PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held in İmralı Type F High Security Prison under severe isolation conditions for 26 years, met with his nephew, Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) MP Ömer Öcalan on October 23 and with DEM Party members Pervin Buldan and Sırrı Süreyya Önder on December 28 after 4 and a half years. One day after the last meeting in İmralı, a 7-point text containing Abdullah Öcalan's proposals was released to the public. 

 

While the text containing Abdullah Öcalan's messages became the most talked about agenda of the public, party executives who attended the 2nd Ordinary Congress of DEM Party Yenişehir District Organization yesterday made evaluations about the meeting and the text. 

 

'ÖCALAN'S PHYSICAL FREEDOM IS A PRIORITY'

 

Fırat Yüksektepe, one of the party's provincial executives, emphasized that the reason for the political deadlock in Turkey is the isolation in İmralı. Expressing that the message from İmralı created a great excitement among them, Yüksektepe said that the talks should be continued. Yüksektepe said: “The Kurdish people's leader needs to meet regularly with his lawyers and family. Mr. Abdullah Öcalan has given hope to the Kurdish people as well as the Turkish people with his messages.” 

 

Yüksektepe called on other political parties to contribute to the developments and said, “Together we can build the future of this country. Our country does not deserve this environment. We can build better things together.” 

 

Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Amed (Diyarbakır) Provincial Executive Ahmet Naşa said that the meeting paved the way for both Turkish and Kurdish politics. “Mr. Öcalan's messages have never changed since the beginning. He always gave messages for peace, messages that would serve the Kurdish-Turkish people. He has never compromised on this issue, he has always stood in favor of peace,” he said. Naşa underlined that apart from the DEM Party delegation, Abdullah Öcalan's lawyers and family members must also meet with him.

 

'ISOLATION MUST END'

 

DEM Party Hezro District Co-Chair Alihan Kuşlu also stated that the continuation of the isolation casts a shadow over the talks. “If the isolation on the president and prisons is lifted, everything will be fine,” Kuşlu said. 

 

Fevzi Danışır, DEM Party's Factory Neighborhood Commission Spokesperson, stated the following: “War is easy but peace is very difficult. We will do our best. We are ready to fulfill our duty.” 

 

DEM Party Yenişehir District Executive Şaile Gülten said that she has no faith in the state. Şaile Gülten said, “Mr. Abdullah Öcalan has constantly taken steps to stop the war and to ensure peace, but he is still under isolation. If Öcalan is free, our people will be free. As long as he is under isolation, we are also under isolation. When he is freed, we will be freed too.”

 

Hamit Onur, the spokesperson of the Aziziye and Gürdoğan Neighborhoods Commission, evaluated the talks as an "opportunity" for both the government and the Kurds. Onur continued as follows: "A dirty war has been waged for 50 years, but they have not been able to reach a conclusion. We want this path to change peacefully. Those who are in the administration of this country need to be sincere. Filling Rojava with gangs and displacing the people there is not a solution. This has been tried for 40-50 years, but nothing has been achieved. We hope that they will take a path that will benefit all peoples. We say let's establish the law of brotherhood. There is a reality and this reality needs to be recognized. The authorities should take these messages into consideration.”