Ramazan Işık, father of Veysi Miran Işık – who is on a hunger strike demanding an end to the prison isolation conditions of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and an end to human rights violations in Turkey’s prisons – told Mesopotamia Agency (MA) that an end to the isolation conditions would pave the way for democracy and the demands should be accepted.The indefinite alternating hunger strike launched in prisons in Turkey to acheive the above-stated objectives has entered its 50th day. The prisoners declared that they would not end the action until their demands are met. Veysi Miran Işık is one of the participants of the hunger strike action in Diyarbakır D-Type Closed Prison. His father Ramazan Işık reiterated that the demands were legal and they should be accepted.
‘Democracy comes when isolation is lifted’
By fulfilling the hunger strikers’ demands, Veysi Miran’s father stated: “It would open the path to democracy significantly. The removal of the isolation will mean an end to chaos in Turkey”.
“As families and relatives of the prisoners, bringing the hunger strikes to the agenda has an important role, but our capacities remain limited”, he noted. “We cannot express our opinions comfortably. There is a policy of intimidation and psychological pressure against us. Maybe nobody expresses it, but everyone feels that pressure applied by the security forces due to the government”, he stated.