Gun Control in Turkey by Mick North
UMUT
Day - Istanbul, 28 September 2003
The
UMUT
Foundation was founded by Mrs Nezire Dedeman in 1993 in memory of her
17-year-old son Umut. He was a gun victim, and the Foundation campaigns
against gun violence and for tighter gun controls in Turkey. Every year
on the anniversary of his death, the UMUT Foundation hosts events in
Istanbul to help promote their message. This year it was to be a
particularly poignant occasion.
On 7
July, in the resort town of Foça, Alistair Grimason, a two-year-old
toddler from East Kilbride in Scotland, became another victim of Turkey’s
gun culture when he was killed whilst sleeping in his pram in a café. He
was shot by a single stray bullet after an argument between two other
customers, during which one man pulled a gun. Alistair’s parents, David
and Özlem, were invited to Istanbul for UMUT Day. They were accompanied
by GCN’s Mick North, whose own five-year-old daughter was killed in the
Dunblane massacre in 1996. Together with other bereaved families they
took part in a moving ceremony in which gun victims’ shoes were laid on a
red carpet. Later on, both David and Mick gave speeches at a meeting of
the Foundation. In his speech David Grimason told the audience about
Alistair and how devastated he and Özlem have been by the son’s death.
But he also described how they had started a petition, which has now
raised at least 100,000 signatures in Scotland and Turkey, calling for
more restrictions on gun ownership in Turkey. The Mayor of Istanbul had
earlier become one of the signatories.
David
and Özlem hope to be able to hand the petition to the Turkish Prime
Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogen, in person. In the meantime they will
continue to campaign to rid Turkey of its gun culture. They have the
sympathy of many in the Turkish media who continue to show considerable
interest in their story. The UMUT Day ceremony was given wide coverage in
the Turkish press and was shown in the evening’s television news
bulletins. BBC reporters covered the event for Scottish views and
listeners. Photographs of Alistair, or Ali Star as many there call him,
appear frequently in Turkey, and in Foça a street has now been named after
him. His memory lives on, and David and Özlem are determined to do all
they can to ensure that this memory helps their campaign.
Speech to the UMUT Foundation by Mick North
Istanbul, 28 September 2003
In
1996 my five-year-old daughter Sophie was killed by a man who enjoyed
shooting. One day he walked into a primary school gymnasium, armed with
several handguns, and shot at Sophie’s class. Sixteen children and their
class teacher were killed, other children and teachers were injured. Now
seven years later I’ve come to Istanbul to give my support to two other
parents from Scotland who have lost a precious child through the actions
of a gunman.
I was
horrified when I heard how Alistair Grimason was killed here in Turkey.
So were many thousands of people throughout Britain, where David and
Özlem’s campaign to press for changes to Turkish gun laws has received
widespread sympathy.
After
Sophie and her friends were killed, the British Government responded
swiftly by tightening the laws governing ownership of firearms, reflecting
the view of the majority of the general public that widespread gun
ownership compromises safety. Indeed the most reliable statistics
available from around the world show that shooting deaths are highest in
those countries where guns are most freely available. Gun control does
work, and because of its tight gun laws Britain has a comparatively low
level of gun crime.
Last
year I attended a symposium organised by the UMUT Foundation here in
Istanbul which was attended by a number of professional groups from
throughout Turkey. Those present, who represented the police, teachers,
social workers, journalists, doctors and psychiatrists among others were
agreed that gun crime is a huge problem in Turkey. Those of us from
abroad, who had been invited to make contributions relating the
experiences on our own countries, were impressed by the commitment shown
by symposium contributors to try and do something about this. Dealing
with gun crime will, of course, require a number of approaches, but
whatever is tried you are never going to succeed unless the number of guns
in circulation is reduced. Too often the ready availability of a gun can
swiftly turn an argument or dispute into carnage, and as David and Özlem
know so well the innocent can become victims.
So I
urge you, implore you, to do everything you can to help your country turn
its back on guns. Support the call for a tightening of the firearm laws
so that guns cease to be thought of as everyday tools. Their potential to
kill and maim is too great to allow them to be so freely available. Show
that the shock of Alistair’s death is not a passing emotion, but is one
that will lead to change. Those of us whose children died at Dunblane
Primary School in 1996 always said that we would do everything possible to
make sure that such an event couldn’t happen again. We tried our best and
our government responded. David and Özlem too are trying their best at a
time when they are having to come to terms with Alistair’s death, and they
will need support. So please help them and help the Turkish population by
joining the campaign for better gun laws here.
Update
The man who shot and killed Alistair Grimason
was jailed for 36 years after a trial in Izmir which ended in July 2004.
The Grimasons are still campaigning for tighter gun laws in Turkey.
GCN Offers its Congratulations to
David and Özlem Grimason who received the Public
Campaign/Campaigner of the Year award at the Scottish Politician
of the Year Awards 2004 in Edinburgh on 11 November.
Özlem Grimason has also been
awarded the NCH Woman of Influence 2005 award.
As a consequence of their brave
efforts the Grimasons have now found themselves the target of
personal abuse by American gun owners on a US website.
> See
Report
> See
GCN
Comment
Individual
Disarmament Symposium - Istanbul, 18-19
January 2002
This
Symposium, hosted by the UMUT Foundation and the Istanbul Bar
Association, was attended by over 200 people. The sectors represented
included Turkish lawyers, doctors, teachers, journalists and police
(both high-ranking officials and cadets) and the Symposium was endorsed
by the Prime Minister and other government ministers. It represented
the first such meeting in Turkey and reflected concerns in that country
of the problems associated with widespread gun ownership. It was
encouraging to see so many of the key professionals represented and
wishing to be involved.
In plenary sessions Turkish
speakers addressed topics such as the gun laws and how Turkey compares
with other countries, how easy it is to qualify for a gun licence, who
owns guns and why, punishment vs prevention, protection from the police
and who gets shot and why.
Six
international speakers, including one from GCN, were invited to give
presentations that covered:
-
The growing international
campaign against guns
-
Gun violence internationally
and myths about gun ownership and gun violence
-
Approaching gun violence as a
public health problem
-
Building a movement
-
The role of victims as
advocates
During workshop sessions involving both Turkish and
international participants some of the issues were explored in more
detail. As a result it was possible to draw up a number of important
recommendations, for movement building, for a future campaign strategy
and for undertaking more research and analysis.
The international speakers were very impressed by the interest and
enthusiasm generated by the Symposium and saw it as an important first
step in the building of a culture in Turkey in which guns cause less
harm.
