Turkey
A cutout portrait of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan at the site in northern Iraq where the group announced a withdrawal of its fighters from Turkey. Photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan has called for the establishment of a transitional process in Turkey to recognize "Kurdish reality" in the country "in all its dimensions."
Ocalan made the call during a meeting on Monday with main mediators in talks between Ankara and the PKK - Pervin Buldan, and Mithat Sancar. The mediators, also called Imrali Delegation, are members of the pro-Kurdish Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party). His lawyer Faik Ozgur Erol also attended the meeting.
"The Kurdish reality should be included in the legality of the Republic in all its dimensions, and a strong transition process should be established for this purpose. Transitioning to legality as a holistic phenomenon will strengthen the legal foundations of the Democratic Republic," the DEM Party quoted Ocalan as stating during the Monday talks which lasted three hours.
The Imrali Delegation of the DEM Party added Ocalan told them that "We must act not by drawing lines, but by creating a vision that also encompasses our current problems."
"To advance the current process, it is necessary to take history and sociology more seriously. It is important to recognize that the Turkish-Kurdish relationship has endured for a thousand years as two foundational pillars. Strengthening unity requires that these pillars be seen, understood, and restored," Ocalan has said.
The DEM Party delegation's visit to Ocalan at his prison cell on the Imrali island came just four days after their third meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss “necessary steps to be taken from this point onward,” the party said.
In May, the PKK officially declared its dissolution and an end to its armed campaign, following Ocalan’s appeal for a political solution to four decades of a conflict that has claimed nearly 40,000 lives.
Last week, the PKK said it had begun withdrawing all fighters from Turkey. In announcing the withdrawal, the PKK, under the name “Kurdistan Freedom Movement,” said it expects Ankara to implement a “PKK-specific Transitional Law” that would allow the group to enter politics.
A Turkish parliamentary commission is drafting the legal framework for the peace process.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment