With the Parliamentary Commission announcing its final report, expectations and debates regarding the process have intensified once again. A message from Abdullah Öcalan, who stands at the center of the process, concerning the commission report was shared with the public last week. Pervin Buldan, a member of the İmralı Delegation, spoke to Yeni Özgür Politika on the details of the latest İmralı meeting and the possible next steps.
‘Öcalan is in good spirits and focused on the process’
Pervin Buldan stated that during the most recent meeting, Öcalan was in good spirits, healthy, and motivated regarding the advancement of the process. She noted that in the meeting, which lasted around three and a half hours, the Kurdish leader, who always comes to meetings well-prepared, shared his draft agenda with the delegation.
Special message to prisoners and some individuals
Pervin Buldan said that Öcalan asked about the situation of prisoners and sent greetings, particularly to women prisoners in Sincan Prison. He also delivered a special message to İsmail Beşikçi and offered his condolences to the family of Selim Sadak, who recently passed away.
No change in conditions on Imralı
While public expectations continue regarding improvements to Öcalan’s conditions for negotiations, Buldan stated that there has not yet been any concrete change.
“It is difficult to say that there has been an improvement in his conditions so far. Apart from us, there is no one else who goes and meets with him. The İmralı Delegation holds a meeting once a month. In addition, we see visits by his family and his lawyers at times. However, both he and we believe that these visits should be more frequent. We believe that establishing stronger connections with the outside world, engaging with different segments—such as journalists, academics, and certain political actors—would contribute to the progress of the process. We are working in this direction, of course, and we are discussing this issue particularly with the government and state officials. Legal regulations have now reached the stage of implementation. In the next phase, Mr. Öcalan’s channels of communication should of course be open. We hope that the way will be opened as soon as possible for him to hold meetings with different personalities,” Buldan stated.
How will “democratic integration” be achieved?
According to Pervin Buldan, Öcalan evaluates the process in two phases.
“By democratic integration, Mr. Öcalan does not refer to a classical form of unification. Regarding the two-phase process, he said that we have now completed the first phase. In other words, the conflict has ended, and the weapons have been laid down, even if symbolically. Mr. Öcalan stated that with legal regulations, democratic integration must now be implemented. This is not a conventional unification. He spoke of an integration that seeks to mutually guarantee each other’s rights. Here, of course, the Kurdish people have expectations, particularly regarding their mother tongue. He said that there is a need for guarantees on all these expressed issues. He emphasized that an approach must be implemented that protects the rights, legal status, language, identity, and culture of the Kurdish people. Integration can only be realized in this way.”
Parliamentary Commission report ‘valuable but insufficient’
Pervin Buldan described the Parliamentary Commission’s report as “valuable,” but stated that they placed reservations on two points. She said they objected to defining the Kurdish question as a “terror issue” and found the approach to the mother tongue issue insufficient. She added that the report should be referred to the relevant specialized commission so that legal preparations can begin swiftly.
National unity and a new negotiation ground
Referring to the atmosphere of solidarity that emerged following the attacks on Rojava, Buldan stated that the spirit of national unity has strengthened. She continued: “For a long time, we have known Mr. Öcalan’s approach to the issue of national unity. With the recent attacks on Rojava, the spirit of national unity was once again acquired. In Europe and all around the world, wherever Kurdish people live, they demonstrated their stance. Especially the unity in the four parts of Kurdistan was historic. It was the spirit of embracing Rojava. I believe that the resistance of all Kurds has been influential in resolving this issue through negotiations and dialogue around a table. Of course, Mr. Öcalan has made great efforts in this regard. There are also the approaches put forward by Mr. Barzani and Mr. Talabani in Southern Kurdistan. These are truly very valuable. We attach great importance and value to them. Everyone has provided a contribution. This spirit has been gained, and now it needs to be embodied in concrete form. Mr. Öcalan’s view on this matter has always been clear. National unity stands before us as something inevitable. From now on, it likely needs to be realized through a different form of communication and perhaps through negotiations and talks to be conducted.”
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