Labor Party (EMEP) chairperson Seyit Aslan said that the Commission for Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy must go to Imralı Island and emphasized that the counterpart for a solution is Abdullah Öcalan, something both Devlet Bahçeli and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan know very well.
Aslan spoke to ANF and said they support the process just as they have long advocated for the recognition of the Kurdish people’s national demands and the achievement of a democratic and peaceful solution.
Aslan noted that this position has always been part of the Labor Party’s program. He said: “There has been a conflict for 45 years. The issue has its own historicity. The steps and approaches taken toward solving this problem are valuable and significant. It must be stated clearly: if Devlet Bahçeli, Erdoğan and the state bureaucracy are taking certain steps today, this is the result of the Kurdish people’s democratic and freedom struggle. In particular, the struggle that the people of Rojava have carried out for many years and the gains they have achieved have directly reflected onto Turkey. If you cannot solve the Kurdish question, the Kurdish question will, in one way or another, force you to confront it. For this reason, we are passing through a period in which it has finally become understood, albeit after many years, that there is no alternative to recognizing Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan in Imralı as the legitimate interlocutor for a solution.
The process must end in peace
Aslan emphasized the importance of the steps taken by the Kurdish Freedom Movement regarding the peace process and said: “These steps must be acknowledged, valued and responded to. It is necessary to ensure that this process reaches a peaceful solution without once again turning into conflict, war or military operations. At this stage, the state and the government must act faster. They must take quicker steps.”
We must pressure the government and the state
Aslan said: “The Commission has not yet moved beyond listening. There are still issues that need to be resolved. Steps must be taken regarding what will happen to the prisons, the removal of state-appointed trustees, the right to education in the mother tongue, and how those who lay down their arms will be integrated into a democratic environment. There is still no response to the steps taken by the Kurdish people and the Kurdish political movement. We must recognize this. What is essential here is to pressure the government and the state. All political parties and institutions must make an effort to ensure that rapid steps are taken.”
The counterpart is clear
Aslan said: “The counterparts are clear and explicit. Öcalan is the direct interlocutor for a solution. Erdoğan and Bahçeli know this as well. They are also interlocutors in this process. The counterparts must sit down and discuss this process. Öcalan must be released to share his ideas with the public. The Commission should make a quick decision, go to Imralı and meet with Öcalan.”
The path to a general political amnesty must open
Aslan also said: “We have always stated that there must be a meeting with Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan. We have consistently expressed in every platform that a general political amnesty should be declared and that everyone should be able to share their ideas and opinions freely. One side insists on going to Imralı, yet the language spoken by the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) deputies in Parliament is still recorded in the minutes as an ‘unknown language.’ When a Peace Mother expressed her views and suggestions in her mother tongue before the Commission, she was silenced and told to speak Turkish. These contradictions must be eliminated. If there is going to be democratization, it must happen across all of Turkey. We hope that this process will ultimately lead to peace, equality and the full recognition of the Kurdish people’s national demands. We will work and struggle to achieve this.”