ANKARA - While all eyes are on the steps the state will take after Abdullah Öcalan's historic call, the next 10 days are critical for the progress of the process. The İmralı delegation's programme includes a meeting with Erdoğan. 

 

Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan's "Call for Peace and Democratic Society", which was announced by the İmralı Delegation on 27 February, topped the agenda. While the call continues to be discussed all over the world, eyes have turned to the state wing, which is one of the interlocutors of the call. Although the ruling and opposition parties have declared their "positive" approach to the call, no steps have been taken yet, even though 5 days have passed since the call. 

 

ÖCALAN'S CONDITIONS 

 

On the morning of 1 March, the PKK Executive Committee made the cleares and mos explicit statement regarding the process, which has not been named so far. It was announced that PKK will comply with Öcalan's call, that the necessary actions would be taken and that a ceasefire was declared in this context. The call to "convene your congress" was responded to, and it was demanded that Öcalan's conditions for living and working freely be created in order for the congress to be conducted safely and be fruitful. 

 

Creating conditions for Abdullah Öcalan to live and work freely has been on the agenda for a long time. MHP Leader Devlet Bahçeli found Öcalan's call "valuable and important from beginning to end" and thanked the İmralı delegation by calling them one by one. Devlet Bahçeli mentioned the "right to hope" in his party's partliamentary group on 22 October. However, although months have passed since this promise, no concrete steps have been taken yet.

 

Parliamentary Group Deputy Speaker Sırrı Süreyya Önder, who is part of the İmralı delegation, said, "It was discussed that the channels to İmralı should be open from now on." However, it is not known whether only the delegation will go to İmralı or whether lawyers, families, journalists, intellectuals and politicians will also go there. 

 

HOW IS THE PROCESS DEFINED?

 

One wonders how Abdullah Öcalan characterises and defines the process. Even though the ruling media uses the terms "solution process", "negotiation process" and "new solution process", it is stated by all parties that this process is not like the previous processes. What does Abdullah Öcalan, who titled his statement "Call for Peace and Democratic Society", tell the İmralı delegation, which met with him 3 times, about the name of the process?

 

According to the information gathered, Öcalan is considering the process holistically, reading and interpreting the developments both in the region and in the world comprehensively. It is stated that if the developments after the call develop at the desired level, a new process will start and this process will cover the whole society within the scope of change-transformation. It is noted that the "Process of Building a Democratic Society" in line with Öcalan's call, which he made a headline, may begin. It is emphasised that calling this process "Democratic Society Building" would be the most accurate description. Kurdish politics sees this process as a "struggle process" and is making its preparations accordingly. The DEM Party and all its components, which have decided to carry the process to the society, will hold public meetings in more than 100 centres to explain the call to the society. In these meetings, the process and developments will be explained and the criticisms and suggestions of the society will be received. 

 

STATE'S TURN!

 

After the historic call, eyes turned to the state and the ruling party for "legal and judicial arrangements". While such processes have been disrupted by coup mechanisms in the past, it is stated that it is essential for the state to act quickly for the new period, which is attributed historical importance. There is a consensus that the first step is to lift the isolation of Öcalan, who has been held under heavy isolation for 26 years and has been making great efforts since 1993 for the solution of the Kurdish issue, and to create conditions for physical freedom. The DEM Party İmralı Delegation, which is taking an active role in the process, the co-chairs who participated in the call in İmralı and the whole Kurdish politics underline the urgency of this step. 

 

CRITICAL 10 DAYS 

 

It is stated that the first 10 days following Öcalan's statement, which is described as the "call of the century" and the "manifesto for a democratic society", are important and critical. The state and the government have a responsibility to take the expected "legal and judicial" steps in these critical 10 days. The expanded İmralı delegation will not only wait for steps to be taken in this process, but will also continue its contacts with all political segments, especially the government. It was announced yesterday that Presiden Tayyip Erdogan is also included in the delegation's meeting plans. While it is being debated whether Öcalan's clal includes Nort and East Syria or not, the İmralı delegation is expected to go to North and East Syria and establish contacts with the Autnomous Administration if conditions are created. The delegation is also expected to pay another visit to the imprisoned politicians, especially Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, and inform them about the developments.

 

MA / Mehmet Aslan