The March Of Silent Shoes
28 September 2002
Taksim Gezi Park
Nazire Dedeman
Founder President of Umut Foundation
Speech Text
He killed his 11 month old brother. 9 year old R.B., who was playing with shotgun in Çiftepazar, Aralıklı of Trabzon, accidentally killed his 11 month old brother. The event took place on the last Saturday night at 18.30. While 9 year old R.B. was playing with the shotgun of his father, suddenly it fired and hit the 11 month old Bilal B. who was sleeping in the cradle. Trabzon (DHA)
This event was mentioned at the very bottom of the first column of a newspapers third page. The fact that a small child killed his baby brother with the shotgun of his father was announced with an article that measured 3.5cm-9cm. Many people did not read it. Those who gazed an eye on it were not affected much. Although it did not find a proper place in many peoples heart; four lives were ended with this event: a mother, a father, a brother and Bilal. Today here we will let Bilals shoes walk on the red carpet as well. We will altogether give voice to the fading hopes of that family. We will react as conscious citizens and also convey messages.
We will say no to individual armament altogether. Unfortunately, the pretext to own arms in order to protect you is the other name of the desire to own arms. This desire begins with imitation firearms. You can easily buy one from any toyshop and it is very difficult to differentiate them from real ones. Please be aware of the following things written on an imitation firearms tag.
Children under 14 can not use. It should be used under the control of an adult. Please do not hold against either humans or animals. It should not be taken into mouth.
The consciousness of those people about firearms, those rule makers who permit sales of these imitation firearms, those toys men who sell them with such tags on them, those parents who buy and give them to their children, is in this level and this costs many lives and hopes. The arm owners are not conscious as well. They make their children desire arms.
The state also makes its citizens, who lack the necessary responsibility, desire arms which it provides without any inspection.
Are you in security? I do not think so. Most of that news about deaths is ignored; however, they are real. All were targets of arms and unfortunately the arms of people who they already knew.
According to the data announced by the General Management of Judicial Records and Statistics of the Ministry of Justice a total of 23,547 cases were opened against the special law numbered 6136 about firearms and knives in the year 2001. The number of suspects judged in those cases is 30,357. 957 of the suspects were children. In one way or another 30,357 people met with arms in the year 2001. These data shows that our society is taking up arms heavily. Our laws and bureaucracy is suitable for this.
Individual armament is a social problem which increases day by day and which needs an urgent solution. Arms which are the inseparable parts of individual violence preserve their importance as indispensable parts of the killing activity not only in our country but also all over the world. Shots run to their targets always with inconceivable and amoral reasons.
When we examine the researches carried out on this topic, we reach to followings:
- According to the results of the surveys carried out among criminals who killed somebody, we can conclude that reasons which make them pull the trigger or grasp the knives shows our societys level of development. The reasons behind murders in Turkey are such as; to protect virtue and honour, as a result of a fight between drunkards or because of fights, curses or poverty resulting from receivables, debts or legacy.
- One of the striking findings is that men in Turkey commit a murder to protect their social statuses that grow out of their gender.
- It is very frequent to kill more than one people in murders committed with arms.
Both this one and all the similar researches show us the fact that either the murderer or the victim carries an arm when the murder took place. This underlines the justness of the fight against Individual Armament.
Today our topic is individual armament. Individual armament is different from mass armament in quality. Mass armament necessitates organization. Individual armament does not have such a precondition. The name of the organized violence activity is war. The end of the individual armed activity is either murder or suicide. When we look from the sociological point of view, we see that individual armament and organized armament do not necessarily overlap. Neither in all combatant societies there is individual violence nor those societies where there is individual violence, are not necessarily combatant societies.
As a matter of fact; anthropology gives us information about Hoppy Indians who were very combatant; however, they did not use force in tribal affairs and Eskimos who use force frequently among themselves although their organizations do not make wars. As we have seen, individual arms are the fatal instruments of wars in societies. We can provide individual disarmament and peace among people by moving these mechanisms in the society. Umut Foundation aims to give impetus to these mechanisms. The aim of our foundation is to provide peace among people in the society. As it was yesterday, today we struggle for this end.
If there is an arm, there are lots of reasons to pull the trigger. Our people own arms always to protect themselves because of inconceivable reasons such as fear, not being able to express oneself and powerlessness as well as the pressure of the traditions. In a society where there is not the necessary rules and regulations and where the punishment is insignificant and to own an arm is very easy there will always be some reason to have an arm.
It is a crime to carry arms in residential areas and to fire without any reason and so behave in a way which will cause death according to the law number 551 of Turkish Penal Code. Its punishment begins from 54 million TL. Its punishment is not deterrent; however, it is still a crime. How many of those people who fire their guns during weddings and football matches were sentenced with this punishment which is not even deterrent?
Legal regulations should be made more adequate, issuing of licences should be stricter, political will should take action, power of the arms lobby should be broken and information about the realities of individual armament should be widely disseminated.
Our first demand is the implementation of the present rules and regulations and afterwards passing of new laws which restrict the usage of arms. Here I want to give a message: you can never catch the equilibrium in armament. Instead we should make efforts to catch the equilibrium in disarmament. It starts from individuals and reaches to societies.
As we all know, knowledge alone can not change the world. We should put it into operation. We should stay away from arms.
The meaninglessness of those sayings like It is our custom, It is in our tradition, It is in our region, Arms provide security, Not the gun but the person who pull the trigger kills, etc. We should disseminate all of these by means of the society and media.
It should be known that it is 20 times more possible that an arm in the house wound one of the family members than anybody who enters the house with villain intentions. We should also acknowledge that an arm in the house doubles the risk of murder and fivefold the risk of suicide. ARMS ARE DELETERIOUS. We should learn and know these. Everything that we do not know about arms and violence kills us and our beloveds.
Do not be indifferent to those events ending with the death of a person. Anytime any place you can face with an arm which is directed towards you or your loved ones. And you can lose one of your relatives. I am one of those who lost. My son Umut Önal was killed with an armed nine years ago. Most of you have probably lost one of his relatives or one of his close friends or his siblings or parents. If not, still the possibility of your facing with an arm is high. Lets altogether say No to individual armament. Lets make the march of silent shoes meaningful and remember Bilals, Umuts, Emins, and Ayşes silently. Lets make the authorities hear our demand for individual disarmament. Lets protest with you responsible people.