'The medical states of Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça, two dismissed educators who have been on a hunger strike for 187 days, are now very critical', according to Veli Saçılık, one of the public laborers dropped by the Turkish government’s statutory decrees.
Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça entered the 187th day of their hunger strike on September 11.
Speaking to soL news portal before the onset of the trial of the two education workers arrested by order of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Veli Saçılık has made a call for mass participation in the trial.
Saçılık is one of the solidarity activists for Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça.
'WE KNOW WHAT THE AKP WANTS'
Saçılık stated that the AKP government is trying to rule the country using the state of emergency it declared and statutory decrees. According to Saçılık, the AKP dismisses laborers to spread fear among society to solidify its rule. "Nuriye had said 'I want my job back' in front of the Human Rights Monument in Ankara 307 days ago. We are also carrying on with this determination. We have entered the 187th day of their hunger strikes, and we know the plan of the AKP. They want us to retreat, to cower; they want the deaths of Nuriye and Semih, and they want the public opposition to despair. Yet, we want the exact opposite of what the AKP is trying to impose. We aim to spread hope and resistance to the people, and we want our jobs back," Saçılık declared.
Emphasizing that the AKP has violated its law in the steps its taken, Saçılık stated that, "Reinstatement is not our only concern; we want a country where people can live in a state of freedom and equality."
'MEDICAL CONDITIONS OF THE TWO EDUCATORS AT CRITICAL LEVEL'
Noting that the medical conditions of Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça are now very critical, Saçılık said that "the two educators on hunger strike have been able to keep going with B1 vitamins until today. Their bodies are exhausted now. I hope they will protect their health and will be at court for the trial on September 14. This case is the case of all of us, not only of Nuriye and Semih."
Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça were two education workers who were dismissed from their jobs in a broad purge launched by the Turkish government after the failed coup attempt last year. The two have been on a hunger strike since, currently on its 187th day. The authorities locked them away saying their protest was driven by DHKP-C, a militant leftist group deemed terrorist by Turkey.
