Duran Kalkan, a member of the ‘Abdullah Öcalan Social Sciences Academy’, spoke about the current status of the Peace and Democratic Society Process, the 9 October conspiracy, and recent political developments in a special program on Medya Haber TV.
Kalkan said: “I want to salute Abdullah Öcalan with respect. He truly deserves endless salutations. He has shown superhuman resistance.
Abdullah Öcalan has been in the Imrali system of torture and isolation for 26 years. He now works with superhuman patience, determination, enthusiasm, and will. He shouts the truths thousands of times, tirelessly and without giving up, to make those who won’t listen hear, to get the ignorant out of this situation, to bring the scattered into line.”
Some opponents profit from the war
Kalkan added: “The strange thing is: eyes are blind, ears are deaf. No one listens properly, no one understands. There are circles that stubbornly refuse to understand.
We should not reduce the problem to whether people understand or want to understand. There are opponents. Clearly there are those opposed to peace, freedom, and democracy. There are those who feed on war, dictatorship, oppression and cruelty. Those who feed on blood… profit-seekers… It is most accurate to call them war profiteers.
So beyond not understanding, all kinds of opposing activities are conducted against Abdullah Öcalan. Yet he has done what no one in the world could do. He himself states: ‘Even if the whole world came together, they could never force back an organization, and I decided to dissolve it, and I had it dissolved.’ Indeed, the world has come together against them for years. Since June 1985, NATO has waged war against PKK guerrillas. Forty full years!”
Kalkan continued: “NATO was the united attack force of the world; could it crush the guerrilla, could it eliminate the PKK? It could not. But Abdullah Öcalan made decisions that ended the armed struggle and ended the PKK’s organizational existence; he brought the PKK to such a point. Instead of trying to understand this a little and appreciate it, some are attacking in an unbelievable way. They do not approve of this. They do not find it right.
I actually recall the 1993 ceasefire. At that time, Öcalan came to the second press conference dressed in civilian clothes. Someone asked, ‘Why aren’t you wearing your military uniform?’ He said, ‘It’s in the other room; if you want I’ll put it on.’ But I thought you would want that. Apparently there are those who want it that way.”
Nothing new on the Western front
Kalkan reminded of a “commonly used phrase in Turkey: ‘There is nothing new on the Western front.’ Indeed, the Eastern front is working feverishly. It is doing what no one could do for peace and democratization. It achieved in the past year, in recent months, things they could not even imagine. But on the Western front, there is nothing new, no change.
Strangely, again today, lawyers went for a visit. On the day we were to do the program before, suddenly there was a lawyer visit; after six years. Now again, a month later there is another lawyer visit. We said then it was being treated almost like something to rejoice about, as if it were big news. But it is a very normal lawyer visit. It should be more frequent than once a month. Turkish law requires that. But they created such a system in Imrali: ban, ban, ban everything; then when a lawyer visit happens after six years, everyone rejoices and treats it as a big event, makes news. They create that. Then they say visits to Imrali become a big event that affects everyone. You caused it. The system you created leads to this. Is there anything incomprehensible about that?
So we will say this: there is no change in the Imrali isolation system. The hostage situation continues. Yes, in one sense, isolation has weakened a little. Laws are partially applied in their current form. But that is all.
Here we are in October. On October 1 this process began with Devlet Bahçeli’s behavior. On 22 October, it took a step with Bahçeli’s meeting in Parliament. On October 23 it gained momentum with Abdullah Öcalan’s statements in a meeting for the first time in four years. With the February 27 call for Peace and Democratic Society, a process that took on an identity has been established.”
Asked what has not happened this year?, Kalkan said: “A year ago, if someone had said these things could happen, everyone would have said they were crazy.
Some among us predicted such things. They did not say it explicitly but said, ‘many changes will happen in 2025.’ We asked, ‘what changes?’ ‘They will affect us,’ they said. But all of these things have happened. Abdullah Öcalan did them, the PKK did them, the Kurdish side did them. The PKK decided to dissolve its organizational structure and end the strategy of armed struggle. On July 11 the Peace and Democratic Society group burned their weapons and clearly and decisively showed the world how determined they are to switch to a democratic political struggle strategy and end the armed struggle. The Kurds did this.”
Bahçeli seems to have forgotten his words
Kalkan underlined that “Devlet Bahçeli spoke last week. He said, ‘Let him come and speak in Parliament, let him speak in the DEM Party group, let him do politics in Ankara’ — he seems to have forgotten those words. Now he says, ‘Let him manage the process from İmralı, let him call on Rojava under hostage conditions!’
What can a person do under hostage conditions? What can be done in the İmralı torture isolation system? Did Devlet Bahçeli forget this? A year passed; were his words implemented? He shows no interest. He seems to have forgotten. His words are way behind. He thinks he can deceive us by simply calling him a ‘founding leader.’
Abdullah Öcalan said, ‘I will neither deceive nor be deceived.’ We are not fools or children. Everyone should sit properly and speak correctly. This cannot go on. It will not work like this. You will speak, you will promise, you will influence the public; then slowly you will withdraw and spread it over time. Won’t people see this as a game? Won’t they call it a trick? They will say it openly. First, that must be seen.”
Kalkan continued: “How Abdullah Öcalan will do this under those conditions?, Can he do politics, can he set up an organization, can he meet anyone? Has he been able to meet anyone in Northeast Syria, to have a discussion? How could he? Is there such a miracle? They thought so.
But from the start, we declared a ceasefire. We said, ‘We will implement these decisions but we have one condition: Abdullah Öcalan must manage it…
‘Hold a congress. Hold a congress for the dissolution of the PKK and the end of the armed struggle’, they said. Abdullah Öcalan said so. We conveyed this to Abdullah Öcalan by letter and publicly: ‘We will hold the congress, we will make the decisions, but we cannot implement them. The only person who can implement them is Abdullah Öcalan. If Abdullah Öcalan is free and able to work and there is leadership, he will implement it. Otherwise, it cannot be done.”