From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > >Sezer under pressure from all sides > >SEZER'S CHOICES: President Ahmet Necdet Sezer has three different choices. >Sezer may approve the bill. He may take the public outcry into >consideration and send the bill back to Parliament. Or he may approve the >bill but at the same time he might apply to the Constitutional Court for >its cancellation THE UNHAPPY MENTOR: 'This is not the amnesty that I >asked for, my amnesty draft was aimed at saving the inmates from their >fate,' Rahsan Ecevit who was the mentor of the amnesty bill says. She also >adds that the recent bill is not an amnesty but a conditional release when >responding to reaction on the Reprieve Bill > > >Ankara - TDN Parliamentary Bureau > >President Ahmet Necdet Sezer is under pressure from politicians, victims' >families and ambitious inmates to make the final move on the infamous >Reprieve Bill. > >The bill had caused a number of controversies between political parties and >even between the coalition partners. Rahsan Ecevit, the mentor of the bill >on Monday said that, "This is not the amnesty that I asked for, my amnesty >draft was aimed at saving the inmates from their fate." > >The countdown for the Reprieve Bill, which was passed in Parliament last >week and sent to Sezer for approval, has begun. The coalition partners -- >the Democratic Left Party (DSP), the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and >the Motherland Party (ANAP) -- and inmates families are waiting for the >president to approve the bill amidst a huge public outcry urging the >president to veto the bill. > >Sezer, former chief judge of the Constitutional Court appears to be >applying to cancel the amnesty bills. It is expected that Sezer will make >his decision based on the fact that the bill may be sent to the >Constitutional Court. > >The bill will cover 35,000 inmates' conditional release in the short term >and will gradually free many other inmates. However, the government's >pledge to release inmates before the Bayram holiday would only be possible >if Sezer approves the Reprieve Bill. > >The Parliament passed the bill on Dec. 8, and sent it to the Cankaya >Palace immediately for the president's approval. According to the Turkish >Constitution, the president has to make the decision within 15 days. Sezer >has 12 more days in which to make his final decision. > >Sezer has three choices: > >Sezer may approve the bill. After it is published in the Official Gazette, >the bill will be official. In this case, government will fulfill its >promise to release tens of thousands of inmates before the feast of >Ramadan. This decision will comfort coalition partners as well as inmates >who are expecting the reprieve. Sezer may take the public outcry into >consideration and send the bill back to Parliament. According to rumors in >political circles, coalition partners who had hardly reached a >reconciliation on the final wording of the reprieve bill, will have no say >if Sezer vetoes the bill. Sezer may approve the bill but at the same >timeht apply to the Constitutional Court for its cancellation. In this >case, Sezer's possible move will pose a temporary relief for those who are >supporting the amnesty. The court may either amend some articles of the >bill or broaden its scope. It might also allocate some extra time to >Parliament so that another amnesty bill can be prepared. > >Fasting inmates adamant, three in critical condition > >The justice minister's statement was expected to persuade the inmates to >quit the death fast, but inmates decide to continue the fast. According to >TAYAD, the death fast will be reinforced by other inmates Ecevit says >demands of prisoners were unacceptable and urges them to end their 'death >fast' > >Ankara/Izmir - Turkish Daily News > >Although, it was expected that Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk's >announcements over the weekend that the implementation of F-type prisons >would be postponed to end the massive death fasts, the inmates are still >determined to continue their protests. > >On the 54th day of the death fast, three death fasters, Sevgi Erdogan in >Usak Prison, Cem Yildiz and Zeynep Arikan in Umraniye have lost >consciousness, and other inmates on the death fast are close to losing >consciousness, the Association for Inmates' Families' Solidarity (TAYAD) >said. > >Although, death fasters are already in the critical stage, the 203 inmates >on the death fast have decided to continue the fast until their demands are >accepted by the authorities. They are demanding the cancellation of the >new cell-based F-type prisons, annulment of the State Security Courts (DGM) >and the formation of a commission made up of doctors, lawyers, prisoners' >relatives and representatives of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to >inspect the prisons. > >But, officials are also being firm to not give further concessions to the >death fasters. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said on Monday that demands >made by scores of hunger-striking prisoners whose health is failing were >unacceptable and urged them to end their 'death fast.' > >Death fasters have been refusing food, some of them for more than 50 days, >demanding that Turkey abandon plans to move prisoners from large >dormitories to smaller cells in newly built jails. > >But the hunger strikers want the plans to be completely scrapped and have >continued their fast. Reports from inside the jails say that many of them >are very weak. > >Ecevit said Turkey would not grant the strikers' demands, which also >include the scrapping of the DMG that try people accused of political or >"terrorist" crimes. > >"Those who are organizing this [protest] are trying to impose things on the >state. This is unacceptable," Ecevit told reporters. "I'm calling on >mothers and fathers. These death fasts should come to an end now." > >Prison governors and groups of intellectuals have tried to negotiate with >the fasting inmates but with little success. > >TAYAD's Sultan Yildiz told the Turkish Daily News that the demand of >inmates on the death fast were quite clear. For that reason, Justice >Minister Turk's statement does not mean anything. These inmates have >decided to go on the death fast until their demands are accepted by the >authorities. "Justice Minister Turk has made the statement that they would >postpone the implementation of the F-type prison in order to ease public >opinion," said Yildiz. "However, it has no relation with the inmates' >demands. For that reason, the death fast of these inmates will continue." > >Over the weekend the justice minister said that the introduction of the new >prisons would bdeath fast: 23 inmates in Umraniye, six inmates in Bursa, >six inmates in Cankiri and three inmates in Aydin Prison. > >A total 26 inmates have completed the 40th day of the death fast: eight >inmates in Canakkale, eight inmates in Bartin, eight inmates in Malatya, >and two inmates in Gebze Prison. > >A total of 40 inmates have completed the 37th day of the death fast: 18 >inmates in Bayrampasa, three inmates in Buca, three inmates in Usak, 11 >inmates in Ceyhan, three inmates in Nigde and two inmates in Kurkculer >prison. > >Eleven Turkish prisoners starved to death in 1996 in a protest against >prison transfers. > >Turkey says the transfer of inmates to smaller cells would break up the >influence of organized crime and rcal leftist groups over prisoners in >large dormitories. > >Authorities say the step is needed to reassert some control over a prison >system that regularly descends into violence. > >Prisoners say being isolated in cells would make them vulnerable to >assaults from prison authorities. -- >Press Agency Ozgurluk >In Support of the Revolutionary Peoples Liberation Struggle in Turkey >http://www.ozgurluk.org >DHKC: http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc > >--UHN/qo2QbUvPLonB >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii >Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=".signature" > >Press Agency Ozgurluk >In Support of the Revolutionary Peoples Liberation Struggle in Turkey >http://www.ozgurluk.org >DHKC: http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc > >--UHN/qo2QbUvPLonB-- > > _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi _______________________________________________________ Kominform list for general information. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Anti-Imperialism list for geopolitics. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________________
