When hunger strikes
Voluntary fasting is an extreme form of civil disobedience. A single person can affect change, but it can also lead to their death. This makes hunger strikes unique as the protest of last resort. They are inherently individual protests. In that, they differ from demonstrations, where you bring together a mass of people. Nevertheless, hunger strikes can be an effective form of campaigning.
Let us look at two European incidents that hit international headlines in 2020.
Ibrahim Gökçek and Pierre Larrouturou
The longest—and sadly deadliest—hunger strike in Europe against a government in modern history is taking place in Turkey. Members of the left-wing and anti-government music band, Grup Yorum, are opposing the Turkish policy of political imprisonment. The government alleges them to be linked to a Marxist-Leninist terrorist group. The band’s bass guitarist, Ibrahim Gökçek, protested against these accusations by fasting for 288 days. In April 2020, it cost him his life.
The second example is French Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Pierre Larrouturou. He fasted for 18 days in December 2021 to advocate a tax on share trading to finance the EU climate budget. His main goal was not to sacrifice himself but to make other MEPs aware of the issue during the budget negotiations. Larrouturou survived but had less of an impact.
Hunger strikers usually demand not only a small reform but a big breakthrough. Gökçek asked for the liberation of all his band members but also radical change in policing and justice. Larrouturou did not ask for petty donations but called for serious changes that would impact the EU’s budget of the next seven years. Campaigners can draw several lessons from Istanbul and Brussels.
Fasting only works for the weak
Choose your weapons according to the balance of power. If you are looking for a fight, first have a clear idea of the situation. You can opt for extreme measures if you are the tiny David but not the mighty Goliath. This is what Larrouturou learned. He started his campaign by challenging decision-makers in the corridors of the European Parliament and in the plenary. He asked whether financial market instruments are more essential than food because they are not being taxed. Although he fought against injustice, he would have been more successful if he would not have been cornering colleagues as a member of the second biggest political group.
However, he got the timing right. Larrouturou saw an opportunity to bring up the subject right before the final EU budget talks. His proposal aimed at finding additional money for the climate budget, which could have been redirected to support the EU’s unprecedented €1.8 trillion to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Larrouturou’s hunger strike impacted the negotiations with the help of his position and the press. As a member of the budget committee and the rapporteur on the Council position on the second draft general budget of the EU for the financial year 2021, he garnered attention. His hunger strike generated international media coverage and helped him stand out amongst the 751 MEPs.
Research their achilles’ heel
Gandhi showed that hunger strikes can turn a society upside down - if you remain peaceful. To have an impact, you should not just react but proactively collect information on your adversary’s strengths and weaknesses. Targeting their achilles’ heel can cause overreactions that discredit them and help you earn sympathy points. In politics, this is called “opposition research”.
Gökçek zeroed in with the help of his network. He was close to Turkey’s strong leftist political movements and rallied many supporters prepared for the asymmetric police violence and being labelled as terrorists by the state. The weak spot of his adversary was the temper of the government; the fiercer the government reacted, the stronger his case became. For example, when far-right movements publicly called him a security threat, his supporters framed his hunger strike as a peaceful protest against panic-stricken people in power.
Shared suffering is your oxygen
As the Professor preached in “Casa de Papel”, use the public as an ally. Those fasting in prison (or anywhere else) should not rot quietly if they want to have an impact. Provide regular status updates to spread your message and involve your fans in the process.
Larrouturou used the multiple delays in the budget negotiations to repeat his message. He shared a photo of himself with a banner on the first day of his protest. It said: “There will be almost no money for climate, for health, nothing serious for jobs in the 2021-2027 budget”. It looks like an updated, more complex version of the one Greta Thunberg used outside the Swedish parliament. With such posts, Larrouturou tried to link his hunger strike to environmental campaigns and receive support from young people.
Social media is a cheap yet effective way to get oxygen of publicity. Gökçek’s case showed up on change.org under the headline “we should liberate an artist”. This raised the international profile of the movement as artists and musicians from neighbouring countries supported his petition. Supporters used the hashtags #IbrahimOluyorYasat (“make Ibrahim live”) and #FreeGrupYorum along with #democracy, triggering over 550k interactions on Twitter.
Using dedicated websites and different channels to give visibility to the hunger strike helps disseminate the message
Three tips to strike better
Only fast when you are in a clear “David vs Goliath” situation.
Peacefully target the achilles’ heel through opposition research.
Go the extra mile and regularly publicise your suffering.
- written by Elif Akyüz, elif[at]thedandeliongroup.eu
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