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March 20th 1999
Healthy Life Fair 99/Ankara
Nazire Dedeman
Founder President of Umut Foundation
Speech Text
Dear guests, welcome.
By organizing Individual Disarmament themed award winning contests and conferences, Umut Foundation (1993) encourages the research on the reasons of the fast-growing demand of possessing a weapon in our societys individuals from its establishment until now. Thus, it is aiming to reinforce the existence of the state of law by helping preventing the development of the brute force and violence. We can see that uncontrolled armament has reached to terrifying dimensions in our country in recent years. The people, who were injured or who lost their lives because of unconscious use of weapon in all occasions (alongside of amusement or celebration events), have been often in the Turkish press headline and those who lost their lives were always innocent people.
Violence and weapon isnt the way to express feeling. On the contrary, violence and weapon is the lack of expression.
In our country, the possession of individual gun and therefore the use of individual gun are increasing. Using weapon is the extreme point of violence. The intensive tendency on using violence and weapon may arise from psychological disturbance such as lack of expressing itself, intensive insecurity and personality disorder. For this reason, using violence and weapon is a problem of society health. We know that not only using weapon but possessing weapon is also harmful to the environment. Weapon is causing suffering and misery to families under all circumstances.
Anticlimactic events, occurred consecutively as a result of weapons being in irresponsible hands, are causing to affect the social security of everybody. Our people not giving value to the others, the lack of education, our associations not fulfilling exactly their responsibilities are causing to create an environment uncontrolled and unconscious, our people are becoming a degenerate society with the lack of education and psychological problems and this environment puts us in front of a huge problem and conflict.
Physical force is a gift. It is the same for individuals and for species. Force is increased by using tools. In terms of species, intelligence is also a gift. Developing and using a tool requires intelligence; therefore, it is specific for humans only. Other living creature cant develop tools. Weapon is also a tool the human being has developed and it increases the assault force. Even if it is used for self-defense purpose, weapon is a tool of violence.
Violence is not a gift, it is learned and when the conditions are suitable it comes out. The society teaches against whom and under which circumstances we should use violence. The society determines the laws and the traditions of the violence. Like violence, using a weapon is also an act learned. Weapon is a tool developed for being used in proper circumstances by people who are inclined to violence. Then, legalizing weapon means legalizing violence. Licenses to carry and use weapon are legal evidence of this legalization.
It could be say that weapon could be used as a defense tool against violence; therefore, people who are not inclined to violence should be able to possess weapon. This might be a reasonable opinion while considering our social conditions. In that case, weapon licenses should be given to this kind of people only. A person demanding a weapon license should be obliged to take training for a certain period as the process of taking out a driving license and the license should be given after the experts determine if the demander is mentally peaceful. It is our primary demand from the law-maker. Our secondary demand is to take effective measures that will dissuade the possession of unlicensed weapon.
Those were intermediate measures. The principal is to eliminate or at least minimize the necessity to resort to violence and the use of weapon (which is its tool) in our society. Therefore, we have to change our regional and social circumstances. We have to nurture generations who will choose peaceful means to solve their problems without resorting to violence. Shortly, we need to change our instructions.
Five years ago, my son Umut has been murdered. I dont know the reason why my son has been killed, with a more proper saying; I still dont know the real reason of his murdering. However, I know a very important truth. My son has been shot and killed by an unlicensed gun in that location. Therefore, I say No to Individual Armament.
Fire burns the place it falls. This is my pain. But in our country, this fire started to burn too many places. Only last month, we heard twenty five people were injured or lost their lives by individual armament. For example, a person discusses with the apartment building manager about where the garbage should be dumped and by anger he takes out his licensed gun and shot the manager. If there wasnt gun, neither would the manager die nor would the life of the doctor be ruined. They could have solved this problem by peaceful means after the anger passes.
Other examples; in two different towns, two young people at a child age took their fathers licensed gun from their house, one shot one of his friend he hated at school, the other one did the same thing in the middle of a bazaar. If those guns werent kept in the house, these unfortunate events wouldnt occur. Thus, I say NO to licensed and unlicensed gun.
However it would be said: those are really unfortunate events but are examples of the use of licensed weapon for other purpose. The main reason of possessing a licensed weapon is self-defense. The government gives licensed weapon to responsible citizens in order they protect themselves. This might be right. If the government is unable to protect its citizens, then it can charge this function to the citizen. But this kind of government should not declare itself as a state of law.
There could be government that will say honest citizen provides its own security by itself. There could be government that wont say this
Japan has been shown us as an example in the researches we have done since one year. In 1997, one hundred eleven violence events by individual armament occurred in this country. Twenty two of those resulted as death. In the United Statess of America, where the population is twice the population in Japan, the annual balance sheet of violence committed with a weapon and caused death was ten thousand seven hundred forty four (10,744) deaths in 1996. America, England and Australia affected the politicians in the wake of the public opinion constituted by the support of the media and minimized individual armament in their country with law amendments related to weapons. Particularly England and Australia removed almost completely the Individual Armament in their country with new laws.
The amount of weapon sold in the last eight years has increased by 358% in Turkey. The amount of weapon captured only in police precincts in the last ten years is ninety five thousand one hundred fourteen (95,114) and the amount of weapon captured in the year 1996 has increased by 612% compared to the year 1987. The gendarmerie precincts are not included in this data.
Now, I want to read you a part of a research. EK1.
As known, these weapons are sold back to the civil society again and again by the government. We know that M.K.E (Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation) is selling by installments the pistols which remain unsold to all government officers. One of my friends has delivered me some documents. The document was an official announcement article, sent to the head doctor of the hospital concerning the sale of weapon to the personnel, enclosed with the head doctors writing which encourages the personnel to buy weapon and an application form. My friend wrote in his cover letter: the social insanity taking place is terrifying me a lot and worry me concerning the future of my children. The document I am trying to deliver you is sent to the personnel of the PTT hospital with the head doctors signature, directed not only to educated people such as doctors, teachers and nurses but to all the hospitals personnel who are from the subculture professions such as caregiver and janitor. Even if this situation seems for civil defense purpose, it is clearly encouraging civil assault. Civil assault, this is really interesting
EK2. EK3.
Now, lets carry on to researches in other countries. It is easy to obtain a weapon in the United States of America, but it is forbidden in Japan. So, possessing and carrying weapon should be forbidden with laws
This would be an easy solution proposal. Because almost every events involving a weapon and causing peoples death are committed by a mafia named BORYOKUDAN and of course they are committed by unlicensed weapons. Those weapons are all produced outside of Japan. This shows us to the international dimension of the individual armament. Let me tell you a sad anecdote, in a survey made among Japanese youth, a high percentage of the youth, 67% wants to possess a weapon because they try to be like other cultures. If the desire is too much, Japanese people will soon find a way to be armed. Even if it is forbidden with national laws, this country will be armed.
Thus, statistic shows that there was an increase of 86% in arms smuggling last year. I am sorry for Japan. There are only bad examples in front of them.
Then, how armed countries will turn the bend of disarmament? There is a country that has tried: Canada. I am again sorry to say but our friend who took the initiative in forbidding individual armament with laws in Canada has determined in his researches that when the weapon are forbidden, the power of illegal organizations increased too much; but on the other hand, responsible citizens were leaved defenseless. He is telling that he is aware now that his heroic fight was completely wrong.
When we combine the Japan fact and the Canada fact, we face an incontrovertible truth and a lesson that we should take from this truth. It is easy to say no to weapon, but it is difficult to constitute the conditions to be able to say no to weapon. This truth is the same for us, for Australia, England and United States of America, and for other countries.
The fact that a weapon license is obtained easily, the governments control of individual armament has decrease, the penal law has become inadequate has prepared the ground to an increase on the issue of individual armament. Whether in this period, whether in the 90s period, senior government officers and popular artists who showed their interest and love to weapons in front of the society (ministers who fire into the air in weddings, prime ministers who give weapon as a gift to their friends and prime ministers who get weapon as a gift) were the scenes that Turkey saw often in the past ten-fifteen years and weapon became almost an object encouraged.
Except of the fact that owning a weapon, especially for holding purpose, is not difficult in Turkey, another significant factor is that unrecorded sector is pretty large and powerful in the firearm area as it is in most money making area. Besides the fact that the weapon control is not done properly and efficiently by the government, the name of the officials mentioned personally in the weapon flow is increasing the dimension of the problem. Moreover, individual armament caused by political reasons which came up with the pump-riffle event is not a new problem but is standing in front of us as an extremely important and serious problem.
As consequences of all of these, more weapons are hold in houses and individuals and these weapons cause more murder, accident and suicide to occur. Based on the expression the one who holds a hammer looks places to hammer, the one who carries a gun in his waist looks for an occasion to pull it out. The use of weapon in our country has started to create ambiences and has reached frightening dimensions. Let me give you an example from the criminal past statistics. The amount of law suit opened in 1993 for murdering was twenty two thousand eight hundred eighty four (22,884). You didnt hear me wrong. Twenty two thousand eight hundred eighty four law suit for murdering. I will read you an article of an investigative journalist again. EK4. EK5.
Weapon is the extreme point of violence and it is fatal. The intensive tendency on using violence and weapon arise from psychological disturbances such as lack of expressing itself, intensive insecurity and personality disorder.
According to the result of the research Center for Disease Control and Prevention has done in America, when a person or a family buy a weapon for the purpose of protection, the risk of a member of the family to shoot the other one is forty times more. So, even if a weapon is hold for the purpose of self-defense, it causes suffering and misery out of its purpose and instead of achieving its primary purpose, it causes irrecoverable results.
Licensed pistols given easily to everybody, unlicensed pistols sold illegally, pump-riffles inconvenient for hunting sold under the name of hunting and the production of weapons in country sides which is never controlled and the weapon industry and mafia which could not be stopped.
Some of us are within the snake which isnt touching me can live one thousand years callousness; some of us are lazy thinking that none of those bad things would happen to us.
Struggling and dealing with all of these should be the duty of the people who are aware of the gravity of the situation.
Weapon which has been very widespread has been used in sport finally. Sport has become an area of opportunity where this kind of disease shows up.
However, the Olympics do no longer desire to transform international contests to pacifism from militancy. Matches were created to bring together the players, the spectators and the fans.
The sport symbolizes peace and the competition in peace. The spectators and the players are in peace and should enjoy watching this competition. The conscious of being able to express feeling is not violence and weapon. Violence and weapon are lack of expression. Sport is the opposite of violence and weapon. People who are conscious of being able to express dont need violence and weapon. Weapon is limiting the respect to others lives.
As Umut Foundation, we started to get the results of our effort on raising the awareness of the society and creating a public opinion by our Weapon is Not Joking campaign. Firing into the air after matches decreased. We are witnessing all together the start of a pleasing implementation; the Penal Department of the Supreme Court has put on agenda the implementation of a prison sentence between two and five years for those who use weapon in sports or weddings.
Our duty and especially the duty of the media and the sports community should serve as an example. We have studied the reasons of this social progress. Preventing brute force, violence and weapon would be helpful to the strengthening of the state of law.
Last week, the sport writer of Fanatik newspaper, former footballer Engin Verel has shot Hüseyin Öztunç, who does editorship in the same newspaper, from his left chest with one bullet. One is in police station, the other in hospital. It is very sad. Savaş Ay is asking in his column what is doing a gun in the newspapers building.
The reason people and associations who are against the individual armament fact supports the idea of disarmament is extremely clear: the use of those weapons. The reason of producing and buying a weapon is single in itself: murdering or injuring. As the amount of weapon produced and sold is high, the amount of people being exposed to the use of those weapons will be high. Statistics show that those weapons are not used for the purpose of self-defense as mentioned often, but they are used to hurt (intentionally) innocent people depending on different reasons, they are fired in the hands of the children or inexperienced users or they are used for the purpose of suicide. As consequences, once again, children being in the first place, innocent people are injured or killed.
In the final analysis, it is certain that the armament fact is an important part of the social and individual violence problem. It could never claimed that individual disarmament will remove completely violence but it is sure that it will break this vicious circle from somewhere and will prevent many people to be injured or to be killed.
People are looking more wishfully to a peaceful life as the days goes on and they are more worried about the future. The worst is that the exposed face of violence is no longer terrifying us. Violence and its tool weapon are becoming inured, ordinary as they increase
A prosperity life in peace is the hope of all of us. We are aiming to keep this hope alive and to make it happen somehow. The realization of a peaceful society is possible with the achievement of the rule of law. This cant be achieved by letting everything to the monopolization of the lawyers and the justice system. The rule of law should be an ideal which every citizen will make an effort for the sake of it.
We mustnt wait our personal, national and international honor to be protected by others. Brute force and violence could come out in all level profiting from our passiveness.
Thank you.
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