The 11-person international delegation on a three-day visit to Turkey continues its talks as part of their goal to make efforts for the ending of the isolation on the Kurdish leader and the ongoing war in North Kurdistan.

The delegation conveyed to the Ministry of Justice their request for a meeting Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan in İmralı, but hasn't been answered yet.

Members of the delegation today held a press conference in Istanbul in which they called attention to Öcalan's role for the achievement of peace, and called upon the Turkish state to resume the process of resolution and end violence.

MOOSA: ÖCALAN IS A VERY IMPORTANT POLITICAL ACTOR

South African Leader Nelson Mandela's lawyer Essa Moosa said the goal of their visit to Turkey was to see the current state of peace talks in Turkey that began upon a call voiced by Öcalan on 21 March, 2013. He noted that; "The process of resolution made a progress according to the calendar determined by the state. Our intention is to see at what stage these talks are, and how we could contribute to it."

Regarding the delegation's demand to visit Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan in İmralı Prison, Moosa said they had already applied to the Ministry of Justice for a meeting with Öcalan who plays a major role in peace process, but the Ministry said they haven't received the letter yet. The delegation therewith sent another letter to the Ministry today.

Moosa stressed that Öcalan has been denied meeting with elected politicians since before the June election; with his family for 14 months; and with his lawyers for the past 5 years. Pointing to international conventions that grant every prisoner the right to meet their families and lawyers, Moosa said they have been disappointed by the Justice Ministry's abstinence from any effort to have a talk with their side.

Describing Abdullah Öcalan as a very important political actor, Moosa remarked that; "The Turkish Republic should come up with a solution to its internal problems in the first place in order to deal with the problems of its neighboring countries."

Moosa said the delegation's intention on meeting the Minister of Justice, for which also they are yet to be answered, was to convince the government to resume the process of resolution. He highlighted that; "It is not possible to produce a resolution through violence. All similar problems around the world have been resolved through not violence but dialogue, as was also the case in South Africa. During the process of Mandela's imprisonment, freedom forces didn't have the position to triumph over the regime. The situation in both countries and cases are very different, of course, but we can draw lessons from each other's experiences which do involve common points. I believe the resolution lies in peace talks that must involve all parties."

Moosa's speech was followed by comments of other delegation members and release of a written statement which highlighted the followings;

The goal of our visit was to visit Mr. Abdullah Öcalan, who is jailed in İmralı Prison and isolated from the whole world for 9 months, to talk about the interrupted peace process in Turkey. As of February 15, it has been 17 years since the Kurdish people's leader got arrested.

In consideration of the concerns voiced by non-governmental organisations over the isolation of prisoners, we invite the Turkish state to grant Öcalan meeting with the 5 inmates jailed near him in order to relieve these concerns.

Hundreds of soldiers, thousands of militants and hundreds of civilians including women and children have been killed in Turkey since 24 July 2015. According to Amnesty International Rights Group, the state of siege implemented by soldiers and special operation forces in Sur and Cizre have affected 200 thousand people and caused an obstruction of access to urgent basic needs such as water. Local residents were forced to live with the dead bodies of their relatives for days due to curfews.

The saddening developments in Cizre manifest the urgency of re-initiation of peace talks and re-speaking of Abdullah Öcalan, a perpetual voice of peace.

A humanitarian outcome is needed for the ending of the ongoing conflict. Kurdish People's Leader Mr. Abdullah Öcalan whose remarks have concrete correspondence is the spokesman of Kurds and has a unifying role in real terms. If the Turkish state is meant to come up with a solution to the Kurdish question, the first step for the realization of this intention is to involve Mr. Öcalan in the peace process under equal circumstances.

We recall the "Only a free person can negotiate" remark of Nelson Mandela who participated in the dialogue process while in prison and got involved in negotiations only after he attained freedom.

In order to make progress on the way to peace, it is crucial that the voices raising from Cizre be heard, and lawyers be granted authority to speak about the imprisonment conditions of Öcalan. Despite the lack of an answer and permission by the Ministry of Justice, we will continue to seek ways for dialogue."