İmralı Committee Spokesperson Sırrı Süreyya Önder spoke to journalists after the application the committee made to the Ministry of Justice for a meeting with Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan.

İmralı Committee Spokesperson Sırrı Süreyya Önder spoke to journalists after the application the committee made to the Ministry of Justice for a meeting with Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan. Önder said that they applied to the Ministry of Justice for a meeting with Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan, and stated that they would like to see the formation of a ‘national coalition’, the activation of the observers’ committee, and the removal of Abdullah Öcalan’s isolation.

'PEACE PROCESS HAS BEEN INFORMATIVE'

Önder criticized AKP attempts to describe HDP’s decision to run as a party in the elections as undemocratic, and said that these contradictory attempts could not be justified in any possible way. Önder criticized several poll companies’ role in AKP’s public relations efforts, which tried to portray HDP’s electoral performance as a failure even after election results revealed the HDP success. Önder stated that election results were a shared response to AKP manipulations and showed the democratization effect of HDP’s involvement in Turkish politics. Önder argued that pro-status quo parties have nothing but conflict and marginalization to offer, and HDP has enabled the emergence of a political environment where women, young people and other oppressed groups can freely debate the future of Turkey.

'DEAR ÖCALAN DEVELOPED THE PROCESS, ERDOĞAN DEFAMED IT’

Önder argued that voters from different parts of Turkey have reestablished the negotiation table that had been knocked over before the elections. Önder emphasized Dear Öcalan’s will and resilience on developing the process of peace and democratization, which was later defamed by President Erdoğan prior to the elections.

Önder said the future of the process depends on the ‘shared political will’, which can be described as the will of all political parties inside and outside the Turkish parliament. Önder stated that the current status of the peace process is not the product of government policies but of state strategies encompassing different state agents.

'THIS IS A DISCOURSE OF CONFLICT AND CHAOS '

Önder stated that the current search for a coalition should be based on peace, freedom and equality, and described other political parties’ language in their references to HDP as a discourse of conflict and chaos. Önder reminded that opposition parties such as CHP and MHP are able to discuss coalition scenarios thanks to HDP’s electoral success, and AKP would have been an even more authoritarian single-party government if HDP had not passed the election threshold.

ISOLATION

Önder stated that the main reason for their press conference was the isolation on Abdullah Öcalan, which froze the peace process during the past two months. Önder criticized AKP for its isolation policy, and stated that everyone should embrace the Dolmabahçe Declaration that strengthens and frames democratization in Turkey. In order to prevent further speculation, Önder said that Öcalan and government officials had come to an agreement on the details of Dolmabahçe Declaration. 

'NATIONAL COALITION SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED AND THE PROCESS SHOULD BE RESUMED'

Önder stated that President Erdoğan’s statements defaming the peace process were adopted by government officials with the exception of Bülen Arınç, who had stated that the government had agreed with the framework of Dolmabahçe Declaration. Önder said that a national coalition should be established before more time is lost, and said that they would continue working responsibly for the solution of the Kurdish issue. Önder added that they applied to the Ministry of Justice for this purpose, and would not allow anyone to hijack the negotiations.

RESPONSE TO AKDOĞAN

In response to Yalçın Akdoğan’s claims that HDP would only be able to make a movie on the process from now on, Önder said that Akdoğan belittles filmmakers and artistic production with such comments.

'SECURITY LAW PACKAGE SABOTAGES PEACE'
Önder said that their priority is peace and AKP’s security law package sabotages their efforts. Önder emphasized that they would insist on democratization without creating any hierarchies and encompassing different political groups. Önder described his proposal of ‘national coalition’ as a coalition of peace that would not limit the establishment of peace to political parties. In response to the AKP’s desire to hold early elections, Önder said that AKP suffers from arrogance and belittles the decision voters made on June 7.  

'GOVERNMENT KNOCKED OVER THE NEGOTIATION TABLE WHEN IT HEARD DEAR ÖCALAN'S STATEMENT'
In response to a question on when a call for disarmament would be made to PKK, Önder said that AKP knocked over the negotiation table when it heard Dear Öcalan’s recent statement. Önder said that after the Dolmabahçe declaration, Dear Öcalan had said that he would call upon PKK to lay down its arms on a specific date as soon as the observers’ committee arrived in İmralı Island to make the statement that had already been agreed upon. Önder said that they have official reports confirming this information, and it was President Erdoğan who decided to defame the peace process and knock down the negotiation table in return for a few Turkish nationalist votes.

'OBSERVERS’ COMMITTEE MUST BE ACTIVATED'

Önder emphasized their dedication to meet with Öcalan in İmralı and said that Erdoğan prevented the establishment of the observers’ committee in order to hide the negotiations from the public. Önder highlighted that it was Abdullah Öcalan who could and would call the PKK to disarm, and the government is scared of this possibility because it would strengthen democratization in Turkey. Önder stated that the presidency system is AKP’s alternative to democratization, and HDP has received more than 140 attacks since April because of its democratization efforts. Önder argued that these were calculated attacks aiming to provoke Kurds and increase casualties, but Kurds’ calm and non-violent responses averted these provocations.

Lastly, Önder said that they had not met with government officials since April 5, and all HDP parliamentarians would make their oaths in ways that are supported by the parliament’s internal regulations.