The process that began on 27 February with the call of Abdullah Öcalan continues despite all the obstruction and slowing tactics of the government, thanks to the efforts of Abdullah Öcalan and the Kurdish Freedom Movement. After 27 February, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and the Turkish state took numerous steps to delay the process. In response, the Kurdish Freedom Movement took the right steps and managed to neutralise those opposing the process.
The People’s Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), due to the role and mission it has assumed in this process, has repeatedly been subjected to insults and attacks from both government and opposition circles. Various attempts have been made to wear down the DEM Party, to create hostility between it and other parties and socialist structures, particularly the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and to isolate it.
Ünal Yusufoglu, a member of the DEM Party Central Executive Committee, spoke to ANF about the current stage of the process, the attacks against the DEM Party and the party’s political stance.
The pioneer of normalisation in Turkey is Abdullah Öcalan
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli’s handshake with DEM Party deputies marked the beginning of a new phase, which gained momentum with the 27 February call of Abdullah Öcalan. According to Ünal Yusufoglu, this past year has demonstrated the significance of Bahçeli’s step.
Yusufoglu said: “At a time when almost no one expected such a move, when the Kurdish question had been completely shelved, when the state attempted to solve the issue solely through security-based and operational methods, when it repeatedly rejected the Kurds, all Kurdish values, the democratic politics led by the Kurds, Mr. Öcalan and all the work he has carried out, and tried to silence everything through repression, Bahçeli’s contact of this kind was not widely expected but it was significant.
What has happened over the past year has shown just how meaningful this contact actually was. The democratic and peaceful solution of the Kurdish question, the normalisation of politics in Turkey, and Mr. Öcalan’s stance and determination have together demonstrated how the climate in Turkey’s chaotic political environment could move toward normalisation.
In this regard, everyone except those who feed on war, who build their future on war profiteering, who base their politics on the denial of the Kurds, and who benefit from polarisation and conflict has clearly seen that the pioneer of this normalisation in Turkey, the source of reason, the power of thought and the will behind it, is Abdullah Öcalan.”
Every institution of the Kurdish movement has declared its support for Öcalan
Although the process was initiated by Bahçeli, Yusufoglu said that its foundations were laid by Öcalan and added: “Bahçeli may have initiated the process, but the one who leads it, shapes its essence, determines its path and method, produces real solutions and, within these real solutions, mobilises his movement, his people and his friends is Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan.
This is therefore an important process. Of course, it also has its own challenges. There were many debates about how it would begin, whether it could begin, what the Kurds thought, and how the state viewed it. But above all, a four-year period of absolute isolation was, to a significant extent, overcome. Through the contact established with Mr. Öcalan, certain discussions were held and decisions formed, which led to the statement made on 27 February.”
The 27 February call should be seen as a turning point, and despite intense attacks the Kurds have remained standing. Ünal Yusufoglu described the DEM Party’s view of the process as follows: “In fact, the statement of 27 February is fundamentally a historic milestone in terms of Turkish politics, the democratic solution to the Kurdish question, and Turkey’s encounter with universal values and its own reality. It must be understood in this way.
Why do we say this? After the 2013–2015 solution process, Turkey truly became a country of chaos. In politics, security, law and bureaucracy, everything was positioned against the Kurds. What took place was total war and annihilation. The so-called ‘Collapse Plan’ was implemented in an extremely layered and aggressive manner.
Therefore, after nearly 8–10 years in which all hopes for peace were destroyed, every word towards a solution was suppressed, and the politics of annihilation and denial were imposed as the only method, Turkey took such a step.
What happened after that? The essential point is this: we all know that a century-old concept, the policy of annihilation and denial, assimilation policies, and everything that sustains the deadlock, cannot be overcome with just statements or occasional talks. It is important to discuss this century-old problem comprehensively and to include all dynamics in the process, so that everyone can contribute meaningfully and speak their word.”
Ünal Yusufoglu recalled that after the call of Abdullah Öcalan, some circles claimed that the statement would not be accepted either by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) or by the Kurdish people, but the developments proved the opposite.
Yusufoglu continued: “The 27 February statement was very significant in this respect. After the statement, the PKK, which is the main party and interlocutor in this matter, convened its 12th Congress based on the statement and decided on dissolution and disarmament. This is highly meaningful for the Middle East. What must be underlined here is the strong bond between the movement led by Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan and the modern Kurdish reality it has created, and the Kurdish people themselves.
According to many circles, the 27 February statement would not find support; there were claims such as ‘the PKK will not accept it, the Kurdish people will distance themselves from it.’ However, once again it became clear that the Kurdish people and the Kurdish Freedom Movement, with all its institutions and components, stood firmly behind Öcalan. They declared Abdullah Öcalan as their own will and announced that the statement he made was binding for them. What needed to be done was to act in accordance with this statement.
Later, the weapon-burning ceremony attended by Besê Hozat, Co-Chair of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) Executive Council, along with a group of guerrillas, also marked one of the crucial turning points in this process. The statements made by the PKK leadership and organisational structure were also important in terms of the organisation and course of the process.
These were essential steps that shaped the core of the process. Likewise, the statements made by Öcalan must be understood as a demonstration of how prepared, organised and determined the Kurdish side is on this issue.”
DEM Party has carried out numerous efforts in the process
Yusufoglu stated the DEM Party has been actively involved in the process from the very beginning, organising public meetings and workshops to strengthen social participation in the search for a democratic solution.
Yusufoglu also said: “As the DEM Party, we have tried to understand and give meaning to this process from the outset. We engaged in comprehensive discussions with our own base, with opposition and with the government. Most importantly, through public meetings across Kurdistan and Turkey, we worked to explain this process in depth and include the people as its main subjects. We held valuable meetings and workshops and saw the process evolve towards a certain level of maturity.
When we look at the panorama of the past year, it is clear that the Kurdish side, grounded in democratic politics and all its dynamics, has fulfilled its responsibilities and shown every necessary sacrifice. We believe we have more than fulfilled our role in opening the doors to democracy, contributing to the normalisation of politics in Turkey and encouraging more dynamic steps forward.
Of course, our duties and responsibilities are many, and we still have a great deal to do. Solving the Kurdish question, discussing it on a democratic basis, including all of its dynamics in the process and contributing to the democratisation of Turkey remain among our priorities.
However, these are not tasks that fall only to us. We also have the responsibility to include in this process all those in Turkey who believe in peace, democracy and freedom, and who see their future in coexistence, and to ensure they become part of this process.
We must break down prejudices and end division. The value of living together must be demonstrated not only in words but in practice. In this sense, the contributions of our Party Assembly, our provincial and district organisations, our Central Executive Committee, as well as our spokespersons and co-chairs, have been meaningful in this process.”
The main interlocutor is Abdullah Öcalan and the Freedom Movement
Yusufoglu said the role of the DEM Party in the process must be correctly understood, stressing that while the party’s position on the Kurdish question is clear, the primary interlocutor of the process is Abdullah Öcalan and the Freedom Movement.
Yusufoglu continued: “Let us be clear: each period in the past from the 1993 ceasefire to the Oslo process, from the 2013–2015 solution process to today has had its own characteristics. Each period had its own difficulties, and this one does as well. It is important to correctly define the role of the DEM Party in this matter. The DEM Party’s stance on a democratic and peaceful solution to the Kurdish question is clear. The DEM Party stands for a solution. The DEM Party is obliged to assume the role required in peace and negotiation processes.
The founding purpose of both the DEM Party and the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK) is clear: they were established because they believe that all peoples in Turkey can live together, build their future together and form a democratic fraternity. From this perspective, the DEM Party will fulfil its responsibility in this negotiation process; however, the DEM Party is not the primary interlocutor of the Kurdish question. This must be understood.
The main interlocutor is Abdullah Öcalan and the Freedom Movement. In all its statements and proposals, the DEM Party has clearly indicated who the interlocutor is. Throughout the period when the solution process was shelved and a chaotic war began, the DEM Party consistently made one proposal: the isolation in Imrali must be lifted and Mr. Öcalan must be allowed to meet, because the interlocutor of the Kurdish question is Mr. Öcalan, and therefore every statement he makes is, in essence, capable of opening the door to peace.
In this regard, the DEM Party’s primary duty is to evaluate the ideas developed by Abdullah Öcalan for peace in Turkey, to carry these ideas to the people, to bring them together with all social and political dynamics in Turkey and to carry them into the future. The DEM Party knows its role, it knows its limits and principles, and it produces politics accordingly.”
Yusufoglu also said: “The DEM Party must fulfil its responsibility to involve all sectors in this process, including first and foremost the main opposition party in Turkey, other opposition parties, leftist and socialist groups, labour organisations, democratic mass organisations, local associations, women’s and youth movements, academia and the press. This is its role: to carry the call and project for a democratic society to all these sectors and make them part of this process.
For many years in Turkey, the Kurdish question and any discussion of it were concealed and banned from all sectors. Even expressing the existence of the Kurds became something that required paying a heavy price. For this reason, many groups hesitated to get involved in this issue, feared taking a position and withdrew.
The situation faced by academics, especially after the collapse of the previous solution process, is important in this respect. Similarly, the methods of punishment imposed on those who express even a few words about the DEM Party or engage with the Kurdish movement are clear and systematic.
Therefore, rebuilding all of this encouraging, strengthening and bringing these sectors together, expanding the front of peace in Turkey and widening the circle of peace is essential. The DEM Party is engaging in dialogue with everyone, developing relations, holding discussions and receiving opinions and proposals. At the same time, we convey these views and proposals to Öcalan through our delegation.
This is because the issue that Öcalan insists on most persistently is that the democratic steps to be taken in this solution process must derive their true meaning not only through the Kurds but through the participation of all social and political dynamics in Turkey. Peace cannot be achieved by a single structure; it derives meaning only when all sectors of Turkey are included in the process.”
To Be Continued