ISTANBUL - Human rights defender Ahmet Faruk Unsal said Abdullah Öcalan's call was a "new beginning" and added, "Öcalan has presented a perspective that puts the demand for democratisation at the centre. Turkey needs to fulfil this call."

 

The "Call for Peace and Democratic Society" of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan announced to the public on 27 February continues to be the most talked about agenda of the country. Following the call, "Democratic Society Meetings" were organised with all segments of the society, while the interlocutors are calling on the state to take steps.

 

Politician and human rights defender Ahmet Faruk Unsal, who took part in the Wise People's Delegation in 2013-15, spoke about Abdullah Öcalan's call and the developments that followed.

 

Referring to the process that started in the legislative year of the parliament with MHP Cahir Devlet Bahceli's words, Unsal said, "Although the government calls this process the 'Turkey without terror' process, it has not yet been given a name by the parties or the rest of Turkey. Therefore, we can call it the October process. The October process is a process in which Mr Öcalan liquidates his own organisation, takes over the DEM Party and speaks in the parliament. Time will tell whether it will come to that point or not."

 

'THE STATE MUST TAKE STEPS'

 

Emphasising that the process is not independent from the regime change in Syria, Ünsal said: "Turkey feared that with the regime change in Syria, the Autonomous Administration in Northern and Eastern Syria might become more independent or have a more official status. Therefore, Turkey tried to suppress the Autonomous Region of North and East Syria with all its might. However, Turkey was not able to suppress it."

 

Unsal drew attention to the fact that Turkey had to accept the current status after the regime change in Syria because it could not afford to eliminate the gains made by the Kurds. 

 

Unsal said, "Turkey had to accept the changing situation regarding the Kurds in Syria. The meetings between Syria's interim President Ahmet Al-Shara and Mazloum Abdi show that the demands of the Kurds can no longer be ignored by the world and how right they are in their demands. I think that on the one hand, the Kurds gaining status in Syria and on the other hand the Kurdish question in Turkey are going parallel to each other. This process started a little bit in Syria, but there may be some improvements for the Kurds in Turkey regarding the solution of the problem.  In this sense, Mr Öcalan had to be brought into the picture, as a matter of fact, the state did this and the talks started."

 

Describing Abdullah Öcalan's call on 27 February as "a new beginning", Unsal stressed: "While calling on his organisation to lay down arms, Mr Öcalan also presented a perspective that centres not only the democratisation demands of the Kurds in Turkey but also of all the peoples of Turkey. Turkey must now fulfil this call. After Mr Öcalan's call, Devlet Bahçeli demanded that the PKK convene in Malazgirt on 4 May. If a congress is to be convened, Mr Öcalan must have access to this congress. Although it is not physically possible for Mr Öcalan to attend the congress under the current conditions, the conditions for this need to be created. The state should take steps in this regard."

 

'LET ÖCALAN'S RIGHT TO HOPE BE IMPLEMENTED'

 

Emphasising that Abdullah Öcalan's isolation is in violation of Turkey's execution law, Unsal continued as follows: "We insist that Mr Öcalan should benefit from the right to hope. Turkey is not only not implementing the ECtHR judgements on Mr Öcalan, but also the judgements on Selahattin Demirtaş and Osman Kavala. Turkey has the obligation to implement the judgements of the ECtHR in its legal legislation. Just as the rulers of Turkey are obliged to implement the judgements of any court, they are also obliged to comply with the judgements of the ECtHR. However, Turkey insists on not implementing the judgements of the ECtHR, especially when it comes to the Kurdish question. The right to hope is a fundamental human right. Preventing the right to hope is not only a violation of law, but also a violation of human rights.  Therefore, I think that Mr Öcalan's enjoyment of the right to hope is not only a right but also very important for the salvation of the process we are going through.

 

'ISOLATION MUST BE ENDED'

 

The responsibility now lies with the state, the ball is in the state's court. Therefore, the state must take steps to ensure that Mr Öcalan enjoys his right to hope as soon as possible. On the other hand, the necessary technical and legal arrangements must be made for Mr Öcalan to be involved in the congress process with his own organisation. If this happens, the process of the PKK's self-liquidation, which Turkey has been waiting for, will be completed and the Kurds will be able to move towards a stage where their own demands are expected. This is a parallel issue that needs to be addressed both in Syria and Turkey. Solving the issue in Syria and ignoring the problems of the Kurds in Turkey will not solve the problem. Therefore, we demand from the Turkish government to solve the basic expectations of the Kurdish question. At the centre of this is the elimination of the isolation conditions of Mr Öcalan and his right to hope, and the elimination of the Kurdish mother tongue issue. I can also say that the immediate release of sick prisoners, the prevention of the appointment of trustees to municipalities and the reinstatement of elected mayors are important issues. We expect the state to take steps in this regard as soon as possible."

 

MA / Esra Solin Dal