ANKARA - One of the mothers came to Ankara to make the voice of their children heard is 71 year old Besra Salhan. The mothers only wish for her son Sinan, is the governments taking action before its too late.
Thousands of prisoners are on hunger strike for months demanding the removal of the isolation on PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan. Those who are worst effected by the fact that the prisoners are vomitting blood because the prisoners are beyond the critical threshold are the mothers who have come to Ankara to make the voice of their children be heard.
One of these mothers is Besra Salhan.
71 year old Salhan came to Ankara covering a ground of 1.217 kms from Van. Mother Salhan gives strength to the other mothers with her energy and her determination at her old age.
Her son Sinan Salhan is incarcerated for 7 years now. Mother Salhan who talk about her son starts by saying, 'My son is hungry for 5 months' and hushes for a moment.She says, 'My son is very well informed.He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He got arrested while he was in collage to be trained as a Turkish teacher in Erzincan University. He had been in two different prisons until now and participated 4 times in hunger strikes. He is in the Kurdish Liberation Movement since high school, he chosed this path of struggle for him. His only priority was the freedom of his people."
Stating that she last saw her son in the first week of May, says: "He was so thin. I am here at this age on a fast. Most mothers my age are not able to speak by then but I am here for the sake of our children. Sinan is my youngest son. I wrapped him up in cotton wools growing up, but now he wastes away in front of my eyes. Mother Besra addresses to the government officals and says: "Take action now. Tomorrow may be too late. Our children may die any minute. Enough is enough!"