Abdullah Öcalan made the 'Call for Peace and Democracy' on 27 February. In response, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) declared a ceasefire on 1 March. Despite this decision, attacks by the Turkish state have intensified. According to the March war balance report released by the Press Office of the People’s Defense Forces (HPG), a total of 11,585 attacks were carried out against the guerrilla forces.

The statement by Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli in parliament, which said, "If there is a call, Öcalan should benefit from the right to hope," had no practical consequences.

The conditions of Mr. Öcalan and the other prisoners held in Imralı prison remain unchanged. Mr. Öcalan has not been granted access to his lawyers. Although international powers issued a series of statements after the call, none of them has taken any concrete initiative to address the situation.

PKK must be removed from the list of terrorist organizations

Jean-Christophe Sellin from the French Left Party responded to ANF’s questions regarding the issue. He stated that, following Öcalan’s call, the Turkish state must take action. Sellin also emphasized that international powers should stop criminalizing the PKK and remove it from the list of terrorist organizations.

Sellin recalled that the terrorist list was created after the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States (US) by Al-Qaeda and other jihadist groups. He stated that the PKK was added to this list under pressure from Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Öcalan must be free and take part in the political solution

Jean-Christophe Sellin recalled that the defeat of the Islamic State (ISIS) was made possible through the efforts of the PKK, the People’s Defense Units (YPG), and the Women’s Defense Units (YPJ). He said, “For us, the issue is not only about removing the PKK from the list of terrorist organizations. It is also about the release of Abdullah Öcalan from prison, and his participation in a political solution process, just as Nelson Mandela did thirty years ago.”

Sellin stated that “regimes in the Middle East, starting with Erdoğan’s regime, are based on dictatorship,” and emphasized that the antidote to such regimes is democracy.

Jean-Christophe Sellin pointed out that there are four important dynamics in the Middle East. He listed them as follows: “The first is the Kurdish National Liberation Movement centered around the PKK. The second is the democratic autonomous experience in Rojava. These forces have signed a highly pragmatic agreement with the Syrian Interim Government. The third is the democratic alternative organized around the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in Turkey. This structure, within the framework of a popular revolution followed by millions across Turkey, can contribute to the political resolution process. The fourth dynamic is the women’s movement in Iran, which has adopted the Kurdish slogan ‘Jin Jiyan Azadî’.”

Sellin commented further on the path to a solution and said: “If these four or five spheres are addressed together, the right of peoples to self-determination, democratic, feminist and ecological experiences, and the democratic alternative, along with the freedom of Mr. Öcalan, then this would mean 'democratic confederalism', which offers a solution to all our problems.”