The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Urfa MP Ömer Öcalan spoke to the Mesopotamia Agency about his meeting with his uncle Abdullah Öcalan on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr on March 31.

Ömer Öcalan emphasized that his uncle was much more vigorous than he was seen in the last photo of him taken during a meeting with the İmralı Delegation on February 27.

A half-working TV for four years

Ömer Öcalan drew attention to the situation of the other prisoners in İmralı and the prison conditions, saying, “In İmralı, television sets are changed very rarely. The TV screen of a friend held there has been broken for 4 years. He told his relatives during a family meeting that he had been following the agenda with half-working TV for 4 years. It is a 10-year-old TV and needs to be replaced. This shows us how deep the isolation is.”

“The President is a political leader, he influences the politics of Kurdistan. His status as an interlocutor is accepted by Kurds and all segments of society.”

Ömer Öcalan said that the Kurdish leader asked about his village, relatives, friends and the people during the meeting and highlighted the importance of organizing while talking about all these.

'Socialism means embracing the society, working and walking with the people'

Ömer Öcalan added: “He voiced criticism about the party, about politics. 'What is socialism? It means embracing the society, working and walking with the people. You need to organize everywhere. You need to work everywhere, you have to be part of the people'.” 

According to Ömer Öcalan, the Kurdish leader made in-depth evaluations about Syria, Rojava, Federal Kurdistan Region, Iran and Rojhilat in the first 40 minutes of the meeting, as well as about the DEM Party and Istanbul.

'Our call was embraced by our people'

Ömer Öcalan continued: “He asked about the interest in his February 27 ‘Call for Peace and Democratic Society’. I told him that both the national and international press followed the call with great interest. I also conveyed to him how his call was met and embraced by the people, especially during the Newroz celebrations, while, on the other hand, the DEM Party held public meetings in almost all provinces and districts of Kurdistan and in Turkey's metropolises. He also asked about the Newroz events in Rojava and Rojhilat. We explained that the Newroz celebrations in Rojava went well. In Rojhilat, there was a record turnout in Urmia, while there were attempts to incite provocations through Azerbaijanis. The President said, ‘Azerbaijanis are our friends. We have had relations with them since old times. Azerbaijanis are close to our thoughts and ideas.’ I also told him about the finale Newroz celebration in Frankfurt, which was very spectacular. He stated, "Yes, our call was embraced by our people. In this regard, I send my greetings to all those who embraced the Newroz and ensured strong participation in celebrations. I congratulate them on Newroz and Ramadan." We told him that the UN, Germany, the US, Russia and China had responded positively to the call for peace and a democratic society. He also made evaluations on this issue.”

'Massacre against Alawites is an ISIS-like method'

Ömer Öcalan stated the following about the Kurdish leader’s views on Syria and Rojava: “We conveyed some things to him. He is familiar with the situation in Rojava. He expressed great anger at the massacre of Alawites. And said, “We do not accept this, such a thing cannot happen, we do not find the massacre against Alawites right.” He asked how many people were massacred and I said more than 2 thousand people fell victim to mass slaughter. He stated, “Children, youngsters, women... They massacre everyone. This is an ISIS-like method. We do not accept this. The rights and laws of Alawites must be protected. The rights and laws of the Druze must be protected. They can create systems similar to the systems created by the Kurds. They can get in contact with each other and they should not accept these ISIS-like methods”. He also criticized the current central government in Syria.”

'I keep my hope, I will bring this process to a successful conclusion'

Ömer Öcalan conveyed the Kurdish leader’s evaluation of the current process as follows: “We discussed some matters, including the situation of the PKK, the congress it will hold and some issues regarding the way forward. Regarding the security issue, he stated that everyone should ensure their own security. Despite his criticisms, despite the conditions not being very favorable, Mr. Öcalan finally expressed his determination by saying “I keep my hope, I will bring this process to a successful conclusion. We could see that some needs and demands were not met. Mr. Öcalan stated that he was determined to lead this process, that he was hopeful and that he would do his best to bring it to a conclusion. We told him that, “The people have full faith in you, they are behind your call, they believe in your ideas, they believe in you. Yet they have doubts and suspicions due to what happened at the end of the 2015 resolution process, in 2019 and 1993.” The President said, “The people are right, they are at the right point, they think right. But I am determined to carry out this process and bring it to a successful conclusion. I have hope and I am working for it.”

'You need to work rather than talk'

Ömer Öcalan said the Kurdish leader voiced suggestions and criticism about the DEM Party: “In the first meeting I had with him, he said that the political system in Turkey was formed on three blocks. One of them organized itself with the reference of political Islam, another one expressed itself with the West and social democracy, and the other one was the politics led by the DEM Party, which we represent. He emphasized that these three structures are equivalent to each other. He asked about the DEM Party's voting rate, and I said that it was at 13 percent. He stated, “How can it be 13 percent? This rate should increase to 20 percent. The potential is above 20 percent. You need to work. You are not working. You need to work rather than talk. It is necessary to organize among the people. This party has potential. We need to organize house by house, street by street rather than talking. I have been organizing since childhood.”