A legal amendment is required for the “right to hope” to be incorporated into Turkey’s legal system, Vezir Coşkun Parlak said, stressing that the Grand National Assembly of Turkey carries a major responsibility in this regard.
Parlak spoke to ANF and said there is concern that if Abdullah Öcalan were able to work freely, his ideas would gain a far broader and stronger reach. He said this concern is unfounded and continued: “Applying the ‘right to hope’ to Mr. Öcalan would make it easier for peace to take root in society. For years, Mr. Öcalan was deliberately portrayed to the Turkish public as an enemy figure through a conscious political strategy. Yet even the slightest easing of isolation has allowed some segments of society to see for the first time how peaceful his ideas are and how much they serve the interests of the peoples of Turkey. We know Mr. Öcalan’s paradigm and the effort he has devoted to peace for thirty-five years, but unfortunately a significant portion of the people of Turkey does not. Fulfilling the ‘principle of hope’ for Mr. Öcalan would enable his peaceful ideas to reach broad segments of society and would offer a major opportunity for social peace.”
A major responsibility rests with parliament
A legal amendment is required for the “right to hope” to be incorporated into Turkey’s legal system, Vezir Coşkun Parlak said, underscoring that a major responsibility rests with parliament.
Parlak said: “The institution that will enact this legal amendment is the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The parliamentary commission established for this process will soon complete its work on a special law, a peace law, that will include members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). This draft will be submitted to the General Assembly and enacted there. Just as it has worked on the peace law, this commission can also prepare legislation regulating the ‘principle of hope’. European regulations can be taken as a reference for this effort. That work would then be submitted to the General Assembly and enacted as law. Abdullah Öcalan attaches great importance to parliament in this process. At this historic moment, parliament should fulfill its responsibility and adopt the regulations that will establish the fundamental pillars of peace, including the ‘principle of hope’.”