problems should be solved through dialogue in a democratic way.â€

In related developments, Bursa Governor Åžahabettin Harput said 14 people were detained as part of an investigation into violence that broke earlier this week in the province during a Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) demonstration in support of the hunger strikes. Harput said the investigation was continuing, with more detentions likely.

Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, who was in London on Friday to attend a literary conversation on his book â€œSessiz Ev,â€ recently translated into English by Robert Finn as â€œSilent House,â€ said he couldn’t see the hunger strike issue being resolved easily or soon, in response to a question on the subject.

Most of the strikers are in jail on charges of membership of the Kurdistan Communities’ Union (KCK) or the PKK. Hundreds, including Kurdish journalists, have been jailed in an investigation into the KCK, which prosecutors say is an umbrella organization in Turkey.

In a related development, European Commissioner for Enlargement Stephan FÃ¼le responded to a question submitted by three members of the European Parliament in September. The question demanded to know the commission’s opinion on the KCK trial, as part of which 100 journalists are in jail.

FÃ¼le said the commission was following the KCK case closely. He said the commission has previously expressed concerns regarding the KCK case, but said a fourth judicial reform package likely to be introduced soon will address the concerns regarding Kurds and freedom of speech. â€œThe commission is hopeful a fourth judicial reform package, announced by the government, will be put on Parliament’s agenda rapidly and that it will address the concerns referred to above. The commission further assesses the KCK case and respect for freedom of expression in its 2012 Progress Report on Turkey, which was presented to the European Parliament on Oct. 10,â€ FÃ¼le said in his written response.