ISTANBUL – Ahmet Tas, who was arrested after being detained at the age of 18 in Nüsaybin and released after 30 years, said: "I have survived with hope and faith. A part of my heart remained with my friends in the prison.”

 

Ahmet Taş, who was taken into custody in the Nüsaybin district of Mardin and was arrested by the State Security Court after being held for 27 days, came out of prison at the age of 49, which he entered at the age of 18. He was transferred to Taş, Mardin, Harput and many other prisons, for which the State Security Court gave a life sentence. Taş, whose detention ended in İzmir Aliağa No. 2 Type T Prison, to which he was finally transferred after 30 years and 6 months, said that it is not right to attribute a meaning to life without living it, and that he has survived with hope and faith in the past.

 

'I STARTED TO MISS MY FRIENDS IN PRISON'

 

Stating that the feeling he felt when he first got out of prison after 30 years was indescribable, Taş said: “A part of my heart remained in the prison. I still have friends who are stuck behind bars. Although it was such a short time, I started to miss them all. I wish democracy could be more developed in our country. There is no environment where everyone can express themselves and everyone can freely express their thoughts."

 

THE FREEDOM OF SOCIETY

 

Stating that he had seen the sky as a square for years, Taş said: "that leaving prison is not freedom unless there is the freedom of society. All Kurdish political prisoners must be released as soon as possible. This country needs democracy and peace. I hope these will prevail soon.”

 

THE SITUATION OF THE ILL PRISONERS

 

Drawing attention to the situation of the ill prisoners, Taş said: "They should be released in the process carried out under the name of 'solution', but noted that the promises were not kept. If the Minister of Justice issues a circular, it should be applied to everyone without any discrimination. There should be no biased laws. Discrimination and double standards have brought nothing to this country. Ill prisoner should be released as soon as possible.”

 

Stating that two of his friends were not released and lost their lives in prison despite being ill in prison, Taş said: “Kasım Demir passed away in prison in 2012. Abdulrezak Şimşek, with whom I was in the same ward last year, also passed away. I went to the hospital with him a month before he passed away. He was diagnosed with lymph cancer. He died a month later. Abdulrezak was on his way to death, but he didn't stop making jokes. The words he said to me before he passed away were: He was saying, 'Friend Ahmet, I will catch the throat of this disease and kill it'. I will never forget this word.”

 

'KURDISH QUESTION HAS BEEN SACRIFICED IN THE ELECTIONS

 

Emphasizing that what keeps him in prison is “faith” and “hope”, Taş said: "I never lost hope and that these concepts keep me alive. Humans must have faith. We should never give up. As long as you act in this way, there is no obstacle that you cannot overcome. There has been no change in the state's approach to the Kurdish Question since the 1990s, The elections to be held on May 14. The steps taken regarding the Kurdish Question have been sacrificed in the elections. This question could have been solved by taking into account the fate and problems of the country during the resolution process. As far as we can see, nothing much has changed in Turkey's approach to the Kurdish question. The same policies continue. We can even say that it has become more rigid.”

 

'KURDISH PEOPLE SHOULD RESPECT THEIR VALUES'

 

Stating that he read thousands of books during this 30-year detention period and that the book he was most influenced by was Tolstoy's War and Peace, Taş said: “The Kurdish society has developed itself in general. This is a happy situation for me. It is a good feeling to protect their own values. The biggest expectation of the prisoners in prison is that the Kurdish people protect their own values. After all, they are the children of this society. Kurds need to protect their values. What we call value is not just an object; therefore, I wish them to take care of whatever value belongs to them. The Kurdish people are such a people.”

 

MA / Ferdi Bayram