Peoples’ Democratic Party (Halkların Demokratik Partisi - HDP) Istanbul Province Co-chair Cengiz Çiçek spoke about the peace thoughts of his client Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan. Çiçek said: “Ensuring the conditions for the freedom of a leader who contemplates peace for so long and has such political dynamism will also become the foundation for peace conditions that couldn’t be achieved until today.”

Çiçek stated that Öcalan is working to build up the philosophy for the peoples’ peace and democratic coexistence of peoples. “In this country, when one says peace one thinks of the Kurdish issue” said Çiçek and continued: “In Turkey, throughout the political spectrum, all political parties and democratic mass organizations have the Kurdish issue in the focus of their discourse. Mr. Öcalan’s peace philosophy also has the Kurdish issue at its foundation. The peace Mr. Öcalan talks about is not the same as the hegemonic peace. That peace is removed from the truth and the social reality. The hegemonic classes developed such a language of peace. Whereas Mr. Öcalan’s peace discourse is the opposite of the hegemon’s discourse, it became the formula for the oppressed, the different peoples, the different faiths and all the proponents of diversity in society to live together. What is demanded is not an undignified peace, or a peace at the grave, or a peace under slavery conditions.”

“ESTABLISHING REVOLUTIONARY PEOPLES’ DIPLOMACY”

Çiçek pointed out that the current system has built itself over the political deadlock of the Kurdish issue for the last 90 years and said: “Today, when we look at things from a perspective of the Kurdish issue, it becomes apparent in the most recent solution process that all the efforts by the AKP government is to fortify their power and to make their rule irreversibly permanent. Mr. Öcalan was very aware of this, actually. He said this repeatedly to the public through the committees that met with him. Mr. Öcalan said, ‘I am aware that what is carried out through the solution process is a state operation.’ He said ‘we need to carry out our own revolutionary and democratic struggle and operation’ in spite of the state operation. Like the state is doing it to garner support from the racist, statist and nationalist structures, Mr. Öcalan attempted to stand against it with his own revolutionary peoples’ diplomacy. This is a very clear stance. The success of revolutionary peoples’ diplomacy means a true peace being established in Turkey.”

“YOU CAN’T WISH FOR PEACE”

Çiçek stressed that peace is not something to be achieved through wishing for it and said: “Peace is something to be built up and brought to success through demands and struggle. And that, of course, is a matter of organized societies coming together and struggling. Our understanding of peace is not peace in the palaces, it is peace in the shanty towns, streets and living spaces. You can be successful if you can institute peace everywhere life flows. By and by, if we think governments’ understanding of peace focuses on a solution or favors the people, we would be wrong. The photograph taken at the Dolmabahçe Accord Mr. Öcalan arranged on February 28 has something very concrete. However unwillingly, the state took a historic step in the Kurdish issue, which is a historic issue. For that, we are certain that the Dolmabahçe Accord will be reinstated years later. In this sense, it is very significant.”

“ÖCALAN GAVE THE STATE A CHANCE”

Çiçek said the Democratic Autonomy model was a chance Öcalan gave the state on the way to a solution and added: “It needs to be said that the only political leader and actor who constantly contemplates peace and democratization in this country is Mr. Öcalan. This is a very clear reality. We see this reality reflected in Mr. Öcalan’s defenses as well. In the 21st century, Kurds under Mr. Öcalan’s leadership are really the harbingers and implementers of peace in the Middle East and the world. As a movement that offers peace to peoples and groups other than themselves in a plausible way, giving hope and morale, Kurds are a reality that touches upon these realities through Mr. Öcalan’s philosophy.”

“THIS IS A POLITICAL READING”

Çiçek stated that through constantly talking about peace is actually a struggle to prevent the emptying and devaluing of the concept and continued: “Mr. Öcalan valuing peace is not a value removed from reality or social actuality. What it is is a political reading. The hegemony and capitalist powers look like they can’t stop talking about peace, democracy and human rights but they are the ones who empty out and devalue these concepts. At the base of Mr. Öcalan’s search for peace on the basis of the Kurdish issue is this: The Kurdish issue does not just hold the Kurds captive. It’s not just keeping Kurds under conditions of slavery. The non-solution of the Kurdish issue is keeping all the other groups of people and minorities who live together with Kurds under conditions of slavery and captivity. This non-solution is an obstacle in the way of the development of democracy and peace.”

“THE ROLE PLANNED FOR ÖCALAN IS A SHROUD FOR KURDS”

Çiçek said Öcalan is the focus of the solution for all issues in the center of the gap between solution and non-solution for the Kurdish issue and added: “Today, when we talk about Mr. Öcalan’s freedom, health and safety, we are not talking about one individual’s physical conditions. We are talking about a political actor and a leader who has great talent and a well thought out program for the solution and very well may be the leader who contemplates the most about all the issues and peace, with such political dynamism. Ensuring the conditions for the freedom of such a leader will become the foundation for peace conditions that couldn’t be achieved in these lands until today. That is why we always say that the approach towards Mr. Öcalan is the state’s approach towards the Kurdish issue. The state’s national Imrali policies are their national Kurdish policies. The role the state has planned for Mr. Öcalan is the shroud they deem fit for the Kurds.”