Fatma Sürme, 69, who was forced to migrate from Amed (Diyarbakır) to İzmir due to economic hardship and whose life has largely been spent at prison gates, said the Democratic Society and Peace Process has not reached prisons.

 

After moving from Amed to İzmir in 1993, Fatma Sürme tried to build a new life with her husband and 13 children. In 2008, following a bombing that occurred as a police vehicle was passing in İzmir, her home was raided and five of her sons and her husband were detained and later arrested on charges of “terrorist organization membership.”

 

For a year, Fatma Sürme visited her five sons and husband every week without fail. While working to support her children, she also took part in the Peace Mothers Assembly, established to promote peace in the country.

 

Her prison visits have continued ever since for her sons Bünyamin, who has been imprisoned for 18 years, and Ahmet, who has been imprisoned for 11 years.

 

‘THEIR HEALTH IS DETERIORATING’

 

Fatma Sürme said her son Bünyamin is currently held in Çorlu and suffers from stomach pain, a herniated disc, and has undergone eye surgery. She added that due to frequent transfers, she has sometimes gone to visit him only to learn he was no longer at that prison.

 

She said her other son, Ahmet, is in worsening health. “My son is being held in a single cell in Tekirdağ No. 2 F-Type Prison. He has problems with his eyes, kidneys and knee. The last time I saw him, he had lost a lot of weight. He tells me he exercises, but I know he is not well,” she said.

 

Fatma Sürme also said their visitation rights have been restricted, adding that she has not seen Ahmet, who is held in Tekirdağ, for one and a half years. She said she is unable to visit regularly because her children are held in prisons far from one another.

 

She added that access to treatment for ill prisoners is being made more difficult. “Even when they are taken to a doctor, they are taken in handcuffs. There is no ease, neither inside nor outside. When they call, they cannot say anything good,” she said.

 

‘WE WANT AN HONOURABLE PEACE’

 

Fatma Sürme said the Democratic Society and Peace Process has not extended to prisons, adding that while the process was initiated by the Kurdish freedom movement, she has not seen any steps taken by the state.

 

“Everyone must do their part in building an honourable peace. We want an honourable peace. We want unity among Kurds. We are human too; we have a language, a culture, a land. We are the owners of this land. The outcome of this process should be peace and unity among Kurds,” she said and added that the state must urgently take steps on many issues, particularly regarding prisons.