NEWSDESK, — Today a group of 20 Kurdish youth met with UNICEF Official Jon Sparkes and June (surname not known) and then SAVE THE CHILDREN Officials Ishbel Matheson and Jude Bridge to discuss the abuse, torture and rape suffered by Kurdish children in Pozanti Prison, Adana, Turkey.
The first meeting took place at UNICEF as the youths entered the building and requested to see officials after their emails and phone calls were left unanswered for days. After a few minutes of waiting and confusion by UNICEF staff, UNICEF O perations Manager Jon Sparkes and his colleague June (surname not known) appeared and accepted to meet with the spokespersons of the group.
During the 20 minute meeting the spokespersons of the group explained the incidents of systematic torture, abuse and rape of Kurdish children in Pozanti Prison, Adana, SE Turkey; and also described the general tableaux of mass arrests of stone throwing children, the mass rape suffered by the 12 year old N.Ç. by state officials in Mardin; the hunger-strikes of children in Maltepe Prison and the assimilation, abuse and rape suffered by Kurdish girls in Regional Primary Boarding Schools (YIBO). The UNICEF Officials said they were sensitive to the issue and that they would do everything they could to intervene.
The spokespersons made five requests to UNICEF:
1) mak e a statement to world public opinion and highlight the violations of children’s rights in Turkey and abuses suffered recently at Pozanti Prison.
2) send a committee to Turkey to meet and interview the children who are putting forward these claims. This can be done through the Human Rights Associaton of Turkey (IHD).
3) send this committee to Pozanti Prison to investigate the prison and talk to the inmates at the prison regarding these incidents.
4) bring onto its agenda the case of ‘stone throwing children’ in Turkey, hundreds of whom are still imprisoned and end their unjust imprisonment.
5) continue monitoring Turkey’s violations of children’s rights and intervene and take action when necessary.
Following discussions UNICEF Officials said they would bring the matter to the attention of the UNICEF Turkey branch and that they would make sure it would be followed up in Turkey. The spokespersons handed a detailed file of the abuses over to UNICEF and the parties exchanged contact information. The spokespersons exited the meeting room to the applause of their friends who were waiting in the reception area. The group left shouting the slogan ‘UNITE FOR CHILDREN’S RIGHTS’ and applauding.
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