Ahead of the planned rally for Abdullah Öcalan’s freedom on January 4 in Amed (tr. Diyarbakır), the Democratic Unity Initiative called for the immediate implementation of the “right to hope” for the Kurdish leader, who has been imprisoned since 1999. Gülcan Kaçmaz-Sayyiğit, co-spokesperson for the initiative, told ANF that a just and democratic solution to the Kurdish question is only possible through a change in Öcalan’s prison conditions. The ongoing isolation of the PKK founder must end, and his rights as a prisoner must be fully granted, she demanded.
Kaçmaz Sayyiğit pointed out that Abdullah Öcalan had repeatedly emphasized in talks with the Imrali delegation of the DEM Party that the Turkish state was acting outside the norms of the rule of law. Since the beginning of the new process between the Turkish state and the Kurdish movement, efforts to achieve peace have largely been made unilaterally by the Kurdish side, while there have been blockades at the state level, she added.
Above all, Öcalan is denied the “right to hope”; a term from the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) that is intended to guarantee prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment a realistic prospect of release. However, according to Kaçmaz Sayyiğit, equal treatment in the context of political dialogue requires comparable conditions for all parties involved.
Around 2,500 meetings
The politician, who also sits in the Turkish parliament for the DEM Party, emphasized that a sustainable peace process would not only benefit the Kurdish population, but would also have an impact on society as a whole. “Improving Öcalan’s conditions could pave the way for lasting peace in Turkey,” she underlined.
According to the initiative, around 2,500 meetings, dialogue rounds, and discussions with civil society organizations, political parties, intellectuals, and media representatives have taken place nationwide since the start of the current process. In many of these, trust in state institutions has been critically questioned, especially in retrospect of failed dialogue processes such as those between 2013 and 2015.
Everyone benefits from peace
The large rally planned for January 4 at the central train station square in Amed is therefore intended not only to send a political signal, but also to renew the call to discuss Abdullah Öcalan’s concept of a “democratic nation” as a social model. “A new political process would benefit not only the Kurds, but all the peoples of Turkey,” said Kaçmaz Sayyiğit.