International support continues to flow for the “Peace and Democratic Society” process spearheaded by Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan.
The Swiss Federal Council, which had previously expressed its readiness to assume the role of mediator provided that all parties involved agreed to it, reiterated this stance in its response to a new motion submitted to it.
The motion, titled “Peace process with the PKK in Turkey: What is Switzerland’s support?”, was submitted by Federal Councilor and Member of Parliament Nicolas Walder, who is also a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
“The Federal Council welcomes the current peace process in Turkey and expresses its readiness to offer mediation services if desired by all parties and if it can provide such support.”
With regard to the conditions of detention of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan on the Turkish prison island of Imrali, the Federal Council emphasized that Switzerland supports the implementation of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the recommendations of the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT).
“Switzerland regularly calls on Turkey to respect its human rights obligations and the principles of the rule of law, both within the framework of bilateral relations and in multilateral platforms,” the Federal Council stated.
Switzerland is internationally recognized as a neutral mediator in political conflicts. In the past, it has been involved in peace negotiations in Colombia, Iran, and Sri Lanka, among other countries, as a mediator or observer.