Nationalist prisoners held in prison met in Kütahya during the September 12 coup.

In Kütahya, approximately 300 people who were imprisoned during the September 12, 1980 coup and known as the “Stone Madrasah Nationalists” came together.

The victims of September 12 who met at the facility owned by Hüseyin Acar across from the Kütahya Germiyan Campus gathered here to reminisce and commemorate their friends who were hanged in prison and died after being released from prison with prayers and remembrance. Hüseyin Acar, who hosted the 300 nationalists from different provinces in his establishment, said, “We came together with the intention of gathering our dear friends, to hold a meeting of fellowship and reconciliation. We are happy about this and pleased that Kütahya is hosting us. We have introduced our Kütahya.”

Yusuf Ziya Akdoğan, who made a press statement, said, “We are with a community that suffered torture in prisons due to events before September 12, and whose brothers were taken from the adjacent cell to be executed. We are with friends who lived through those times firsthand. We are trying to do this traditionally. We have to address the whole of Turkey, but we invited our friends who live close to the center of Kütahya in a specific region. The people you see here have spent at least 10 years in prison. We have friends from Afyon, Kütahya, Eskişehir, İzmir, Manisa, Balıkesir, Muğla, and Burdur provinces. We are organizing these meetings on our own accord, without permission from anyone, with our own friends and our own means. We have reached a certain age and are dealing with various illnesses. We may not see the friends we will meet today in the next meeting. This is a meeting of fellowship and reconciliation. There are friends who wanted to come here but could not. Some are in intensive care, some in emergency services, and some are suffering from illnesses at home. Friends who attended previous meetings are not among us today. The coup carried out in Turkey, tied to American imperialism, has brought Turkey to its current impasses. We insistently underline this. Because the Turkish nation has suffered great operations. Huge games have been played on our youth. Our tradesmen, students, businessmen, villagers, and workers are still being played with. As people who experienced those times and gained experience, we deemed it appropriate to make a press statement to give some messages to the youth as the young people of that day are now middle-aged.”

At the end of the program, the victims of September 12 from different provinces shared their experiences during the coup process.