National News Flashes - Turkey

Letter of Repudiation (model)

The World March of Women – international, grass-roots, feminist movement – in [COUNTRY NAME / NOM DU PAYS / NOME DO PAIS / NOMBRE DEL PAIS] expresses its strong repudiation of the illegal arrest and detention of 35 trade unionists (including Songül Morsümbül, Women’s Secretary of the Confederation of Public Employees Trade Unions; Gülçin İsbert, Women’s Secretary of Eğitim Sen; Elif Akgül, former Women’s Secretary of Eğitim Sen; and Yuksel Mutlu of the Human Rights Association) in the early hours of the 28th May 2009. 
We demand that these 35 women and men be released without charge immediately, and that those responsible for their illegal arrest be brought to justice according to Turkish law. We further demand that all documents, computers and CDs confiscated illegally from their offices be returned without delay.
We declare our full solidarity with our imprisoned sisters and brothers and with their struggle for workers rights in Turkey and in Europe.
 
Women on the March until we are all Free!
World March of Women
[COUNTRY NAME / NOM DU PAYS / NOME DO PAIS / NOMBRE DEL PAIS]

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Fax numbers of Turkish Authorities:
Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: 0090 312 417 04 76
Turkish President, Abdurrahman Gül: 0090 312 418 4183
Woman Minister, Selma Aliye Kavaf: 0090 312 417 39 87

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List of activists in prison:

·        Abdulcelil Demir, Egitim-Sen Izmir Branch member
·        Abdurrahman Dasdemir, Former KESK General Secretary
·        Aydin Güngörmez, Egitim-Sen Izmir Branch member
·        Elif Akgül Ates, Former Egitim-Sen Women's Secretary
·        Harun Gündes, Egitim-Sen Izmir Branch member
·        Hasan Soysal, United Trade Union of Transport Employees (BTS) Izmir Branch member
·        Hasan Umar, Egitim-Sen Van Branch member
·        Haydar Deniz, Egitim-Sen representative in Izmir/Bergama
·        Lami Özgen, Egitim-Sen Ankara Branch member
·        Mehmet Hanifi Kuris, Egitim-Sen Izmir Branch member
·        Mustafa Beyazbal, Egitim-Sen Izmir Branch member
·        Nihat Keni, Egitim-Sen Izmir Branch member
·        Sakine Esen Yilmaz, Egitim-Sen Izmir Branch member
·        Sermin Günes, Egitim-Sen Izmir Branch member
·        Yuskel Mutlu, retired teacher, member of the Human Rights Association and member of the Turkey Peace Assembly

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Email from the WMW in Turkey, 30th May:
 
Dear sisters,
 
This week 35 trade unionists, including our activists, were taken into custody by military police. Yuksel Mutlu (Human Rights Association), Songul Morsumbul Women's Secretary of the KESK (Confederation of Public Employees Trade Unions), Gulcin Isbert Women's Secretary of the EGITIM-SEN, Elif Akgul the former Women's Secretary of the EGITIM-SEN are activists of the WMW from our member organisations. Unlawfully military police searched their houses, workplaces (schools), offices in the trade-union headquarters and confiscated all their documents, correspondences, computers and CDs in the trade-union offices. These confiscated documents include documents on maternal leave, violence against women, sexual harassment and our action plan for 2010 and other documents of the WMW, the accumulation of 12 years of women’s work in the trade union movement.
 
We request you to send your protest to the President, the Prime Minister and the Women's Minister and seek to stop the criminalisation of the oppositional movements especially women's movement, to release all trade unionists and to return all unlawfully confiscated documents immediately.
 
Please find attached (below) the appeal send by the KESK attached and fax numbers to which to send your letter of repudiation. A model for this letter, that you can use if you wish to, is also attached (please send the letter in English, so that it is understandable to the Turkish authorities).
 
Thank you in advance for your solidarity.
 
Best wishes,
 
WMW, Turkey

KESK - Confederation of Public Employees Trade Unions -  Turkey 
Ref:2009-373/02-36               
28 May 2009
 
Dear woman colleagues,

URGENT:CALL FOR SOLIDARITY WITH OUR WOMAN TRADE UNIONISTS…!

This morning in the early hours, an operation against our Confederation was started in Ankara, Van, Manisa, and İzmir in particular.  Since then, and in accordance with the information that have available, 35 trade unionists have been taken into custody.  Among them the Confederation Executive Committee member – Women’s Secretary of KESK (Songül Morsümbül), the Women’s Secretary of Eğitim Sen (EGITIAM-SEN) (Gülçin İsbert), the former Women’s Secretary of Eğitim Sen (Elif Akgül) and Human Rights Association member Yuksel Mutlu – ALL ACTIVISTS OF THE WORLD MARCH OF WOMEN – have also been taken into custody by security forces and gendarme while at the same time illegally searching the houses of our members, our trade union offices and their schools (since most of them are teachers) by the police. They confiscated documents including documents regarding maternal leave, violence against women, sexual harassment and our Action plan for 2010 and other documents of the WMW, the accumulation of 12 years of work of the women in the trade union movement.

Moreover, as far as we know, within these processes, the wife of the one of our members was also subjected to sexual harassment in her own house. Our members and executive committee members are not allowed to make any contact with their lawyers; therefore we have not received any information about their situations in the police station.

Being one of the most important trade union confederation in Turkey, being the major supporter of gender policies in our struggle, being one of the organisations that struggles for creating a democratic, equal, free and peaceful Turkey, Europe and the world, we consider that this action towards our Confederation is a very serious attack against the democratic trade union struggle. On behalf of KESK - although we informed about the situation to high levels of the trade union movement (Eureopean Trade Union Confederation, International Trade Union Confederation) and to the International Labour Organisation, we also wanted to inform you, since the gender aspect of this unlawful situation is very clear.

In order not to confront with unavoidable and fatal consequences, we believe in the emergency of the intervention to this anti-democratic situation. We believe that your solidarity and support is very important and will provide important contribution to our struggle. Your protest letters to the Turkish authorities, in particular the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish President Abdurrahman Gül, and the Womens’s Minister Selma Aliye Kavaf, or any kind of your support is very important and necessary for us. Thank you very much for your solidarity and support.

Fax numbers of Turkish Authorities:
Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: 0090 312 417 04 76
Turkish President, Abdurrahman Gül: 0090 312 418 4183
Woman Minister, Selma Aliye Kavaf: 0090 312 417 39 87

With our best regards,

Emirali Şimşek
General Secretary

1st June 2009