Öcalan’s Lawyers Share the Details of Their Meeting with Öcalan and His Messages

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Having visited Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan in İmralı Prison on June 18, his lawyers from the Asrın Law Bureau released a written statement this morning (June 21).

The statement of the bureau came one day after the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) reported that Öcalan sent a letter from prison via Assoc. Prof. Ali Kemal Özcan and called the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) "to remain neutral" in İstanbul Metropolitan Mayoral election rerun on June 23.

CLICK - AA: Öcalan Calls HDP to Remain Neutral in İstanbul Elections

In a series of tweets posted on his official Twitter account, HDP's former imprisoned Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş previously referred to main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu by saying, "We believe that the discourse of İmamoğlu should be supported for today. Because we are beautiful together."

CLICK - 'We Believe Discourse of İmamoğlu Should be Supported'

Some highlights from the Asrın Law Bureau's statement are as follows:

'HDP should take third way as its principle'

"While Dear Öcalan states that the alliance of democracy should not be made a party and support to dilemmas in the context of current debates, he indicates that HDP should take the third way as its principle.

"He said that the two-polarized state has been prevailing since the establishment of the republic and added that establishing and maintaining an alliance of democracy and the HDP as the third line is a dangerous undertaking that requires outstanding courage.

"He shared the opinion that the HDP as a democratic alliance should develop a policy of negotiation and resolution in such a way to call all political structures to democratization with courage and serving as a catalyst.

'HDP will make its own decisions'

"Dear Öcalan also stated that when he said, 'The HDP as the alliance of democracy should not be made a party and support to current debates over elections', he meant social reconciliation and that the last straw should not be added to the polarization and two-polarized situation.

"He thinks that politics of polarization is politics of conflict and war with insulting statements and demagogy and HDP needs to maintain its own way.

"He said that these issues should be negotiated and debated with the HDP, adding that the HDP performs its own works as a political party and will make its own decisions in that regard." (EKN/SD)