FASCISM IS CONDEMNED TO DEFEAT IN THE PRISONS“Do not resist…”
“Submit yourselves…”
“Surrender…”
For years fascism has spoken in this way to the revolutionary prisoners. For years fascism has tried to separate the revolutionaries from their revolutionary personality. Fascism does not want to tolerate that the prisoners defend the honour of the people, their dignity and desires, despite the repression, without surrender.
For years fascism has tried to capture the revolutionary prisoners in the prisons as well.
This is very important to the oligarchy. The road the get the people in their power leads by way of the surrender of the revolutionaries. The ruling classes see the prisons as the best places to get the revolutionaries out of their ideas.
Especially after the coup of September 1980 and the following years, there were many examples of state repression in the prisons. As well in the prisons in Turkey, as in Kurdistan, one could see distress and resistance. Fascism used all its physical, political and psychological possibilities. In the years in which fascism kept large parts of the revolutionary opposition imprisoned, the prisons were transformed into bases of resistance, the bodies of the prisoners became barricades against every kind of distress and infamy.
“Where it was not enough to resist untill the end, they went into death.”
With hungerstrikes and fasting till death they beat back the attacks, they did not allow their dignity to be trampled…
In the following years the oligarchy did not stop to get the revolutionary prisoners to surrender their personality. Taking away rights, torture and isolation followed each other. However, all their “efforts” glanced off a wall of resistance. The oligarchy set their hopes on detention in isolation. At the end of 1991 a special isolation prison was opened in Eskisehir. But this policy failed as well because of the resistance by the prisoners and the public opinion. Two years later, the oligarchy tried once more to push through isolation and transfer of the revolutionary prisoners and taking away their rights. This attack was beaten off by the resistance of the prisoners from Devrimci Sol. The oligarchy suffered one defeat after the other. And furthermore several revolutionaries successfully escaped from the prisons.
Good, but what could the oligarchy do? Accepting defeat and stopping the attacks against the revolutionary prisoners was impossible. That would contradict the nature of the ruling system.
…September 21, 1995…
Buca-prison, Izmir…
“Do not resist, otherwise we will massacre you…”
“Subject yourselves, otherwise we will massacre you…”
“Surrender, otherwise we will massacre you…”
After these events three people have died and dozens of people got wounded. Inside the prisons the oligarchy threatens the prisoners with massacres and annihilation. After they did not succeed to get the prisoners to give up their personality, they try to get rid of them by executions. The oligarchy’s aim is very clear. The massacre of Buca is not just the result of the prison policy of the state. The oligarchy is very conscious of the fact that their rule is coming to an end. They go through one crisis after the other. They have nothing more to offer to the different segments of the population. So they see no other solution as state terror and more and more massacres. In the strikes of the workers, in the demonstrations, in the working areas were the rebellion mounts day by day, and in the protest of the youth: the people only meet with batons and bullets. They want to exterminate the Kurdish people by massacres, chasing into exile, and burning and destruction of the villages. In this war against the people, more and more blood is shed. The government does not tolerate even the least kind of objection. From a state, which has transformed into a rule of the contra-guerrilla, which takes the leading role in the contra-revolutionary war, one could not expect that it excludes the revolutionary prisoners from this wave of repression. Fascism knows that the revolutionaries are an example to the people. With this massacre in Buca they wanted to say to the people: “Watch your steps.”
With the knowledge that the terrorist face of the state shows itself day by day, the massacre in Buca will not be the last one of this kind, as will the resistance which is caused by it.
BUCA: A MASSACRE WHICH WAS PLANNED, STEP BY STEPAlready before the massacre in Buca the attacks against the prisoners have been planned step by step. In Buca they tried to take away the rights from the prisoners with violence, and they tried to legitimize this. History describes the attacks before this massacre and the steps they took:
July 17, 1995: 4 prisoners from the DHKP-C (Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front) – Ali Riza Kurt, Tevik Durdemir, Bülent Pak and Celalettin Ali Güler) successfully escaped on visiting-day. The oligarchy was astonished. The impossible had happened. The prisoners took back their freedom. Ordered by the chiefs of the contra-guerrilla, the directors of the prison increased its terror against the prisoners on the same day and all their rights were taken away.
July 18, 1995: During a so-called search of the cells the possessions of the prisoners were plundered. Books were torn to pieces, radios and cassette players were confiscated. On the same day a prisoner from DHKP-C was beaten up and wounded by guards on his way to court because he refused to have his shoes searched. The prisoners did not allow that their dignity was taken away, the prison board had to stop their attacks because of their pressure.
July 20, 1995: Before a court-session, prisoners from the PRK-Rizgari (another Kurdish liberation movement) were attacked because they resisted the search of their shoes and the application of hand-cuffs. The prisoners were seriously wounded and had to be taken to hospital. Three of them will probably be paralysed forever.
After the trial the prisoners were attacked once more during a inspection in the prison. Thereupon the women in this block protested with slogans and a lot of noise. This protest was taken over by other blocks. On orders of prison director Ya_ar Aslan, the guards attack several women among the prisoners. The clothes of one of the prisoners are torn up. The women respond with resistance and counter-attacks.
July 21, 1995: The families of the escaped prisoners are arrested because of complicity. They are not jailed in the block of the DHKP-C prisoners. The prisoners and their families protest against this treatment and they demand to be put together. After one day of resistance and barricades, this demand is met. The action is ended.
July 23, 1995: The prison board uses chicane against the prisoners and their visitors by restricting the number of visits and the visiting-times, inspecting the visitors and taking away the brought food from the prisoners.
July 28, 1995: On July 27, 1995, the escaped prisoner Ali Riza Kurt is murdered in Izmir by the special units for torture and executions. The prison board uses the opportunity and once more they attack the prisoners from the DHKP-C with the pretext of searching the cells. The guards attack when all, except four, prisoners are in the prison court. They attack the four prisoners and destroy the pictures, flags and portraits of the fallen comrades. Thereupon the director, the chief-guards and some guards are taken hostage by the revolutionary prisoners who resist with barricades. The prison board has to call back its attacks.
August 20, 1995: 22 prisoners from the PRK-Rizgari are attacked by guards and police on their way to court. One prisoner has his eardrum cracked as a result of heavy blows with sticks by soldiers. Another prisoners has his eyebrows torn and his head wounded. The other prisoners have head-wounds as well.
September 12, 1995: A prisoner from DHKP-C (Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front) is attacked in the court-room by soldiers and seriously wounded. Thereupon the prisoners in the blocks of the DHKC and the TDKP broke open the doors of their cells. The prisoners from the TKP-ML, the MLKP, the TKP (ML), the PKK, the DHK and the TIKB joined the uprising. Jointly the blocks are occupied and barricades are thrown up. The prisoners from the DHKP-C and TDKP later refused to be counted as a protest against the growing attacks and the withholding of the rights of the revolutionary prisoners by the prison board and the military. The nightly counting is refused for one week.
September 18, 1995: During the search of the cells on July 28, they wanted to lock up the prisoners who were in the innercourt. But this was prevented by the resistance of the prisoners. On the same day the cells were searched once again, this time by a lieutenant-colonel. The last steps of the massacre were being planned. The soldiers, standing ready, were supposed to intimidate the prisoners. From this day on, the revolutionary prisoners refused to be counted, at night, as well as in the morning.
INSTEAD OF SOLVING THE PROBLEMS, THE STATE CHOOSES THE MASSACREThe attack on September 21. was a massacre, prepared weeks ahead. After the escape of the DHKP-C prisoners the prison board tried to cancel the prisoners’ rights. By taking back for example the visiting rights of families and lawyers, the prison board believes they can punish the prisoners and have their revenge. That’s why the prisoners began to refuse to be counted. Their repeated attempts to talk with the prison board were not answered, the massacre was already being prepared. The prisoners in Buca-prison talk about the preparations for the massacre and the reason why Buca was choosen as the place for it:
THE REPORT OF THE PRISONERS:“(…) While the days go by and we negotiated with a beseeching state prosecutor, it became clear to us that a attack against us was being planned. And the enemy really started a planned attack, an aimed attack. Resistance, conditions and attempts for a solution don’t count for them. The attack, planned by the National Security Council and the general staff, must be carried through. The revolutionary prisoners, in the frontline of the struggle, were to be separated from the others and brought to the prisons of Aydin and Canakkale. All revolutionary prisoners, all progressive people, all democrats, all revolutionaries and patriots, in other words the whole people, were to be intimidated. This attack and this massacre was part of a plan to eliminate the revolutionary prisoners. Immediately after this, they planned to attack the other prisons. Buca did not have to be the first prison, they could have picked another prison. But Buca was in the spotlights because of the escaped prisoners and the resistance against repression. That’s why there were no sincere negotiations after the cancelling of the rights and that’s why they planned the first massacre here.”
One of the prisoners who witnessed the attack relates:
“Previous there were page-long stories in the media, inciting against the prisoners. We could see the enemy’s attack coming.”
“The escape of the four prisoners, the resistance which did not break under the attacks, and our unbending attitude made the enemy go crazy. He wanted to break this spirit of resistance and show it to us all. Those who resisted were to be stopped, they wanted to intimidate them. In Buca the prisoners were free in spirit, despite their captivity. They wanted to suffocate this freedom. That’s why the massacre started in Buca.”
The war between the state and the prisoners is a war of will-power. The state wants to push through its will at any price. For that purpose they initiated an attack against all prisons, to break the resistance. The press was also involved in the plot. They had to prepare and legitimise the attack against the prisons. In this plan, Buca was choosen as the first target.
The enemy takes its last preparations,
a last look at the plans…
When September 21. came closer, the enemy finished his preparations and secured the plans for a last time. A DHKP-C prisoner looks at the events which occurred three days before the massacre:
“(…) On Monday, September 18, there was a general search of the cells. This was done, very precise, by a lieutenant- colonel. The comrades who’s cells were already searched were to be gathered in the court and kept there. We resisted this locking in, which never happened before, and prevented the locking of the door of the innercourt. When the lieutenant-colonel and his aids were having dinner in the canteen, one of the soldiers suddenly wanted to close the doors, but our comrades prevented this. The soldiers didn’t dare to close the doors with violence. They just stood there, ready to attack, with batons lined to their arms. Then the lieutenant-colonel came to measure the pulse. When he left the cells, he must have reached the conclusion that our resistance could not be broken without violence.”
A DHKP-C prisoner from Block-6 reports about the situation shortly before the attack:
“(…) It was the third day since September 18. that we refused to be counted. The environs were calm. There was no movement in the corridors. Around noon a lot of soldiers came up to Block-6 and the stayed there, standing before the block. All we could see through the door were the lieutenant-colonel, his aids, the state prosecutor of the prison, the first and second director, and a lot of guards. At first we didn’t see any soldiers. In the morning the message came that the doors in Block-2 were not opened for the prisoners to go the innercourt. Furthermore they disconnected the electricity to our block. Those were the first signs of a apparent attack. We knew this, because of the experience we gathered through the years in prison.”
In Newsbulletin nr. 18 from the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Front from September 29, 1995, the reasons for the massacre in Buca and the preparations were depicted as follows:
“On September 21, 1995, the contra-guerrilla forces of fascism, with hundreds of soldiers, policemen, guns and bombs, attacked the cells were the prisoners from the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front were kept. They wanted to destroy them. They wanted to silence the voice of the Party-Front. They said: ‘… When you keep resisting, when you keep escaping, when you do not surrender, we can not rule the prisons…’ This is an old and a new fact. When the freedom of our people, the independence of our country, needs heavy sacrifices, we are prepared to give them. We always want to be in the frontline, happy to give, resolute and brave. When necessary, we want to sacrifice ourselves. The prisoners from our Party in Buca were confronted once more with such a situation. They stood before a test of history, of our people. On July 17, Ali Riza Kurt and three comrades used their right to freedom. The enemy went mad. Their policy was mixed up. Since the foundation of Buca they had never seen something like this before. Buca was free. The enemy attacked, the prisoners kept closer together, showed solidarity, and grew stronger. The wind of freedom blew from Buca to the masses. The enemy looked for a opportunity to take revenge. The voices of freedom in Buca were to be silenced. The Party-Front should keep quiet. They wanted to teach a lesson, so that there would be no more plans to escape, no more resistance. The government of Tansu Ciller planned, together with the institutions of the contra-guerrilla, the massacre in Buca, step by step. It was as if the massacre wanted to announce itself. After our action of freedom, the attacks did not come to an end. Almost every day there were attacks, intimidations, and threats. The prisoners prepared for an even bigger attack. On September 20, the contra-guerrilla took its last preparations. The torturing policemen from the Political Department, the commander of the Gendarmerie, the officers and the state prosecutor of the prison walked across the floors, made last improvements of their plan and did not forget an attempt to intimidate the prisoners…”
THE ATTACK BEGINS…The surroundings of Buca-prison offered a special spectacle on this day. The number of soldiers outside the prison was very high. When the relatives of the prisoners ended their visits around noon, and left the prison, they also noticed the extraordinary situation. But their was nothing they could do, the attacks against the revolutionary prisoners in the prisons was already planned beforehand. When the visitors had left the prison, the state prosecutor in the prison gave the order. They had taken all the preparations. All the military vehicles, the police-cars, the fire-brigade and the ambulances showed that a massacre was going to take place.
The murderers were ready. After the orders of their superior the soldiers, policemen and the special units, equipped with bullet-proof vests, moved. They had the same goal: killing the revolutionary prisoners.
“They knew we would not surrender,
Their preparations were the preparations for murder”
“After three days of waiting, they disconnected the electricity on a Thursday afternoon. At that time one could hear the sirens of the fire-brigade behind the garden-wall. A few minutes later one saw the representatives of the attorney-general, a lieutenant- colonel from headquarters, the state prosecutor from the prison, the first and second director, all in front, a lot of soldiers and personnel from the board; all in the corridor in front of Block-6. After the door was opened and they briefly spoke to our representative, they ordered the attack. People knew they had not come to talk because they came with fully equipped attack-troops. After the order to attack, we, the prisoners of Block 6 and 7, barricaded the doors. The troop of murderers did not know how to confront our resistance. They tried to demolish our barricades with iron and wooden bars. When they didn’t succeed, they used the fire-engines as watercanons. However, all attempts failed and so they began using other methods (…)
We took our preparations, based on previous experience. The enemy did not succeed in penetrating our cells for a long time. After the escape and death of our commander Ali Riza Kurt they attacked after the search, but they had to calculate this end. The torturers who lost in these attacks, already looked for a long time for a possibility to take revenge. They iterated this on each occasion. This time they came in a different way. The preparations they took were sufficient to show us that this was going to be a big operation. All this could not deter us. As in the past, we cried with the same resoluteness “You can never take us, if you attack, you have to walk across our corpses”. From the tradition of our resistance they knew our determination and therefore they could not penetrate. This attack was going to be a massacre. They prepared for murder (…)
Especially trained special units were sent to demolish the barricades, but they didn’t succeed. To prevent a fire, they pumped water in the rooms of Block 6 and 7 with their fire-engines. But with all our strength we had sealed off the windows with pillows, blankets, and wooden planks, so we could prevent the water coming in to some extend. (…)
The number of bombs which were thrown into the cells; around 60 (*)“After one hour they started to hammer with force against the walls behind the library and on the roof above the cells. It was noticed that they wanted to make a hole in the roof and in the wall to come through. Our comrades were just preparing, with wooden sticks in their hands, to act against those who wanted to come through the hole, when a loud explosion was heard. One could hear several successive explosions. They threw noise-bombs through four holes which they had made in the roof and the wall. But these bombs did not cause any panic, neither in our block, nor in block 7. Everybody kept their quiet. One of our comrades took a noise-bomb, which was thrown into our cell, in his hand to throw it in the innercourt, when it exploded in his hand. (…) Around 60 bombs were thrown in the cells (…)
There was a haze everywhere, the smell of gunpowder bit in our noses. The soldiers made the signs of the Grey Wolves. They withdrew the tanks from the door. From our block we could see everything very clearly. So we warned the comrades from Block 6. We tried to tell them with signs what the soldiers were doing. We tried signs because our voices could not be heard because of the bombs, the slogans and other noise. They made a hole in the wall on top of the barricade, through this hole they threw the bombs and used the fire-engines once again. (…)
The barricade was slowly demolished, the hole they made was getting bigger. Thereupon we set fire to the barricade in our block. The material we prepared for the fire, caused a considerable fire.(…)
The barricade in Block 6 was slowly removed.
* In the “Protocol”, made by the chief of the gendarmes who participated in the attack, it was said that 85 bombs were used during the operation:
“…through the observation-holes in the cells, gasbombs, fog-grenades and noise-bombs. But these bombs were caught by the terrorists with wet blankets and made useless. (…) during the events 35 gasbombs, 24 fog- grenades and 26 noise-bombs were used, furthermore 15 shields, 9 helmets and 7 batons were made useless”.
THE ATTACKERS MADE THE SIGN OF THE GREY WOLVESOur comrades tried to strengthen the barricade with sticks, pieces of glass, plates, spoons, in short with everything they could get in their hands. The special units went crazy with joy, every time they overturned a cupboard. They cried with joy and made the sign of the fascists. They were bloodthirsty. They thought they could force us on our knees with their attacks. But later they will notice that they can only take our bodies with their attacks, but never our will-power. (…)
Eventually, the soldiers succeeded in breaking through the barricade. The soldiers and our comrades met each other. The soldiers all had protective helmets. There was one civilian among them. His moustache looked like the one fascists wear. Probably he was one of the cops who led the operation. Another cop was in the back. He was apparently waiting for the comrades to come to the innercourt. It was exactly like we suspected, this was a planned operation with cooperation of the MIT (the National Intelligence Service), the police and the military.
Suddenly they started to use a fire-hose against the prisoners. he comrades were hurled back. Some of them managed to keep hold of the barricade, despite the pressure of the water. With their fists they fought the enemy. With hand-made batons, which were not that solid, they tried to hit the enemy.
The soldiers and the fascist guards beat the comrades which they pulled from the barricade to death. They only had one goal: KILL.
One of them hit a comrade, who was on the floor, repeatedly with an iron bar. As if it was not a human being, but a concrete wall, which he hit again and again. They were furious. The aimed at the vital organs and especially the head. We saw that the soldiers gathered in the blocks. A officer tried to get a soldier away from a comrade who was on the floor, covered with blood. The soldier yelled at him “Mind your own business. I will kill this one.” After the officer was gone, the soldiers went on beating. Afterwards they brought the wounded comrade to the entrance of the court. (…)
Almost every prisoner in the blocks was beaten unconscious and then brought to the court. Afterwards we heard the were beaten there as well by hundreds of policemen and soldiers. They piled up our comrades in front of the door of Block 1. When the noticed a sign of life, they said “this son of a bitch is not dead yet” and kept on beating. Now we could very well imagine how these soldiers could cut of the ears of killed guerrillas in Kurdistan and pose at it. These soldiers are the people’s enemies.”
IT WAS THEIR AIM TO FORCE THE REVOLUTIONARY PRISONERS TO SURRENDER BY A MASSACREThey were in the majority when they attacked the revolutionary prisoners. The used iron bars, chains, batons and gasbombs against the prisoners. The consciously hit the vital organs and caused a bloodbath. Three prisoners from the DHKP-C (the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front), Ugur Sariaslan, Turan Kilic and Yusuf Bag, were killed in this attack. 39 other prisoners were wounded, some of them seriously. All were wounded at their heads and chests.
“The entrance to the prison-court looked like a bloodbath”After the policemen and soldiers broke through the barricades, they attacked the defenceless prisoners. A prisoner in Block-6 explains:
“(…) We withdrew, fighting, to the end of the block. There we were beaten unconscious by the soldiers. They pulled the one after the other from the barricade and brought them, all the while beating, to the entrance of the court. I was pulled from the barricade as well, suddenly I got a heavy blow, right in my face. My cheek burst and my nose was broken. I fell to the floor. There was about 10 centimetres of water on the floor. I almost drowned in this water. They kept kicking and beating me. I swallowed water. Then they took me to the courtyard, all the time hitting me. My head, my nose and my cheek were bleeding and caused a bloodbath. My eyes were swollen, and I could only see a little bit with my left eye, albeit vaguely. I see a hairy piece of skin. Other comrades must be doing even worse. (…)
A prisoner, who was wounded very seriously in this attack, explains:
“(…) I try to determine where I am. There is light coming in through a window, I must be in the entrance to the courtyard. On the floor, where I’m lying, there is a pool of blood. Meanwhile the attack continues. They hit me, I’m supposed to have opened my eyes. (…)
THEY ASKED THE DEAD FOR THEIR NAMESNevzat Sagnic, a member of parliament from HADEP (Democratic People’s Party), who was also imprisoned in Buca during the attack, explains about the attack:
“(…) With this attack they were aiming at a massacre. That’s why they always hit the vital organs, on purpose. The prisoners were dragged across the floor and brought to the corridor. There they were beaten again by an estimated 300 policemen and soldiers. The repeatedly hit their heads. The corridor looked like a bloodbath. The whole corridor, 25 meters long, was filled with blood. On the walls, on the ceiling, there was blood everywhere. The sound of breaking bones and batons mixed. The soldiers left the corridor with the slogan “Happy is he who may call himself a Turk” on their lips. And they kicked the prisoners, lying on the floor, while they left. They were very happy they rose to the occasion of “protecting the motherland”. Then the special units in plain clothes left the corridor. Now it was the guards’ turn. The prisoners, lying unconscious on the floor, were kicked and beaten by the guards this time. They didn’t move, they were unconscious. They especially hit the heads. The fatigued guards tried to establish the names of the prisoners to bring them to the cells. They held pictures of the prisoners in their hands. But the prisoners were beaten so badly, that they could not be recognised anymore. That’s why they asked the unconscious for their names. For hours they kept the prisoners in the corridor. They waited for the number of the dead to rise…”
Another prisoner, from another block and who did not take part in the resistance, says:
“When we saw the blood in the corridor and the busted heads and the hands, we became sick. Some of us had to throw up…”
“When we came out of our block we could see everything what happened in the corridor. On September 21, they closed the doors in our block. In our block there are mainly working people. Therefore we could suspect that something was wrong in the 6. block. With curiosity, grieve and fear we began watching the event. (…) In the corridor we saw hundreds of guards, the directors of the prison board and the chief-guards, the soldiers with their batons, the special units withe their protective shields and helmets, the state prosecutors. The fire-brigade came in. Slogans were yelled. Water was poored in. It was a real chaos. (…) They poored water into block 6 and 7. Bombs were thrown. (…) They ordered us to carry the wounded from block 6 to the lower cells by blankets. It was a bloodbath. It was a real atrocity. When the people from our block saw the blood, the smashed heads and hands, they couldn’t stand it any longer. Some had to throw up. Some of them fainted. r 7 couldn’t bear it anymore, they couldn’t carry the wounded anymore and they went back to the block. Only a few, like myself, could stand this atrocity, albeit barely. (…) We began to bring the wounded to the ambulance in their blankets, covered with blood. The blood ran across the floor. We couldn’t watch. Some had to throw up again. They went back to the block. Some guards attacked the prisoners even more brutal as the soldiers did.
Later they made us clean the corridor. Then we went to clean block 6. I especially went there because I wanted to know how the resistance had taken place. The holes of the bombs were covered with concrete. On the floor there were torn books and things everywhere. The smell of gunpowder and blood was still there. In block 7 there were still barricades. Slogans were shouted. They all wore red bands around their foreheads. We were very impressed…”
The torture is continued in the hospitals…The torture against the prisoners was continued when they were brought from the prison to the ambulance. The torture did not even stop in the hospitals. The prisoners were hurled into the corridors by the soldiers. The soldiers tried to prevent the medical treatment. The stories from the health-representative in the Buca-prison confirm that the torturers planned to let the prisoners die, as many as possible. “Immediately after the attack, the rescue-units came into the prison. However, they didn’t operate on the prisoners who fought for their lives, or they were hindered on operating. While the prisoners lay on the floor, on top of each other, covered with blood and almost unconscious, the responsible prison directors, the plain clothes policemen and the soldiers made fun about them with remarks and terms of abuse. Despite the fact that the rescue-units were already at the prison at 4.30 p.m., the prisoners could just be brought to hospital at 6 p.m. Thus valuable time slipped by for a possibly life-saving operation. The wounded were transported to the ambulance with 3-4 persons on a stretcher. The vehicles went off without escort from the rescue-units. As well during the transport in the rescue-vehicles, as in the transport in the hospitals, the wounded were dragged literally across the floor. It is a certain fact, besides the fallen prisoners, there are more prisoners in hospital who’s life is in danger life and who will, even if they can be saved, suffer for a long time from the injuries from these operations. The statement from the hospital doctor, “things like this happen all the time. But now they have gone beyond all limits”, shows the opinion of the hospital personnel and the measure of this atrocity. The statement from a hospital nurse in the Yesilyurt state hospital about the deeds of the torturers inside the hospital, shows us how far remote these torturers are from humanity:
“The soldiers kicked the wounded prisoners in intensive care”
“(…) 300 soldiers and contra-guerrillas took part in the attack. When the prisoners were brought from the prison, they were grabbed by their legs and arms and thrown out. The were piled up like a heap of meat. When the ambulance arrived, they were met by a pile of meat. Of all who were brought to the state hospital of Yesilyurt, the heads had to be stitched. Hands and arms were broken. We ran to help the people, the police tried to hinder us. The soldiers kicked the wounded in intensive care in their beds. “What are you doing?”, I yelled. I said: “In the first place he’s a sick person, he came to me because he has to be examined. This is a disrespect towards me.” Of course the whole personnel in the hospital wanted to help them, because in the first place they saw sick people in those who were wounded. The soldiers tried to prevent this as much as they could. All this happened during the first night. On the second day all sick people were in a ward, their feet were chained to the beds. The soldiers marched around in the intensive care station. They cursed at the wounded and said: “We can not kill you now, but next time we’ll kill you.” (…) They beat them so gruesome, there was nobody who didn’t need stitches in the head. A lot of people had broken arms. Immediately one noticed that they tried to beat them to death. All the employees in the hospital thought, what kind of people are they, who can do something like this…
“Let them die, don’t give them food“Their eyes were black and swollen. Their heads hang and were wrapped up in bandages, their arms in gyps. They needed so much care, but we were hindered where ever possible. The soldiers threatened us: “Let them die, don’t give them food”. They hit people, bring them to hospital and then they even hinder us to help them. What could be lower than that?”
The condition of the seriously injured is described by Adnan Aras, a brother of the prisoner Enis Aras who was brought to hospital:
“These murderers must be called to account”“(…) I knew already for a long time about the oppressive and offensive actions of the prison board. However, I didn’t know I was to encounter such a situation. They especially hit on the heads. When the mothers saw their children, they were appalled, of course. A mothers’ heart could never approve of such an atrocity. (…) After a while the mothers quieted down. They expressed their anger towards the attackers with the words: “The hands which did this to you, should be broken. They must be called to account”. A wife of one of our friend fainted. He is a young friend. He couldn’t even imagine such an event. He only knew about the inhumanity of those in front of him for a short time.”
THE BALANCE-SHEET OF THE MASSACREIn the attack against the cells in block 6, three DHKP-C (Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front) prisoners were killed, 39 prisoners were seriously injured.
The fallen comrades in Buca-prison:
1. Turan Kilic
2. Yusuf Bag
3. Ugur Sariaslan
The seriously wounded:
1. Nevzat Kalayci
2. Ali Gedik Osmanogullari
3. Mesut Örs
4. Yusuf Sarp
5. Murat Candar
6. Enis Aras
7. Metin Bozoglu
8. Murat Karaoglan
9. Ümit Kanli
10.Metin Yapan
11.Riza Dogru
12.Esin Kurt
13.Yasin Kilic
14.Mustafa Tokur
15.Ibrahim Sertel
16.Murat Karakus
17.Ahmet Kurban
18.Sahin Yilmaz
19.Dogan Ünal
20.Baris Kaya
21.Inan Coban
22.Mesut Avci
23.Mehmet Göcekli
24.Erdal Arikan
25.Murat Becerikli
26.Yusuf Karatas
27.Serdar Karabulut
28.Bernar Satar
29.Sinan Gülen
30.Halil Bozkurt
31.Murat Kus
32.Baris Yildirim
33.Savas Kocabas
34.Ali Dogru
35.Kaan Toksoy
36.Ismet Ayel
37.Harun Toraman
38.Mustafa Yüksel
39.Mehmet Kurnaz (He was in coma for almost two weeks. He still suffers of loss of memory. Meanwhile he has been released from hospital.)
REPORTS OF THE POST MORTEM INQUESTS OF THE MASSACRED
Post mortem report of the killed Ugur Sariaslan
After a message from state prosecutor Yücel Tezel, that there had been a prisoners’ revolt in Buca-prison on September 21, 1995, that the prisoners had refused to obey the count and Ugur Sariaslan died on the same day, state prosecutor Cemal Tugcu and other aids immediately went to the state hospital in Yesilyurt. There, it was established that the police and the gendarmerie had brought the revolt under control and 43 wounded had been brought to hospital. Among the wounded was the body of the prisoner Ugur Sariaslan as well.
The prison-directors Halil Karakoc, Ayhan Yildirim and Yilmaz Agdas came to confirm the identities of the killed persons. The prisoners’ numbers were compared with each other. To questions, the prison directors answered:
“The body which you have shown to us, is the body of Ugur Sariaslan. His fathers’ name is Niyazi, his mothers’ name is Feride. He was born in 1971 in Kayseri Konakli. We were able to establish his identity because of his bracelet which is issued to the prisoners to identify the prisoners. Despite the wounds in the prisoners’ face, we are certain that this is the body of Ugur Sariaslan.”
Then the body is described by state prosecutor Dr. Nejat Altdiga:The body is the body of a human being, 1.80 m tall, weighing 70 kg., approximately 25 years old, brown skin with black hair, black beard and brown eyes. The body is dressed in an old, soaked brown woollen pullover. This is taken off. Under that a brown shirt with yellow stripes. This is taken off. (comment: the rest of the clothes is described) It is established that there is a wound to a bone in the head. In the area covered with hair, there is a cut, 4-5 cm. long. Above the right eye-brow there is a wound, 4 cm. long, reaching untill the bone. Above the right cheek-bone, a cut 1,5 cm. long. At the right ear several traces of blood, coming from the inside, are identifiable. At the mouth, traces of blood are visible as well. Near the chin, a wound, 1 cm. long, reaching untill the bone, is identifiable. On the lower lip a wound, 3 cm. long, is identifiable. On the left cheek, swellings and further wounds are visible. At the neck-bone, a wound, 4 cm. long, is visible, covering the neck. On the right and left shoulder bruises are visible as well. On the back and the arms and legs, there are many bruises. It is established that there are no other cuts, other than the above mentioned.
It is not possible to determine the cause of death, based on these findings. To determine the cause of death, it is decided to send the body to the forensic surgeon.
Post mortem report of Turan Kilic
At the time the body was delivered to the forensic surgeon, the body of Turan Kilic, who was brought wounded to the hospital and died in the ward for brain surgery, was delivered to the morgue. It is decided to bring this body for a post mortem inquiry. The beginning is identifying the body with the help of the bracelet. It is the body of Turan Kilic, fathers’ name Veli, mothers’ name Zümrü, born in 1958 in Kinik/Tastepe. The man’s body is 1.60 m., 60 kg., approx. 37 years old, with a brown skin, high forehead, and a moustache. The blood-soaked underwear is cut and removed. It is established that the body has a approx. 7-8 cm. long cut on the left part of the head, reaching to the bones. Blood traces are visible from the left ear. The nose was stitched on the cuts on the front. Blood traces are visible from the mouth. Both cheeks show bruises and swellings. Also the eyes show bruises. The upper part of the back shows swellings. The left arm and both hands show swellings as well. It is established that the body did not yet look livid. On the sexual organs, no pathological findings were established. No further cuts are shown on the body, except those above mentioned. No shot-wounds or traces of sharp objects are established.
The concrete cause of death can not be established based on these findings. Therefore it is decided to send the body of Turan Kilic, as well as the body from Ugur Sariaslan, to the chairman of the forensic surgeons to establish the concrete cause of death. For this purpose both bodies are handed over to hospital-policeman Yusuf Halac.
Post mortem report of Yusuf Bag
Because of the refusal by the prisoners in prisoners-camp 6, to cooperate in the necessary count, a uprising occurred on September 21, 1995, in the prison-institution of Buca. Therefore the prisoners-camp 6 was attacked by the security forces who broke down the barricades which were build by the prisoners. Yusuf Bag, convicted because of membership in a armed gang, was wounded during this attack and brought to the state hospital of Yesilyurt. Despite all efforts, he could not be saved and thus died of his wounds. The state prosecution of Izmir came to the hospital to identify the body. A official from the execution-security department from the Buca- prison, Tahsin Akyol, was present to determine the identity. He states: “The body which was shown to me belongs to Yusuf Bag who was in our prison on account of founding an armed gang. He was born in 1974 in the village of Kayseri/Pinarbasi. I am not completely sure about his identity because the head of the body was already shaved. However, the identity can be determined with the help of the bracelet, given to the prisoners. Yet, I believe it is Yusuf Bag’s body.”
Because of the fact that the official from the execution-security department can not sufficiently identify the corpse, the police- officers from Izmir are ordered to take the fingerprints from the body for comparison. Kenan Güler, a policemen who takes the oath, arrives for this purpose. He states: “The corpse is that of a 1.80 m long, medium built, dark-haired, a little bearded, 21 year old man. The corps looks already livid and shows black spots. On the head, near the hairy part, there is a wound, approx. 10 cm. long, which has been stitched. On the right side of the head there is a wound, 20 cm. long. In this wound a rubberish object is found. The wound has been stitched. On the right ear-lobe there is a wound, approx. 1 cm. long, stitched. Near the mouth, ears and nose, blood traces are visible. On the left eye-brow a 2 cm. long stitched wound is identifiable. On the left side of the forehead, on the right cheek, as well as on both eyes bruises and swellings are shown. Beneath the belly-button there is a 3 cm. long cut. The skin shows cracks, caused by massage of the chest. On the back, the legs and the arms, several swellings and bruises are identifiable. On the left shoulder there is a cut, 10 cm. long and stitched. Besides to the cuts, already mentioned, no further cuts, shot-wounds or signs of sharp objects are found.
It was established that Yusuf Bag, with no. 91741, was brought to the department for brain surgery of the state hospital in Izmir on September 21, 1995. (Comment: the operation is described next) Despite all the efforts, Yusuf Bag could not be saved and thus died on September 22, 1995 at 2.20 a.m.
Result: Since the concrete cause of the death from Yusuf Bag could not be established, it is recommend to bring his body to an autopsy.
Comment:
In the protocols from the forensic institute from the Justice department in Izmir, which follow next, they concentrate on the question wether the prisoners died as a result of a bleeding liver, a trauma or the breaking of the brain bone or not.
THE PEOPLE WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MASSACREIn News bulletin no. 18 from the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Front from September 29, 1995, the responsibility for the massacre is established as follows:
“(…) The responsible people and the executioners of this massacre are the coalition government of DYP and CHP, the minister of Justice, the chief of police in Izmir, the governor and the commander of the gendarmerie in Izmir, the chief-prosecutor in Izmir, the directors of the Buca-prison and the commander of the prison-gendarmes in Buca. They are first responsible for the planning and execution of this massacre and therefore the ones who are guilty. The whole police force, the forces of the gendarmerie, the members of the DYP-CHP coalition, all the parties, the members of the MHP, and all the guards who took part in the massacre, have made themselves guilty.
THE DYP-CHP GOVERNMENT:The contra-guerrilla staged a massacre on September 21, 1995. They attempted to scare the revolutionary prisoners, who resist with honour, and tried to separate them from their ideology.
The DYP-CHP government are the accomplices of the contra-guerrilla. The government, responsible for dozens of massacres and tortures, this time tried to break the personalities from the revolutionaries by torture, the taking away from rights, detention in isolation, and transfer of the prisoners.
With the opening of the isolation-prison in Ümraniye they gave a new dimension to their attacks. To make their attacks easier, and to perpetrate them without protest if possible, they already put the press in beforehand. The smear campaign and tirades in the press were meant to help legitimising the state terror. After the escape of the prisoners from the Buca-prison, they started to carry out their plans of attack.
The DYP, the CHP, the MHP and all the other parties are accessories to this massacre. Especially prime-minister Tansu Ciller, minister of Justice Mehmer Mogultay and the minister of the Interior Nahit Mentese are the organisers of this massacre.
The minister of the Interior NAHIT MENTESE:With his statement “The prisons have become training centres for terrorists”, he gave the signal for the attacks, prior to the massacre.
The minister of Justice MEHMET MOGULTAY:In the report which he wrote for the prisons, he said:
“The prisons with the terrorists in them, are meant for 40-110 persons. In these cells terrorists are trained. Since members of terrorist organisations are in the prisons, our responsibility is very high,” Preparations were made and these ended on September 21, 1995 with a massacre. He too, is guilty of the massacre.
The state prosecutor of Buca-prison, YASAR ASLAN:After the rights of the prisoners were removed, the prisoners demanded an interview. This was denied. The families, which came for this interview, were literally thrown out. Yasar Aslan prepared the massacre on September 21, 1995, and gave the starting order.
The prison ADMINISTRATION:After they took away the rights, they rejected every demand for negotiations and began preparing the massacre. The revolutionary prisoners, who didn’t accept the robbery of their rights, made this public and rejected the counting of the prisoners from September 19.
The administration was unable to count, but their measures against this were futile. They refused to open the canteen and the prison yard and they tried to prevent to contacts of the prisoners with the outside world. They even rejected to care for the basis needs. The 1. director Vedat Engin and the 2. directors Yusuf Tanriverdi, Hasan Ödag and Serhat Ünal participated in the massacre of September 21. 3 revolutionary prisoners were murdered in this massacre. They refused all medical care for the wounded and let them die. They are also guilty of the massacre.
The prison DIRECTOR:He was the willing aid of the political responsible. He executed their policy by taking away the rights and the order to torture. He too is guilty of the massacre.
The chief of police in Izmir, KEMAL YAZICIOGLU:He is a contra-guerrilla leader, an enemy of the people. The attack was planned and the police participated in executing the attack in the prison. The special units took part with bombs, weapons and batons and they attacked the families and lawyers and tortured them. The chief of police in Izmir is guilty of the massacre to where dozens of prisoners were wounded.
The director-general of the police, MEHMET AGAR:He too is a leader of the contra-guerrilla, an enemy of the people. During the operation he was in Izmir personally and gave the orders.
The commander of the district gendarmerie, TEVFIK KACAR:He sent forces of the gendarmerie to Buca, during and after the massacre. He participated in the preparation of the massacre. During the massacre sharp-shooters were put on the watchtowers on his orders from were the cells could be seen. The bombs were thrown through the holes on his orders. During the operation dozens of gendarmes made the sign of the Grey Wolves and they attacked the prisoners in the most gruesome manner. The treatment of the wounded prisoners in the hospital was not allowed and even the families of the wounded were denied access to the hospital. The officers of the gendarmerie, the lieutenant-colonel, his aids and all the other officers and soldiers are guilty of the massacre too.
The MEDIA:The media were the voice of the contra-guerrilla during the preparations of the massacre. Television channels like SHOW TV, ATV, TGRT, Kanal D and Star, papers like Milliyet, Hürriyet, Aksam, Zaman, Türkiye, Günaydin, Sabah and Meydan daily spread reports like “The prisons are filthy”, “The state is not present in the prisons”, “The organisations are led from the prisons” and “The prisons are just like luxury hotels”. They chattered about the massacre.
Immediately after the massacre they gave a false picture of the events and kept the true events secret to the public.
The governor of Izmir, KUTLU AKTAS:The seat of the governor in Izmir is one of the arms of the contra-guerrilla. With means like the contra-guerrilla he tried to frighten the prisoners and silence them. He belongs to the people who planned and executed the operation.
THE RESISTING AND FIGHTING PRISONERS, FREE IN THEIR MIND, CAN NEVER BE DEFEATED:After the massacre in Buca the bourgeois press and the other big media proceeded with spreading their lies. They wanted to hide the openly visible massacre. With distortions “Uprising in prison” they wanted to legitimise the massacre of fascism. However, the scenarios of a “outbreak of rising” were also a part of the planned massacre.
Only, there was no uprising. The revolutionary prisoners demanded their natural human rights, like the rights which were taken away from them. These demands were emphasised with protests and urges. The prisoners tried to talk to the prison administration and the state prosecution about the problems to solve them. However, the traditional prison policy of the state and its vengeful face were shown again. All demands to negotiate were rejected by the administration and the state prosecution, in stead the massacre was planned and executed, although all demands of the prisoners could have been acknowledged. Only after dozens of protests, resistance and a balance-sheet with three dead and many wounded, the demands were acknowledged by the responsible for the massacre. This case shows, what ever may be, the massacres are executed on purpose by the state. The revolutionary prisoners were conscious of the fact that the events and the barbaric attitude of the administration could end with a massacre. But they could not give up their own life in honour and surrender to fascism. Their resistance is a resistance of the will. On one side of the struggle are those with honour and values who fight for a free and just country, the incarcerated revolutionaries. On the other side: the exploiting fascist state who wants to force the revolutionaries to give up their identity by repression, torture, with attacks and murder threats.
It can be said that both groups in this struggle did what was to be expected from them.
The contra-guerrilla and the Mafia-government executed this massacre for two reasons. First, because they already try for years to terrorise the prisoners and yet, they did not succeed in defeating the prisoners. Since years they don’t succeed with their policy of repression, torture, taking away the rights. In this lack of perspective and desperation they even increased the terror.
This time the message to the prisoners was to be even more gruesome: “Do not resist, otherwise we will massacre you.”
The second reason why the fascist state has to show its barbaric face so openly, is the political, social and economical situation which the state is in. Because the ruling forces are confronted with a big crisis and they can not offer a solution to anyone anymore, their only solution is repression and state terror. The fascist state can not tolerate the slightest form of dissent. This clearly shows that the state is now at the end of its road. With murders it wants to extend its life with another day and for this it drowns all the people who live in this country, all nations and religions, millions of people, in a bloodbath. When one keeps this in mind, it will be seen that the state had two aims with planning the massacre in Buca. Not just the revolutionary prisoners, all the people were to be terrified.
The message is not only meant for the people within the boundaries of the prison walls. It is meant for the people outside as well.
“KEEP SILENT, OTHERWISE WE WILL MASSACRE YOU AS WELL“Before, during, and after the massacre in Buca, the revolutionary prisoners did what was expected from them. They refused to be intimidated by murder threats. They did not their honour trampled upon. What they defended, was in the same time the honour of the people. The prisoners who resisted in the Buca-prison, who fell but were not defeated, are part of the tradition which also created “Free Prisoners” in prison. They knew that one has to resist and fight the misery and exploitation, also under the conditions in the prisons. Even the thick walls and the cells were not able to separate them from their people and the peoples’ struggle for a free country.
And the Free Prisoners knew that endless repression and resistance are two sides of the same coin in prison. As long as there is fascism in our country and there are prisons of fascism, so long repression will not come to an end. And when the end comes for fascism, it will become more cruel, and repression will increase in new bloodbaths. In this situation the only decision of the Free Prisoners could be to confront the endless repression with uncompromising resistance. Any other decision would mean to renounce ones own personality, human dignity, and the independence of the people through the revolution. That would be ones own end.
The Free Prisoners did not choose the “end” in Buca, the choose the struggle against fascism, despite the huge sacrifice and the fallen comrades.
That’s why they, and the people, walk with their heads up high. The Free Prisoners are not the ones who are defeated, fascism is.
The heroic deeds in Buca lighted the joy of resistance and honour. They gave the people in our country a heroic victory. They have shown us how to fight misery and the barbaric acts of fascism.
The resistance and the heroic deeds in Buca mixed up the plan of the contra-guerrilla. Fascism has come to the point where it can no longer help itself.
The resistance and the heroic deeds in Buca have shown us that no repression can make the Free Prisoners into unfree prisoners.
