IMRALI, Turkey–The imprisoned Kurdish national leader Mr Ocalan stated that at the beginning he was met by soldiers, however, now he is visited by a delegation composed of officials. “Considering the recent statements from the government I do presume that the negotiations might come to an end.” added the Kurdish national leader.
In the course of his weekly lawyer visit Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan said “On one hand the PM Erdogan is sending delegations to talk to me on the other hand he is using a nationalistic jargon, worse than the opposition leader Kilicdaroglu. It is obvious that the PM aims at nationalists’ votes however this attitude does not help the solution.” Ocalan also said that such short term calculations instigate nationalism rather than contribute to the solution of the Kurdish issue.
Two weeks more:
Ocalan continued: “The things will be clearer after the referendum, between 15-20 September. I will advise the Kurdish people to wait until this date. However, if there will be no concrete changes then I will not take any responsibilities and KCK will take responsibilities of its own decisions. I am ready to play my role as long as the government takes concrete steps. However, if not there are examples like Northern Cyprus and Kosovo. If the problem is not solved then there will be two different powers in Kurdistan. KCK and the Turkish state.
The situation reminds me 1999 when I was brought to Turkey. At the beginning the soldiers were coming and talking to me, which did not, lasted long. It is likely that the same situation repeats itself. In any way I will be updating the public about the dialog and about any other improvement.”
Referendum boycott should be deepened:
with respect to the boycott campaign against the constitution referendum Ocalan said rhetoric themselves do not suffice, the boycott should be extended and deepened. He also stated that Democratic autonomy is not based on one ethnicity or a region but Democracy. “For instance the Arabs in Hatay and Adana will also enjoy the autonomy, as well as all the other ethnic and religious groups. It is not based on merely Kurdish identity or it is not limited to Kurds only. It will comprise Aegean and Black Sea regions as well as central Anatolia. What we are doing is questioning nation-state notion which is result of capitalist modernity. Europe is also dealing with this matter. It is obvious that nation-state is too narrow for nations, peoples and social classes. It is like an ‘iron cage’ suggested by Weber.” added PKK leader.
Ocalan also stated that for the democratic autonomy the most important thing is the people’s will and it prescribes restricting the power owned by the central administration and giving more power and competencies to the local authorities.
The PKK leader further stated that what the Turkish republic has aimed at creating is the Turkish identity which is a ‘Turkist ideology created by non-Turks.’ He also added that this Turkist- fascist ideology of Ittihad Terraki has also inspired Hitler. “What we are challenging is the unfairness that although the Kurds played an important role in the foundation of the republic their existence has been denied since then.” added Ocalan.