Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) Riha (Urfa) MP Ömer Öcalan held a meeting on 23 October with PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is kept under isolation in İmralı Type F High Security Closed Prison. After this meeting, DEM Party MPs Pervin Buldan and Sırrı Süreyya Önder held a new meeting with Abdullah Öcalan on 28 December. 

 

In the first meeting Abdullah Öcalan emphasized the continuation ot the isolation and said: "The isolation continues. If the conditions are created, I have the theoretical and practical power to change this phase from the basis of conflict and violence to a legal and political basis". In the second meeting, Abdullah Öcalan stated that it is a historical responsibility to strengthen the Turkish-Kurdish brotherhood. Also for the opposition parties and civil society organizations Öcalan said: " For the process to succeed, it is essential that all political groups in Turkey take initiative without getting caught up in narrow, short-term interests, act constructively, and contribute positively. One of the key platforms for these contributions will undoubtedly be the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM)"

 

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Honorary President Ertuğrul Kürkçü made evaluations on the Kurdish issue, the meeting with Abdullah Öcalan, his role in the solution and the AKP-MHP government's approach to the "solution".

 

THE RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION

 

Stating that the Kurdish issue is the problem of self-determination of the largest "stateless" people in the world, Kürkçü drew attention to the role of Abdullah Öcalan in the Kurdish issue. Comparing Abdullah Öcalan to leaders such as Fidel Castro, the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Ho Chi Minh, the leader of the Vietnamese liberation, and Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Russian Revolution, Kürkçü said: "But another reason why Öcalan is like this is his insistence on pursuing his own original ideas that do not fit into any mould. For example, Öcalan's ideas of Democratic Modernity and Democratic Confederalism do not correspond exactly to both classical Marxism and classical patriotism. They may include the needs and demands of both. It is an extremely clever invention in terms of directing and managing the struggle. Because it is a brand new idea that both sees all parts of Kurdistan together and does not bind any of them together, helping them to find allies within the dominant states and enabling them to pursue a social cause. It is about Öcalan's ability to not only establish a political idea, but to create politics out of it, and to find creative forms of organisation and struggle in terms of its struggle on the ground."

 

'HE IS AN EXCEPTIONAL PERSON'

 

Pointing out that Öcalan is an exceptional person, Kürkçü said: "Without ideas of Öcalan, the democratic and social forces of Turkey at one end, the Kurdistan Freedom Movement at the other, and the intelligantsia of Tukrey and Kurdistan, progressive religious peoplei opressed sects, oppressed cultures and opressed genders in between would not have come together. That is why Öcalan is also unique as a person who transform the achievements of the revolutionary movement in Turkey into the practice and language of the revolutionary movement in Kurdistan. Öcalan has been in prison for 25 years because of these characteristics. Despite being in isolation for 25 years, he is the only person not only in the Kurdish political movement, but also n Turkish politics, who can some up with a new and brilliant idea every time. In 2015, the door to a solution was opened with Öcalan's formulations. For all these reasons Öcalan is a very exceptional person."

 

EMPHASIS ON CAUTION

 

Kürkçü stated that the new "process" discussions should be approached cautiously. "Öcalan told us in his first message that he has a broader demand than this narrow framework imposed on him. He pronounced solution, democracy and peace. Solution and democracy were concepts that Bahçeli and Erdoğan did not pronounce. They pronounced peace more in the sense of 'anti-terrorism', in other words disarmament. Öcalan considered peace within a much wider regional equation that also took Syria and Gaza into account," he said. 

 

'THE STRUGGLE SPREAD ALL OVER KURDISTAN'

 

Regarding the issue of "take away weapons" raised by Devlet Bahçeli and the ruling media, Kürkçü said: "The armed struggle of a part of the population against the sovereignty of the government is tiring the government. The government wants to find a solution to this. While the state was trying to collapse the struggle in Northern Kurdistan, the struggle spread all over Kurdistan. The state, while waging war in territories outside its own territory, minimises the contradictions within its own sphere of governance. I think that the state is in a difficult situation in terms of regional competition within the framework of regulating its internal conditions and that is why they want to create an unnamed solution interval with the conflicting forces."

 

TWO MAIN FACTORS

 

Drawing attention to two factors for the construction of peace in Turkey, Kürkçü said: "The first is the social forces such as workers, women, Kurds, Alevis and Arabs who are the victims of the regime. It is these groups that can benefit the most from peace. The second factor is that an alliance must be formed around the acceptance of a democratic, participatory, multicultural, multi-ethnic regime in place of the autocratic regime. This includes, in part, those who think that the Republican People's Party (CHP) should move closer to the Copenhagen criteria. It is also necessary to include non-party liberal groups. But the DEM Party and the Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK) have the leadership and responsibility here. Öcalan's call is essentially about reminding Kurdish politics of this. There is a demand for peace in society. If we do not make this endeavour, no one else will. Bahçeli's taking on this role has prevented a major reaction from the nationalist section. But let us admit that the ground is still very fragile. Therefore, it is necessary to tread very carefully."

 

THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SOCIALISTS

 

Stating that the socialists of Turkey are obliged to take part in the Kurdish cause for freedom, Kürkçü continued his words as follows: "Because unless the Kurds' right to self-determination is realised, the first stage on the road to socialism, the stage of democracy, cannot be reached. The generations we have been a part of since 1965-68 have been trying to contribute to the solution of this problem. The Kurds themselves are the decision-makers here. Our duty is to ally with our Kurdish comrades. The ground that started with the HDP and is now in the political arena as the DEM Party is our common ground. The process may fail this time too, but it should not be because of our mistakes, our incompetence. It is obvious that the Kurdish struggle for freedom will play a decisive role in the liberation of the region. Of course, this can only be realised if other peoples also play their part. This situation cannot be left to the Kurdish people alone. Otherwise, this would be a great ungratefulness. But such a pioneering role has also emerged. It would be an honour for me to share this."

 

MA / Melik Çelik