ISTANBUL, — Labour, Democracy and Freedom Block Istanbul deputy Levent Tuzel has spoken to ANF about the current phase in the Kurdish question.
* In his final statement, Ocalan said ‘I am fading from the scene’.
– This is a very serious situation. Ocalan’s demands for freedom, health and safety are of great importance for the development of talks and to obtain efficiency. In other words, the situations such as the disallowance of the right for self-defense in the mother tongue, deadlocks at courts and the siege on the judiciary by political powers, all constitute an obstacle before coexistence and understanding other reasonable clear solutions on the subjects of mother language and autonomy.
Ocalan’s imprisonment conditions need to be improved to prevent Kurds’ disengagement. Of course, it’s the best choice to enable his release. Besides, all these political arrest and trials must come to an end. It is also essential to form a new constitution to meet the mother language and other human rights of the Kurdish people, their political and social will and DTK’s demands.
* In all this context, in the light of experience lived, are you optimistic about the solution when considering the ongoing arrests and the government’s taking the position for a severe war?
– The situation is similar to that of the North of Ireland where the war lasted for 30 years and negotiations continued for 10 years after reaching an agreement. When considering the situation in Turkey; the initiative story, the way the Kurdish problem is approached and the statements of authorities are all within a security concept and they are based on purging, disabling and disarming the PKK.
Everything here is built on this strategy; the constitution, elections, 24-hours broadcast in Kurdish and many other points. Initiatives were launched in Africa as well to quell and neutralize the struggle of the blacks but the people didn’t give in their fight.
When considering today, the political style of the AKP and the way it forms the equation of terror and security stand at a point which complicates the situation in the first place and doesn’t see the unity, longings and expectations of the Kurdish people.
However, on the other side, the dynamics of the struggle are standing straight. There may be some blockages and cessations but talks are being made on the other hand in spite of everything.
The government continues its operations despite the declaration of a ceasefire, people are dying but the parliament is in a search of a constitution and a peaceful and common life with Kurds. The way to solution is rough but the insistence on a solution shouldn’t be abandoned. We should adopt the peace and democracy seeking attitude of democracy and the labour forces and the political struggle institutions of the Kurdish people. As long as the social dynamics stand behind this attitude, the AKP government will sooner or later come to the point of ensuring peace after having tried every possible way. Therefore, it is not possible for the government to advance basing on such discourses, to find a solution or to obtain a result from what it calls ‘initiative’.