Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Van Provincial co-chair Lawyer Cemal Demir told ANF that “Mr. Öcalan must be granted his physical freedom in order for his historical role and mission to be fully realized.”
Demir said that the Commission established in Parliament has not yet gone beyond the well-known habitual approaches. He stated that for the Commission to achieve its founding purpose, it should structure its report under two fundamental titles and made the following recommendations:
– Transitional Process Law: Amendments must be made to the execution law and the Turkish Penal Code to enable individuals who are in prison, in exile, or criminalized to return to social and political life.
– Lasting Solution: The Kurdish language and culture must be recognized at the constitutional level, the path must be opened for education in the mother tongue, and constitutional citizenship must be redefined.
ECtHR ruling and the right to hope
Demir drew attention to the role of Öcalan, who is the key actor in the process and said: “Mr. Öcalan’s freedom is of utmost importance in order for him to fully fulfill his historical role and mission. There is also a legal basis for ensuring this freedom. In its ruling of March 2014, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) established that no one can be held in prison for life without the possibility of release. It called this the ‘right to hope.’ Under Article 90 of the Constitution, the Republic of Turkey is obliged to implement this ruling.”
A small legal amendment is sufficient
Demir stated that a small amendment to the execution law would be sufficient for the implementation of the “right to hope,” and that the provision stipulating that aggravated life imprisonment must be served until death should be abolished.
Demir said: “Mr. Öcalan must be provided with the conditions of physical freedom in order for him to fulfill his mission and historical role in this process. The ‘right to hope’ must be implemented so that the objective and subjective conditions for the healthy progress of the process can emerge.”