### Turkish prison protests grow The second major hunger strike in recent months by political detainees in Turkish prisons began on September 2, 1983, in the penitentiary in Diyarbakir, the cap-
This protest was preceded by a hunger strike of 2,500 prisoners in four Istanbul prisons that began in July. The Istanbul strike lasted 35 days and was crushed finally by military pogroms in the prison that resulted in two deaths and severe injuries to a number of other
These recent hunger strikes are the first protests by political prisoners to break through the dictatorship's curtain of censorship.
The fact that these hunger strikes have become known and made a political impact in Turkey and internationally reflects the development for the first time of a movement in defense of the prisoners organized by their relatives.
was unbearable conditions in Diyarbakir prison that sparked the pres-
The dictatorship imposes the most inhuman conditions in the prisons
Every inmate is held in solitary confinement and beatings are part of the daily routine.
Most of the prisoners are seriously ill and many have been crippled. over, on the day when the prisoners' protest began, relatives demonstrating in front of military headquarters were badly
The strike was initiated by about 200 prisoners, who declared a fast to the death. Very quickly another 2,100 prisoners went on hunger strike in support of
To back up this action also, when groups of political prisoners under collective indictment are brought to trial now, they simply announce that a hunger strike is underway and refuse to cooperate. They are then usually ejected from the court room with the greatest brutality.
The success of this desperate protest by the Kurdish prisoners depends mainly on international support, since at the moment the junta is most sensitive to the pressure of world public opinion.
Even a small victory can be extremely important in halting a repressive steamroller that threatens the humanity and the lives of tens of thousands of political prisoners.
Send messages to:
General Kenan Evren Head of State Ankara Turkey 13
Massive support for