INTRODUCTION
The Project for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of the Tortured, implemented by the Adana, Ankara, İstanbul and İzmir Treatment and Rehabilitation Centers, has been one of the most important projects of the HRFT since its inception. Following the efforts that began in 1990, our Centers received 2174 applications until the end of 1995, and 588 during 1996, adding up to 2762. Hundreds of health professionals, including volunteers as well, have offered their services to help solve the physical, psychological and social problems of the tortured. In 1996 the “5 Cities Project” was still being implemented for the five provinces of Diyarbakır, Van, Malatya, Gaziantep and Mersin, areas yet without such centers yet despite the presence of widespread violations.
As far as the Treatment and Rehabilitation Project is concerned, the year 1996 was a period during which important steps were taken in the transition from the initial phase to the institutionalization phase. It has now been established more firmly that the process of treatment and rehabilitation of survivors of torture is a “specific” area; that the medical discipline has a very important place in this process; but the specificity of this area necessitates a broader environment including the medical discipline as well. And it is now crystal-clear that success in this environment requires high-quality activities at all levels and such an understanding can only be materialized if necessary institutions, contacts and qualifications are in place. Concrete steps were taken and our work was brought to maturity in this regard.
Considering the dimensions our own activities have taken on as well as the intensive international interest and support which became more visible after the Adana trial, in particular, it will not be an overstatement to say that the HRFT Treatment and Rehabilitation Project will be an active focal point in the process of treatment and rehabilitation of survivors of torture.
The Treatment and Rehabilitation Project includes not only treatment services but also training and scientific studies and activities aiming at enhancing the quality of these services.
This report containing the results of the activities of the HRFT Treatment and Rehabilitation Project in 1996 is published in Turkish and English like in previous years.
Publication and presentation dates are obviously important for the functionality of annual reports. Thus, the publication of the 1996 report in July 1996 would have suited that functionality. In the coming years, greater care will be given to this.
The Treatment and Rehabilitation Centers Report 1996 comprises two parts after the foreword by Yavuz Önen, the President of the Governing Board, assessing the year 1996 from the human rights aspect.
The first part furnishes an account of the medical efforts of the Foundation during 1996. It contains information and comments on those who applied to the HRFT Treatment and Rehabilitation Centers in Adana, Ankara, İstanbul and İzmir, with complaints consequent to torture.
The second part comprises articles concerning a number of issues our Treatment and Rehabilitation Centers dealt with during 1996.
In the first place, there are four interrelated articles on the “Adana Trial”, which was of concern to our entire Foundation, including in particular our Adana Center. If viewed from a certain perspective, this trial can be seen as something that forced the Foundation on the whole and the Adana Center, in particular, to deal with a matter falling outside its proper scope. However, if judged by its results, it is understood that this was a development that reinforced the basis of our scope and rendered us more effective on that stronger basis. We thank all our local/international friends who were with us in the course of these developments that made us even more effective.
This part also contains a brief article on the education meeting entitled “Approaches to the examination, diagnosis and treatment processes of survivors of torture, and issuance of reports,”, which was completed in December 1996 as the product of a collective effort of six months, including its preparation and implementation.
An article on the so-called “the case of torture of youths of Manisa”, which severely wounded the public conscience and is in fact a bitter picture of our country, is also included in this part, especially in connection with the HRFT’s efforts.
We would like to state that publication dates will receive greater priority, which is a must for the functionality of the reports. With this in mind, we shall also attach importance to a more elaborate coverage of all efforts relating to the Treatment and Rehabilitation Project.
Activities of the HRFT are the product of hundreds of sensible people, including health care staff and human rights advocates, who work towards a shared goal in various parts of the country. We thank all of our friends who have contributed to these efforts and to the Human Rights Association and the Turkish Medical Association which supported our work from the very outset.