ISTANBUL - A month after Abdullah Öcalan's historic call, the state has yet to take any steps. Action Arzu Kayaoğlu from ÖHD stated that the state must take steps in order for the process to move forward and said, "Mr. Öcalan's physical freedom must be ensured and opportunities must be provided for him to communicate with all groups."
Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan's "Call for Peace and Democratic Society" announced on February 27 together with the İmralı Delegation continues to be the most talked about agenda of the public. While the call is being discussed all over the world, the PKK, one of the interlocutors, declared a ceasefire in its statement on March 1 and demanded that Abdullah Öcalan's conditions be created for the "convening of the congress". However, the state wing, to which all eyes are directed, has not taken any steps even a month after the call.
Eylem Arzu Kayaoğlu, a member of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), made evaluations on the call and the process that followed.
'LEGAL REGULATIONS ARE A MUST'
Stating that the non-release of ill prisoners and the burning of executions are the most serious violations, Eylem Arzu Kayaoğlu said, "We see that executions are being burned arbitrarily, unlawfully and with biased decisions, even though they have completed 30 years and their conditional release dates have come. The Council of Ministers of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) responded to the applications made to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that there are approximately 4 thousand people serving aggravated life sentences in prisons in Turkey. However, although this has been officially reported, we believe that the number is underestimated."
Drawing attention to the ill prisoners, Eylem Arzu Kayaoğlu said that they have filed applications to both local courts and the Constitutional Court (AYM) for their release. Eylem Arzu Kayaoğlu stated that the decisions of the Forensic Medicine Institution (ATK) should be removed for the release of seriously ill prisoners and underlined that Abdullah Öcalan's call is very valuable and that the state should make some arrangements regarding prisons in line with the call.
Eylem Arzu Kayaoğlu added, "Changes in the Law on Execution of Sentences and the Anti-Terror Law are changes that can be made even within a week. There is an Administrative Observation Board in prisons. If these administrative obstacles are removed, execution burnings can be prevented and the way for the release of sick prisoners can be opened. These are things that the Parliament can solve within a week and that are completely dependent on legal grounds."
'ABDULLAH ÖCALAN'S FREEDOM MUST BE ENSURED'
Stating that Abdullah Öcalan's physical conditions and communication channels should be improved in order for the post-call process to proceed in a healthy way, Eylem Arzu Kayaoğlu said, "Of course, there are many steps that the government should take with this process. The statement made by Mr. Öcalan and the ceasefire announcement made by the PKK are very valuable. However, we think that in order for the process to proceed on the right basis and evolve into a definite result, Mr. Öcalan's physical conditions must be improved first. I think that there is nothing as valuable and important as Mr. Öcalan answering, interpreting and evaluating dozens of questions. Therefore, Mr. Öcalan's physical freedom must be ensured and opportunities must be provided for him to communicate with people from all walks of life."
'THE RIGHT TO HOPE MUST BE IMPLEMENTED'
Reminding the “violation” decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Abdullah Öcalan in 2014, Eylem Arzu Kayaoğlu referred to the “Right to Hope” and stressed: “'Right to Hope' is the legal right of prisoners sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment to hope that one day they will be released from prison. Calls for the 'Right to Hope' must be implemented on a legal basis. The ECHR made its decision on this in 2014. Although 11 years have passed, there has been no change in the law on execution of people sentenced to 'aggravated life imprisonment'. On the other hand, with the application made to the European Union Committee of Ministers (EU CoM) within the scope of 9.2 regarding Mr. Öcalan and his 3 friends, the Committee of Ministers gave Turkey a one-year deadline in its session held in September 2024. However, although 7 or 8 months have passed, there has been no concrete step yet. In a place where the Middle East geography is stuck in such a quagmire of war, where imperialist states are playing so many war games and trying to redistribute, the will and call of Mr. Öcalan requires to be embraced. Each and every one of us needs to raise the voice of peace that Kurds have been saying for years."
MA / Yeşim Tükel