7th Individual Armament Award Winning Youth and Weapon feature Story of Film and Short Film Contests Award Ceremony and Forum

September 28, 2001
Lütfi Kırdar Congess and Exhibition Palace- Istanbul

Nazire Dedeman
Founder President of Umut Foundation
Speech Text

Dear guests,
I am happy and proud to be with you in the September 28th Individidual Armament Day “Youth and Weapon” feature Forum and award ceremony activity.As you know Umut Foundation is conducting rigorous and insistent works in the issue of “Individual Disarmament” as of many other issues. This morning we realized the March of silent shoes Activity.We,the ones who lost “our heart”, left shoes on a red carpet in order to raise our voice,to stress the right of life.In order to stop deatth caused by weapon and violence.Our call and shout are sad but also meaningful. We want to give to our children and grandchilds a world constituted of individuals possessing awareness of citizenship, believing in the rule of law, free from feelings based on violence.

The events we have experienced recently shows that the reason of possessing individual armament has become a tool  of the  national and international  policy, an ad instrument of ideologies going beyond the aims of showing off, personal defense or attack. The weapon used in the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York is a knife used for opening parcel. And this knife has changed the war strategy in the world. As Herbert Khan has mentioned, violence tools which started with a knife and extended to a nuclear  weapon are included in the scope of  individual arm.The use of power and violence affecting masses has been taken away from definite centers and has been personalized. “A new kind of war” which denies national limits has started.

When we look to the change I just mentioned in terms of our country, we see that this kind of thing has started in the past. Mechanisms of producing societal solution in Turkey has become clumsy long time ago and even stopped up.Accordingly those who try unlawful ways, those who hope help from mafia have increased.Enforcement of a right has started to be a rule; sections of society  who have rejected corruption, violence stayed inefficient and hopeless. This made myself and my supporters devote  all our strength to the rule of law, to the hope of constituting a society without violence. We founded Umut Foundation.Today, we are sharing our hope with people and other millions in this place  after years of struggle.

Dear Guests, I would like to talk you give you  some data.
The data taken from the Justice Ministry General Directorate of Criminal Records and Statistics display how desperate the situation is:
According to year 2000 statistics, the number of legal action opened due to intentionally and negligent homicide crimes is 26,403 and the number of accused who went to trial in legal actions is 38,865.

A total of 21,515 legal actions have been opened in 2000 due to opposition to law  numbered 6136 concerning firearms and knives and 27,933 peole have been on trial.
In brief the total number of accused who went to trial due to opposition to the turkish law’s homicide felonies and to the law numbered 6136  is 66,798.
Injuring is not included to these figures.Thousands of people go to trial due to these crimes.
Another reality is that there are 570 registered weapon repair and production places in Turkey.
The realities are very sad but show also how fond we are of violence.
According to the Justice Ministry General Directorate of Penalty and Prisons, 12,529 out of 59,901 arrested and prisoners in prisons are imprisoned due to homicide crimes. This means that the right of life of at least12,529 people have been taken away.

Dear Guests;
Umut Foundation has chosen to head towards youngs people and to bring up future generations in order to realize its aim.  After being a confirmed custom of the age group who gives direction to the society in a definite period of time,the mentality of taking up arms due to the fact of being a violence supporter and in case of disagreements has now started to head towards the future in other words towards young people. Member of the same generation,those who have brighter disciplines to pass to the future and  to the youth reject this custom and  dark picture with the young people and on behalf of the young people.

Our struggle is the struggle to give to young people the awareness of citizenship, to sort the violence and weapon out of their worlds and to attach them to the rule of law principles. The appropriate place to do this is non governmental organizations and one of the appropriate tools is art. Today we took one more step toward our hope by bringing together both of them.We chose this year’s contest subject as “Youth and Weapon”.

Works which I am sure are all of them are valuable have been presented to two different juries in the categories of “Story of Film”, “Short Film” and “Short Documentary Film”.In consequence of careful studies, the Jury will determine the production which will be awarded.I would like to thank to the members of the Jury and to all the authors who participated to this contest.I also want to thank the Turkish Bar Association, The Istanbul Bar Association, the Open Society Institute and to all the Forum participants and to everyone who honoured us by being here for having run after their hopes.

For a Future Full of Hope.