Kurdish question | Asrın Law Office: The most important interlocutor is Öcalan

* Photo: Mezopotamya Agency (MA)

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

The Asrın Law Office has released a written statement about the role of Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), in resolving the Kurdish question amid recent debates on "who is the interlocutor in resolving the question."

Released in Kurdish and Turkish, the statement of his lawyers has said that Öcalan, who is held in isolation in İmralı Prison, is denied his all rights.

The lawyers have stated, "There have been debates on the position of our client Mr. Abdullah Öcalan and his role in the resolution of the Kurdish question for some time. However, he is not given the opportunity to express himself about this issue or similar other issues."

The lawyers' statement has read, "Even though there has been no obstacle to a democratic resolution of the Kurdish question on the part of the governing circles, it has not been and cannot be resolved."

The lawyers have added: "For this reason, discussing Öcalan without Öcalan or discussing the resolution of the Kurdish question without him is not the way or method to be adopted for a real and lasting resolution. Without a doubt, Mr. Öcalan is the most important interlocutor for an honorable resolution of the Kurdish question and for building a democratic future."

'HDP is the social leader'

Referring to the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in its statement, the Law Office has said, "The HDP, as the representative of the politics of democratic negotiation, is a social leader that aspires to organize peace and democracy. Without the HDP, it is not possible for the conditions of resolution to mature and for the ground of peace to be offered to the peoples of Turkey."

The Office has added, "The Kurdish question is ultimately a Constitutional question. It is Mr. Öcalan himself who has been trying to bring all fundamental debates on the Kurdish question to Constitutional and legal grounds and to the ground of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) and who has been insistently requesting it. However, in spite of this, isolation is being kept in place as a method of lack of resolution."

According to the Asrın Law Office, "the debates will remain cyclical if they are held without facing the fact that the isolation on Abdullah Öcalan, which has been systematically implemented in violation of the prohibition of torture, stems from the lack of resolution of the Kurdish question and that the isolation has been aggravating the lack of resolution."

Concluding the statement, the Asrın Law Office has said, "The isolation must end and it must be ensured that Mr. Öcalan is allowed to express himself, with his opportunity to exercise his all rights assured."

What happened?

Republican People's Party (CHP) Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu talked about the Kurdish question in the first part of documentary filmmaker Günel Cantak's "Mr. Kemal and His Alliances" documentary.

Main opposition leader Kılıçdaroğlu said that at the elections in Turkey in 2015, he supported the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) entering the Parliament. Commenting on the Kurdish question, he said:

"There is a Kurdish question that the institution of politics has been unable to solve for 35-40 years. We need a legitimate body to resolve the Kurdish question. The institution that we call the state does not address an illegitimate body. Erdoğan did this. The state was limited to addressing İmralı (where the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party / PKK's jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan is held). For instance, İmralı is not a legitimate body.

"Who is the legitimate body? We can see the HDP as a legitimate body. It had the people's support. It came to the Parliament; therefore, it is inside the Parliament and doing its duty. If this question is to be resolved, we can do it with a legitimate body, with the HDP. For this reason, I think that the HDP must be at the Parliament."

Commenting on Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu's remarks, former HDP Co-Chair Sezai Temelli said that "the place and interlocutor to resolve [the Kurdish question] is İmralı", where Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), has been held.

Behind bars for nearly five years, former HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş has said, "The HDP that I know aspires to resolve all problems of Turkey, including the Kurdish question; it is a political actor of its own will and it is - of course - an interlocutor. The place where it is to be resolved is naturally the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM)."

Answering the questions of Halk TV Editor-in-Chief Suat Toktaş, Temelli has said, "The opinions in that tweet were - of course - my personal opinions. They - of course - do not bind the party. Our authorized bodies - of course - make the binding statements on behalf of the HDP.

In a written statement about the issue, MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli sayd, "There is no Kurdish question in Turkey. Seeing the HDP as a legitimate body means seeing the PKK as a legitimate body." (DŞ/SD)