URFA -  HDP Urfa MP Ömer Öcalan who thinks the prosecutor's statements about the health and safety conditions of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan is not enough, said: "We don't trust the government, we should see him face to face."

 

The concerns about the allegations about the health and safety conditions of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is held in İmralı High Security F-Type Prison, have not been not resolved since 14 March. Although the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office claims that the allegations are untrue and that he is in good health, the authorities have not responded to the "immediate meeting" application of the family and lawyers for 5 days.

 

Öcalan's nephew Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Urfa MP Ömer Öcalan spoke to Mesopotamia Agency (MA) regarding the allegations and the isolation.

 

Underlining that he is under an aggravated isolation in İmralı for years Öcalan said the isolation gets deeper by the day. Mentioning the allegations made on the social media, Öcalan said: "We don't trust the government, what is their purpose? I am saying this, because the government can find anyone who wrote anything on the social media. People are picked up from home with a raid an hour after they tweet something the government does not like and they are arrested by courts. The Kurds will not remain silent if the government does not investigate such serious allegations." 

 

WHY NOW?

 

Emphasizing that the statement made by the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the allegations in question was insufficient, Öcalan said, “If the state wishes, it can immediately refute these allegations. If there was no isolation, if Mr. Öcalan's legal right to have lawyer and family meetings were provided, there would be no ground for these allegations. What is their message by doing this? We are serious about such speculations and we expect all parties to approach this seriously. Why now? Are they trying to prepare the Kurds for something?" 

 

'APPLY THE LAWS'

 

Defining the government's policy towards PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan as "enemy law", Öcalan said, "Mr. Öcalan's legal right to meet with his family and lawyers is unlawfully denied. We demand the implementation of the existing laws. Whatever rights are in the law, they should be applied to Mr. Öcalan too. They are sometimes allowing visits like they are making an exception. We don't want exceptions, we want them to apply the existing law. The government should approach everything about Mr. Öcalan seriously. Mr. Öcalan is not an ordinary person. We, as his family, are against these unlawfulnesses, we want to see him soon as possible."

 

DEMOCRATIC SOLUTION

 

Expressing that the government does not approach the Kurdish problem seriously in terms of a solution through democratic means, Öcalan said, “Mr. Öcalan always wants peace among the peoples. He often shared letters, messages and declared a ceasefire in order to solve the Kurdish Question within democracy. Finally, meetings were held between 2013-2015. And this is what the government is doing despite all these efforts. Saying that the AKP-MHP government "did everything in their power to prevent the Kurds from having status in the 21st century" against Öcalan's quest to solve the Kurdish problem through democratic means, Öcalan added they are trying to suffocate the Kurds for the last five years.

 

'CONCERNS MUST BE RELIEVED'

 

Underlining that the health condition of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan is a red line for the Kurdish people, Öcalan said: "You can carry out a hostile policy against the Kurds and the politicians who represent them, but if you use Mr. Öcalan's health as a tool, this will not be accepted. This is very cheap politics. His family and his attorneys must be granted a visit in İmralı and concerns must be relieved."

 

MA / Emrullah Acar - Barış Polat