Sabah Gazetesi Özlem Yılmaz Interview

August 2006

Nazire Dedeman
Founder President of Umut Foundation


 


What was the purpose of Umut Foundation you’ve founded 13 years ago and how do you evaluate the current situation?

The aim of the foundation is to raise our youth who are the safeguard of the future as democratic individuals who have adopted the rule of law, who are sensitive to the environment and the humanity, who prefer peaceful means to resolve disagreements and who possess awareness of citizenship.

We have determined that one of the ways of reaching this goal is to create solutions about individual armament in our society and that one of our primary objectives is to raise the awareness of the society in this issue.

The existence of the term “Individual Disarmament” wasn’t even a matter of discussion when Umut Foundation started to study about it. At present, “Individual Disarmament” has become a term and has been accepted as an important problem of our society. Even this development is crucial.

It is Umut Foundation that started the  struggle against individual disarmament and that is receiving support from different sectors. At present there are other non-governmental organizations struggling against individual disarmament in Turkey and our politicians as well became aware of the seriousness of this problem. The fact that the approval and the spread of the works Umut Foundation started about individual disarmament have spread to the society and have been accepted is an important and hopeful development.

About 10 years ago, one of Turkey’s agenda topics was death events encountered after football matches. With the Foundation’s efforts, we succeeded to say “stop to violence” in sports, swear and violence events in stadiums ceased and now these events are mentioned only as isolated incidents.

Currently, we believe that we could prevent those regrettable events taken place at weddings with the “No to Individual Armament” publicity campaign which we are conducting in cooperation with Publicity Creators Association and Netherland Consulate.

What do you think about violence events like injuring or killing by weapon which has increased recently?

Death and injury events with firearms are happening constantly and frequently in our country. 
Regrettable and painful events encountered one after the other in these days brought up this issue one more time in the society. The reason of the increase in recent days is the fact that weapon has unfortunately become a social wound like traffic, unemployment, terror…

According to our data, one out of three houses got a weapon and this weapon has hurt that family due to reasons as suicide, committing murder, falling victim to murder, injuring, being wounded or accident. This data shows how hard the weapon stamping is and how hard it is to restore it in Turkey.

However I should state that individual armament problem remains always on the agenda. Because while in average 300.000 people lose their life in wartime in the world; in average 200.000 people lose their life due to murders, accidents and suicides committed with firearms in regions where peace prevail. In Turkey, this number is in average 3.000 people a year.

Individual armament has got visible and invisible reasons. Visible reasons are life safety which is the reason showed the most while applying for weapon license, due to occupation, curiosity / hobby, need of its presence in house, hunting / shooting, souvenir. Among the main invisible reasons are the mistrust the individual has developed to itself, its family, the society and the law enforcement officers. Mistrust creates fear. Besides this fear and mistrust felt, the weapon is accepted as a strength symbol in Turkey and a traditional symbol which it is understood from the expression “Horse, Wife, Weapon”. I think these factors have played a fundamental role in turning us into a society of violence.

What do you think about the risk the weapon events may become an ordinary thing in daily life since the number of murder by weapon has increased this much?

Yes you are right, so many events are happening frequently that the losses are expressed only with numbers and it is forgotten after a while the fact that each one of them is an individual, a parent, a child, a student, a teacher, a worker, a farmer. I link this situation to the fact that recently people have lost their sensitivity in front of this kind of events. There is a Turkish expression “Fire burns the grounds it falls to”, as humans we tend to forget the event and its reasons after being sorry for a little while because the person who lost somebody in this kind of casualty is “the other” and not us. But I believe this kind of event will not be forgotten and the problem will be resolved if we succeed to establish empathy with “the others”.

Many families are suffering indefinable pain and many citizens are injured and murdered due to the use of individual weapons. Our society must realize how a dangerous problem is individual armament and must participate to struggles concerning resolution. The most important duties go to the politicians of our country. The behavior we are expecting from our politicians is to draw attention to the danger of using weapons, by taking away their own weapons of course. Celebrations by weapon are happening in different cities of our county where lots of citizens are murdered or injured. It is very important for our deputies to show that human life isn’t this worthless, that celebrations by weapon should be forbidden and all kind of security measures should be taken, to give messages drawing attention to the importance of making legal regulations and the right implementation and to work in this direction.

Currently weapon shots are arising in high schools, even in middle schools. When weapons aren’t accessible, knives are pulled out and young children are sent to death. What do you think about it and how can these murdering and injuring events could be prevented?

According to us, the gravest point of armament is the fact that the weapon pass into the hands of young people and is used by those immature people and the fact that crimes and robberies increase caused by them…

This is due to mass media, especially the television. The youths are passing most of their times on television. So instead of an educated generation a watcher generation is rising and is imitating what they are watching as an example. Violence thematic cartoons and series are very influential on kids. In addition, parents, educators and other elders are very influential on this matter. A kid who sees violence in his family, who is exposed to violence from his friends and teachers at school and who sees elders fighting in television, is of course learning the violence. We need people who will be good examples instead all of those. I believe that the media should do more efficient works especially concerning being a good example. Our kids need “heroes” whom they can imitate its intelligence, politeness and maturity.

On the other hand, images which deputies show their weapons proudly and even fire into the air are reflected often in the media. What are your reactions to these images?

These images transform weapons into fashion. Activities we have realized related to this problem are aimed at all the society and public opinion. Of course we have invited people who serve as opinion leaders, as examples such as artists, politicians, businessmen to stay away from violence demonstrations and to purify them from their individual weapons. Our intention is especially oriented on deputies. As our deputies, the people who represent us, whenever they go to the parliament, the first thing they do is to take their weapons. However their primary duty is to serve as a model to the society. It isn’t of course a good example when they get armed as they start to their duty and then fire into the air being proud in possessing a weapon and when they make statements such as “weapon is important in Turkish’s culture”. Moreover, we hope them to keep violence away from our lives by making their license acquisitions and related conditions more difficult. And not to consolidate armament by carrying weapon…

But still when we look to the events which happened in the last days,  we see a part of deputies calling for disarmament. We hope all the deputies will follow this call which we describe it as satisfactory.

The number of people who lost their life because of a stray bullet in weddings, in matches and in soldier sendoff is quite high. According to you what are the reasons of individual armament? Which fears force people to be friend with weapon?

The most important reason is influence. Moving with the idea that the weapon will provide security of property and life unrelatedly with the truth, unconsciously and of course easy legal regulations…However weapon doesn’t protect human and its property. It kills relatives and innocents as kids, wife, neighbor, relative, friend and sometimes nearest and dearest friends. These situations cause permanent sufferings, traumas which can even penetrate into humans genetic…The scene, the landscape in Palestinian and Iraqi lands now… In this case, the leading role is human itself. Whereas the only facilitator is to forget weapon but not the case here…

Reasons of the use of weapon except legal motives of weapon ownership: (1) Uncontrolled primitive motive, (2) Desire to find approval in the society, (3) Symbol of Masculinity, (4) Symbol of strength, (5) Difficulties in communicating, (6) Underdeveloped subculture, (7) Wrong education, (8) Fashion.

We do not believe that there is a concept such as being friend with weapon. Certainly you have used this expression in an ironic meaning but weapon is nobody’s friend, not even its owner’s. Researches show that the probability of using the weapon available in the house against the people living in that house is 3 times more likely than using it against a stranger. It isn’t possible to describe a barrel, which is pointed to a member of the house, as a friend…

There is a belief that the justice concept is not implemented sufficiently in our country. The parents whose children have been killed sometimes say “we will give the punishment of the murderer”. Or they ask wailing “where is justice?” What do you think about this?

In fact it is totally due to hopelessness.  They forget that there are regulations facilitating the acquisition of weapon and that there are people who allow and encourage the use of weapon. Trial durations have decreased significantly with the Regulations on Criminal Procedure which just went in effect and the punishment given has been increased in a way satisfying the sense of community. While formerly people who caused death accidently or negligently would get 2 year of punishment, with the addition of potential attempt provision to the Turkish Criminal Law, it is now possible the punishment to go up to 20-25 years. I think the families will have no doubt about “justice” after the new regulations.

Do you think that governments’ approval to war and armament contribute the desire of individual armament?

According to the data of United Nations, 60% of all the small arms in the world are in the hand of civilians. Individual armament is a more serious situation than the governments’ armament. According to the statement of Viva Rio, which is a Brazilian non-governmental organization, one another Vietnam is happening every year in Brazil. The people who lost their life in Vietnam are equal to the number of people who died in Brazil because of individual armament in one year. 500.000 people are losing their lives because of firearms in the world. Those are losing their lives in wars (300.000 people) and in warless regions where we believe peace is remaining (200.000 people). What should be understood from this is: governments’ armament is threatening the peaceful environment but however it is marked that individual armament is increasing in prewar and postwar regions and that the region is losing its characteristic of being a state of law. Behaving with this awareness, while operating in the purpose of blocking individual armament to prevent wars, Umut Foundation is actually trying to eliminate one reason that forms the basis of governments’ armament. Moreover this situation is completely a matter of legislation. There are situations where individual arm is not available (or total opposite) in governments with powerful armed forces.

What kind of scene is awaiting Turkey in case that individual armament could not be prevented?

If immediate preventions are not taken in coming years, I am afraid that, as it is in U.S.A, Australia and England, one of our teenagers will take his father’s weapon from his house and will cause a massacre which we do not expect at all.

What are your solution offers?
<”Individual armament in Turkey: solution offers” report is enclosed.>

Violence is before anything else a social problem, social and economic reasons leading people to armament should be eliminated. Weapon is only a “violence” instrument and serves to “kill”. It hasn’t got any other function and people have to perceive it.

Concerning the solution to the issue of individual armament, the responsibility should mostly be taken by individuals constituting this society and of course by law-makers.
First of all, the law about firearms and knives and other tools number 6136 and the concerned regulations should be regulated taking into consideration the relative laws of contemporary countries.

In order to bring up conscious and sensitive citizens who know and implement their rights and responsibilities, the courses “Being a Conscious Citizen” should be included in the curriculum of the Ministry of National Education.

Of course the basic duties go to the families and parents. First of all, mothers and fathers must teach to their children that they can solve problems with peaceful means and not by clashing. The youth should not get the idea that “they will be strong when they use force”, but contrarily should assimilate the idea “being peaceful is the requirement of being a human”.

If we should summarize shortly, our solution propositions are;

1. Increase the lower age boundary of holding weapon to 25
2. Cancel the license in case the person carries the weapon while being drunk or drugged
3. People mostly demand weapon by claiming “life safety” in Turkey. However, people should prove it in case their life safety is threatened
4. Make extremely serious medical examinations for weapon license
5. People caught with unlicensed weapon should be sentenced to imprisonment without benefiting abatement
6. Measures which can be accepted by everyone and can be implemented the soonest as possible such as a certificate program promising the use of weapon in a conscious and safe way should be taken.
7. License weapons held in house should be kept in locked coffer and should be in a demounted condition
8. Cancelling the weapon licenses of people who have passed a certain age
9. Make the transfer of the weapons difficult