FOREWORD
We left 2010 in which we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT). With our several activities during the year, we aimed at both introducing the HRFT and strengthening the struggle against torture and impunity.
On 26 June 2010 the exhibition entitled “My Nonexistence Your Existence” was presented to the audiences in Çankaya Contemporary Arts Centre [Çağdaş Sanatlar Merkezi] in Ankara Province between 21–28 June 2010 in the framework of the activities for the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Besides the activities in İzmir and Diyarbakır Provinces in the human rights week, the “Where Fire Has Struck” Exhibition was conducted with 131 artists in Depo in İstanbul Province between 10 March and 22 April 2011. Our journey, which began as a tiny snowball with just a handful of friends, transformed into an act of solidarity on an incredible scale, and manifested in the exhibition and events entitled “Where Fire Has Struck.” This solidarity and labour holds a pride of place for the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, and constitutes one of the most beautiful presents it has received in its 20-year history.
The activities for the 20th anniversary extended to Adana, Ankara, Diyarbakır, İstanbul and İzmir Provinces where the HRFT has its treatment and rehabilitation centres.
There was a boom in the right to life violations with the end of the ceasefire in 2010. In 2010, 246 people were killed in the clashes although it was 138 in 2009.
Another important incident in 2010 was the referendum for the amendment of the constitution which was held in 12 September 2010. Political polarisation was intensified with the referendum as all the political activities that interest the whole country; according to the findings of the Documentation Centre of the HRFT, in 2010 2 people were killed, 155 people were wounded; 166 out of the 1907 detainees were arrested.
When we talk about right to life violations we, as the HRFT, underline a specific type of it. All the people living in this country regardless their age, sex, occupation are the targets of the violence of the law-enforcement officers. The right to life violations that we take into consideration in our annual reports are realised in a wide spectrum vary from killings due to disobeying “stop” warnings to the “suicides” or suspicious deaths in detention and prisons. As it can be seen from the table below, the right to life violations is not a peculiarity of 2010. The deaths due to excessive use of force by the law-enforcement officers or the ones in detention placers are part of a process that was initiated long ago.
41 people died in detention places (6 people in the headquarters/stations, 35 people in prison).
The murder of four human rights defenders profoundly had torn our hearts out. Salih Özdemir (55), closed People’s Labour Party (HEP) Batman Province Chairperson, Sadi Özdemir (47), Human Rights Association’s (HRA/IHD) Batman Province Branch’s former Chairperson and Head of Demirlipınar Village, Sedat Özevi (48), Human Rights Association’s (HRA/IHD) Batman Province Branch’s former Chairperson, and Sofi Özdemir (45), were killed with the explosion of a mine as they were driving to South Raman Petrollium Region to interfere the fire in the fields near Demirlipınar Village of Hasankeyf District of Batman Province on 31 July 2010.
Human rights defenders have been detained and subjected to long pre-trial detention periods.
Similarly, the conviction of Mahmut Alınak revealed the insincerity of the government in its struggle against torture. Mahmut Alınak was sentenced to 14 months and 17 days of imprisonment on the grounds that he criticised torture as “a beasty practice” on charges of “insulting the police officers” under Article 125 of the TPC on 22 December 2010.
due to its nature, torture represents a health problem that affects not only its victim, but also society as a whole. In the act of torture, a form of violence embodying relationships of power within the state’s field of responsibility, the physical and psychological abuse that takes place is not restricted to the victim, and the very existence of this form of violence results in a serious psychological abuse of society itself as well. It is reported that one of the preliminary responses our being produces to the ravages of torture is evasion from the source of harm. Evasion enters into a vicious circle at the point which the victim turns a blind eye to this form of violence, and is therefore removed from contributing to a solution in the struggle against what becomes an invisible problem.
Continuing to look at the problem from a medical point of view and from the window of preventive medicine; the sine qua non of preventive medicine is to define the problem with accurate and scientific data. In the case of an epidemic of which all features have been identified, an accurate evaluation can make it possible for the agent giving rise to the epidemic to be isolated, and subsequently removed completely. Therefore, it is necessary to define the phenomenon of torture – which, in terms of its prevalence in our country can be defined as an epidemic – as an agent of violence, with accuracy and reference to its real features; at which point it will be possible to rapidly develop effective methods in combating it. The effect on society of this type of violence and the act of evasion are factors that make the definition of the problem more difficult. The responsibility of the medical doctor can be viewed as a stance that can bring about an effective breakthrough at this point.
in terms of the prevention of torture and other human rights violations and the development of mechanisms to cope with social trauma, it is clear that responsibility does lie with doctors alone. On the path of removing the identified agent from society, legal procedures have a significant role to play. Social collaboration too requires such an intervention.
We know for instance that water containing a disease agent must not be drunk before disinfection. Doctors bear the responsibility of stating that the water contains the disease agent, but those who will carry out the disinfection, and those who know that the water must not be drunk if not disinfected and those who must issue a warning to those responsible for carrying out the disinfection must all bear their share of the burden during this process.
May the water we drink remain pure and clean forevermore, and may the day come that together we extinguish that fire once and for all…