Gültan Kışanak: My remanding sent the message ‘No solution or any such thing’

 The indictment drafted against her runs to 21 pages, while the jail term sought is 240 years. All the charges against her relate to press conferences, statements and speeches she has made at rallies. Add to that, of course, a municipality’s basic activities like funerals and burials. The 21-page indictment did not include any charge relating to the ‘trench-barricade-municipality’ accusations levelled against the DBP municipalities by government officials and the aligned media. It is probably precisely because of this that Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayor Gültan Kışanak says, ‘Experiences at the time of the 12 September military coup steered me in the direction of journalism as a career. I thought I would write about the truth, criticise what was wrong and contribute towards the development of democratic awareness and the creation of democratic public opinion. We are now once more passing through an era in which we are learning from experience how important a free and independent press-media is.’ Gültan Kışanak has replied to Cumhuriyet’s questions from jail.

- As a journalist, how would you sum up the situation you are going through?

The state of the country is evident. I think along the lines: ‘Prison has been my lot again.’ As a person who served for two terms as an MP (BDP), as party co-chair and finally as mayor of a city having a population of 1,600,000, and, after immunity was lifted, who constantly went to and fro to the judicial complex for two years regardıng dozens of investigations that were launched in connection with police crime reports that had previously been drafted, and as a person who believes in democratic politics and has never lost hope in the law and the quest for justice, I have been remanded and put in jail in a political operation. In this situation there is one thing that I can do and this is to take a stance in opposition to this injustice based on the democratic values I believe in and the law, justice and freedom. Perhaps in this way I can also do my bit towards getting out of the chaos the country has been dragged into.

Isolation is the biggest problem

-What are prison conditions like?

Since 31 October 2016, I have been held on my own in a room at Kocaeli F-Type Prison. The biggest problem is loneliness and isolation. I also come out on my own for exercise breaks. In fact, legislation stipulates that even those undergoing aggravated life sentences take exercise breaks in the company of several people. This solitary confinement is a special procedure that is being implemented under ministerial order. It is human nature to wish to hear voices and speak. I read out aloud several times a day and have made friends with my own voice.

I also get the impression that this prison is one of the oldest F-type prisons. It is very old, there is excess humidity, ventilation is poor and moss has formed in places on the outside walls. It is not very easy to get warm. I read in the paper that Cumhuriyet’s canteen guy used chewing gum to block places where draft was coming in from to stop the cold. And I have covered the iron bars on the window with a rubbish bag to stop rainwater coming in through the window. It does this to an extent. I have only realised here how valuable an invention the hot water bottle is.

Onions by way of medicine

- Are you in good health? Are your health needs being met?

I wrap up well so as not to freeze. I eat onions and garlic every day by way of medicine. I am fine for the time being. I suffer from chronic high blood pressure and diabetes. I am taking my medication. Arthritis causes a lot of trouble in this humidity but I am trying to deal with it without seeing a doctor.

- How do your days pass?

I spend the great part of the day reading newspapers and books. If the weather is not very cold and there is not too much snow and ice in the exercise area, I take exercise breaks. If nothing else, a short walk does me good. I answer the letters I receive.

The indictment is 21 pages and the sentence sought is 240 years

- What crime did you commit to warrant 240 years’ imprisonment?

The indictment is 21 pages and the sentence sought is 240 years. The lion’s share of the allegations relate to press conferences, statements and speeches made at rallies over the time I have been an MP and BDP Co-Chair. Speeches that I made in public, openly and before dozens of cameras. A portion of the comments and speeches are speeches I made after having been elected Co-Mayor. Press conferences that I held indoors have been made to appear to be ‘records obtained through surveillance.’ Listed as elements of crime are dozens of pronouncements such as the press conference I held to publicise the Newroz programme, rally speeches I made on days such as Newroz and 8 March, the comment I made on the 25 November International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the efforts and declarations I made for hunger strikes in prisons to end without loss of life, inclusion in the press statement and comments condemning the torture conducted in Diyarbakır Prison at the time of the 12 September military coup, comments made condemning the detention of mayors and our party’s managers as part of the KCK trial which it has now transpired was one of the Fethullah Parallel State Formation’s conspiracy trials, and, finally, press statements condemning the appointing of curators to municipalities. If only I had the means to disseminate the full texts of these pronouncements of mine to the whole of Turkey. It would be seen that I was defending peace, dialogue, freedoms and democracy wholly from within the bounds of democratic politics.

The law has become an instrument

If you ask what there is relating to the municipality, there is one single allegation and that is ‘funeral and burial procedures of persons who died in conflict,’ i.e. this is an essential and statutorily required duty of a municipality.

With the public having been fed so much ‘trench-barricade-municipality’ news, I imagine there is curiosity about this matter. There is absolutely no allegation about this from among the accusations levelled against me. It is impossible for there to be, in fact. Actually, in appointing curators to municipalities, the law was turned into an instrument. The Co-Mayors were also selected as victims.

Local democracy has been suspended

The issue is not just my detention; all the results of the local elections held in March 2014 have been annulled. Assembly and executive committee powers have been given to a civil servant appointed by the central government. How can the Mayor being a suspect be used as grounds for dispensing with the functions of a municipal assembly created through democratic elections in a city with a population of 1,600,000? This is the situation currently faced by 51 municipalities. Local democracy has been suspended. Suppose the prime-minister were to stand charged with an offence: Would parliament’s functions be suspended?

Time to foster hope

- Is there anything in particular you would like to say?

Experiences at the time of the 12 September military coup steered me in the direction of journalism as a career. I thought I would write about the truth, criticise what was wrong and contribute towards the development of democratic awareness and the creation of democratic public opinion. We are now once more passing through an era in which we are learning from experience how important a free and independent press-media is. I wish to convey my feelings of solidarity to the imprisoned journalists. I would also like to thank women for the solidarity they have displayed. Co-mayorship is an important attainment that women have achieved together with local authorities. We must stand up for this. We will continue our struggle for peace, democracy and freedom without compromising on our goal of equal representation. It is time for all women to foster love and now hope.

‘No solution or any such thing’ message

- Did you expect to be arrested or remanded? Especially on the eve of the day on which you attended the coup commission?

We experienced a stepping up of the pressure day by day after 7 June and this is the point we have reached. Inspectors starting coming one week after the elections. Three or four inspectors came each month. They examined tender files, assembly resolutions, the personnel structure and everything in minute detail. It was clear that they had been sent saying, ‘Go and without fail find something.’ But they were unable to find even a single irregularity. A tight grip was placed on the municipality. Even certain of our plans for which we had been granted EU funding were cancelled by the ministry.

Under a decree with the force of law, they began to appoint curators to municipalities in an overturning of all statutory regulations covering municipalities. It was clear that this would not stop with sub-province municipalities. We all awaited the time when our turn would come. The way they carted me off on returning from the Coup Commission speaks volumes. I told the Commission about our experiences in the solution process and informed them of the way the parallel state structure had obstructed the solution of the Kurdish problem through peaceful and democratic means. I endeavoured to convey our belief in a peaceful solution based on dialogue and democratic politics so as to immediately get out of the environment of chaos the country has been dragged into. I was arrested at the airport a few hours later. They presumably also passed on the message, ‘No solution or any such thing’ by remanding me in custody.