Mustafa Karasu, member of the Executive Council of the KCK (Community of Kurdistan Societies), spoke in an interview with ANF about the rumours of alleged talks in Imrali and a possible visit by relatives to Abdullah Öcalan.

At a time when Abdullah Öcalan was in strict isolation, there is speculation in some circles that, in fact, there are talks going on Imrali and that the AKP-MHP government wants to take steps on the Kurdish question.

What is the point of making and discussing such claims if there is no information about the health and safety of Abdullah Öcalan?

Such allegations have recently been made. No matter who says this, the source is always MIT and AKP. AKP and MIT have been using this method for years. All statements and messages about Rêber Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] are definitely issued for special war purposes. Rêber Apo is not just any prisoner. If the Kurdish people and the freedom movement are being repressed, this policy will also be applied to Rêber Apo in prison conditions. If we look at the crackdown on Rêber Apo, we can understand what kind of policy is being pursued towards the Kurdish people. This is the first thing to keep in mind when analysing the current phase.

The AKP-MHP alliance is currently carrying out a genocide of the Kurdish people. All practices are aimed at genocide. The Kurds are to be Turkified over time and Kurdistan is to become an expansion area for Turkish nationalism. Without understanding this policy, one cannot understand the war against the Kurds.

A special war policy has been pursued over Rêber Apo for 24 years. Knowing the reality of the Turkish state, Rêber Apo takes a stance that thwarts this special war. It is for this reason that we say that the greatest and most significant resistance in history is being waged on Imrali.

The AKP government is well aware of Rêber Apo's great influence on the Kurdish people. For this reason, at a time when the struggle is intensifying and the anger of the people, young people and women is growing, news of talks with Rêber Apo appear. The government thinks that the fight against isolation and for the freedom of Rêber Apo and the liberation struggle of the Kurdish people should be eased on many fronts and resort to these types of rumours. This type of news has been spread from time to time in the past. However, the timing is remarkable this time. The guerrillas have halted the Turkish army's invasion operation in the Medya Defense Areas. Our people, too, are inspired by the self-sacrificing resistance of the guerrillas. In this atmosphere, the announcement of a visit to Rêber Apo by his relatives is intended to give the impression that the AKP will change its policy. This is to cover up the stalemate brought about by the guerrillas and the people's struggle for the AKP government.

There is no doubt that Rêber Apo is under constant pressure to make the guerrillas and the Kurdish give up the fight. Because he does not give in to this pressure, he is isolated. Since 2011, with one exception, there have been no lawyer visits. During his last contact with his brother in the spring of 2021, Rêber Apo criticized the fact that talks with his family make no sense as long as contact with his defense team is blocked. He knows that such visits only serve to create confusion and cover up the attacks on the Kurdish people. The aim is to give the impression that the government's attitude towards Rêber Apo is changing. The government wants to direct suspicion towards Rêber Apo and confuse the forces of democracy.

A columnist close to the AKP-MHP regime said that a meeting with Abdullah Öcalan could take place to possibly start a negotiation process between him and the AKP. Is it possible that the AKP government, which is violently attacking the Kurdish people and democratic forces and wants to occupy South Kurdistan and Rojava, actually take any positive step on the Kurdish issue?

Enabling talks with Rêber Apo every few years is part of the special war. It could happen again. It is wrong to give it any other meaning, otherwise it would serve the purpose of the special war. Such strong isolation and refusal to meet with Rêber Apo not only provokes reactions from the Kurdish people, but clears the government in front of the international democratic forces. In this regard, we are not necessarily saying that there can be no meeting. If it benefits the special war, even talks will be allowed. However, no one should take this as an improvement.

In fact, there was no solution process in the past either. The AKP government wanted to buy time to increase its own power during the talks process, to weaken the Kurdish people's struggle for freedom and to implement policies that would expand the genocide over time. Rêber Apo, on the other hand, wanted to strengthen the forces of democracy and prepare the people and political forces of Turkey for a solution.

Realizing that they cannot achieve their goals, the AKP government and state bureaucracy prepared a crackdown plan, and from 2015 to now they have pursued a policy of repression and war in this direction. This policy still continues. They think of nothing else than liquidating the Kurdish people's struggle for freedom. You can no longer resort to a policy of diversion, even if the special war requires it. Rêber Apo does not accept any approach that does not lead to a solution.

We have never considered or defined the de-escalation processes that took place after 2006 as a solution process. The ceasefires were efforts to involve the AKP government and the state in the solution process. Rêber Apo was already expressing doubts about Tayyip Erdoğan and the AKP government. In other words, he did not arrange for ceasefire periods because he believed that Tayyip Erdoğan and the AKP would take a step towards resolving the Kurdish question. He tried to find a solution based primarily on the forces of democracy and the people of Turkey. A close analysis of his defense writings and the transcripts of the conversations reveals this. He even foresaw the repression and warned the lawyers, the talks delegations and the HDP against it. He said: They will throw you all into prison. He issued this warning several times. As such, in an environment where so much persecution is taking place, Rêber Apo pays no heed to what this government is saying. Because such a political basis and understanding does not exist. In 2006 and after, there was a government supported by society, political circles and democratic forces. Now this government has allied itself with all enemies of the Kurds. This government can only be fought. The attitude and behaviour of Rêber Apo and his attitude towards this government are accordingly.

The Kurdish question in Turkey can only be solved through democratization. It is a mistake to think that it can be solved in any other way. It is not any problem. It is unique in the world. First of all, the existence of such a problem is not acknowledged. Anyone who says there is such a problem is immediately silenced. Anything can happen to anyone who deviates even a little from the classical politics of the state. Turgut Özal was killed for this reason. Rêber Apo stated that Özal did not fully understand the nature of this problem. He had doubts about how aware he was of what to expect from this problem and how much he would face reactions. In fact, Özal paid with his life for even indirectly raising the issue, let alone taking steps to resolve it.

Those who do not fight for democratization, the undemocratic people, those who do not rely on democratic political circles and democratic parts of society cannot solve this problem. It would be naïve to think that a government like the AKP-MHP would do anything positive. In particular today, when they're fully focused on the liquidation of the Kurds, they won't soften their attitude even if it's required for special warfare. There is neither such a will nor such a political atmosphere. Therefore, the speculation that the AKP is talking to Rêber Apo and that a process similar to the one in 2015 could begin is an empty discussion that has nothing to do with reality. If there is one positive aspect to mention, it is that the existence of the Kurdish question is inevitably brought up for debate.