NEWS CENTER - The Dolmabahçe Agreement, which PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan described as "a short respite from the 55-year marathon", was wasted by the AKP despite all efforts and warnings.

 

PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been seeking a democratic solution since 1993 for the Kurds, who were subjected to destruction and denial with the establishment of the Republic, to gain a democratic status, took this insistence to a historical threshold during the dialogue process he carried out with the state delegation between 2013 and 2015. The hunger strikes, which started on September 12, 2012 in prisons against the absolute isolation on Imralı Island and ended on the 68th day with the call of the PKK Leader, enabled the development of the process between Abdullah Ocalan and the state delegation, which will continue between 2013 and 2015. This process, which started under the name of "solution" with the visit of the then Democratic Society Congress (DTK) Co-chair Ahmet Türk and the former Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Deputy Ayla Akat Ata to Imralı Island on January 3, 2013, was initiated by Abdullah Ocalan. He defined it as ensuring the true peace of the Turkish people.

 

This process, which continued for two years on Imralı Island and reached a historical turning point in the democratic solution to the Kurdish issue, was wasted when the AKP, which denied the 10-article agreement announced in Dolmabahçe Palace, turned to the concept of war. Despite Abdullah Ocalan's warnings throughout the process, "If there is no solution, coup mechanics will come into play", the AKP has been continuing the war concept it put into effect in 2015 for 9 years. We have compiled Abdullah Ocalan's evaluations about the progress reached at the meetings where the state delegation and the Imralı Delegation took part on February 4 and February 27, 2015, before the agreement.

 

A BREAK IN THE 55-YEAR MARATHON

 

In this meeting, which was described as "historic" by the members of the state delegation along with Abdullah Ocalan, Abdullah Ocalan evaluated the stage reached in the democratic solution as "a break in a 55-year marathon" and said: "This table is a break in the marathon. I would like to thank those who contributed to the establishment of this table. For me, it is not the place or the shape of the table that is important, but the setting of the table. This is actually a start. The beginning of what? In the thousand-year adventure, this table has a very unique meaning. My own actions were to prevent the table from falling over, and it will be like that from now on."

 

THE TABLE WHERE ALL ISSUES WILL BE ADDRESSED

 

Emphasizing that the table established in Imralı is a table of principles, Abdullah Ocalan said: “It is a table of principles for the democratic future of the state and society. The characteristic of the principle is the understanding that the principle cannot be compromised. It has a thousand-year historical basis. We are talking about a solution table that we reached by including ancient culture. Now we are making an important start. This table should also be valuable for supporters of democratic society. I care about this ancient culture. I know because I have passed through the circle of life and I am a village worker myself. I come from such a family. I also worked as a farmhand. This table also has something to do with labour in the field. So, we will discuss all the issues at this table."

 

DEMOCRATICIZATION OF THE STATE AND SOCIETY

 

Abdullah Ocalan stated that the ongoing negotiations are both democratizing the state and democratizing the society and said that a coup has been launched against every step taken in this regard. PKK Leader said: “There will be a reward for this meeting today. An opposing coup attempt will come. Remember the Sakines. After our first meeting here, they responded in Paris. After every important meeting, a counter-coup developed. Roboskî, the massacre of 13 villagers in Hakkari, KCK operations and hundreds of others were like this. The method that will permanently eliminate the concrete danger is to save Turkey from this conflict and protect it from the chaos in the Middle East. To develop a solution within the framework of brotherhood, peace and democracy. This is not to be taken lightly. We can do this here. The most solid thing is to develop a democratic society."

 

THE MOST IMPORTANT EMPHASIS: DEMOCRATIC CONSTITUTION

 

Emphasizing the "Democratic Constitution" in the same meeting, Abdullah Ocalan said: "On the way from 1923 to the 24 Constitution, there was the possibility of a Democratic Constitution. But with the liquidation of the second group of the Parliament, the path to dictatorship was opened. AKP also wants to go for a hegemonic constitution. This understanding, including the security law, primarily affects the AKP. This law is made on provocation. October 6-7 itself was a provocation. Making laws based on provocation will only make the issue bigger. Whether it comes out or not, it is doomed for me. What is important to me is the constitution."

 

STATUS ON THE BASIS OF LOCAL DEMOCRACY

 

Stating that the agreement is about achieving a democratic status on the basis of local democracy, Abdullah Ocalan said: “We aim for all identities and entities (communities, sects, ethnicities, classes, beliefs, civil society, etc.) to obtain a democratic status. I express it as democratic status, democratic constitution. I use the expression local democracy, taking into account some sensitivities. This is the local dimension of democracy. We also discuss the national dimension. We will move Turkey to local democracy. At the same time, we will make free citizens. We will redefine citizenship. We will define the citizen who is free, not a slave to the state. The concept of citizenship is in great confusion."

 

THRESHOLD OF LEGAL-CONSTITUTIONAL SOLUTION

 

At the meeting held on February 27, 2015, one day before the agreement, Abdullah Ocalan conveyed his criticisms of the government's attitude to the state delegation with the following words: "We are striving for the development of this process. If there is no solution, thousands of people will die. I understand this and I am doing what is necessary. I don't know if they understand the importance of this. We have been trying to develop something for 13 years so that Turkish society does not experience these disasters again. We are on the verge of a legal-constitutional solution.”

 

DEMOCRATIC STATUS OF THE KURDS

 

Expressing that he wants to give the Kurds a democratic status, Abdullah Ocalan said: “Democratic status is not a state, it is an identity status. According to the unitary state, everyone is an individual and independent. There is one vote. Nation-state is fascism. Hitler wanted to use this to create a uniform race. Just as Hitler and Mussolini killed people, so did the nation-state. There were searches in this direction in Turkey, but they did not correspond to reality. There is no life without difference. The universe became the universe by becoming different every moment. In Turkey, there are identities based on differences. For example, there are religious, ethnic and belief identities. You cannot make a single person without an identity. There are many identities in society. Denying side differences is like denying the formation of the universe. We do not want there to be a single type of flower in this garden. Even if there is a single type of tulip, for example, there is no single type of tulip. There should be all types of tulips. This is our theory. We must consider the republic on a basis where everyone can choose its identity. This is my solution.”

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ASSEMBLY AND THE MONITORING COMMITTEE

 

Referring to the importance of the Parliament and the Monitoring Committee for the solution, Abdullah Ocalan said: “I have previously stated that a commission should be established within the Parliament and that there should be people from the Monitoring Committee. If these are done, I will make a call that will go beyond the Newroz Declaration. The government should also evaluate it this way. There is no harm in reading this text as a joint statement. My signature is not an ordinary signature. I gave my 55 years of life to this struggle. The meaning of my signature should be known. This signature has 55 years of labour value."

 

'IF AKP BECOMES AUTHORITARIAN, IT WILL DESTROY ITSELF'

 

Upon the Imralı Delegation's concerns about the enactment of the 'Security Law' at a time when the dialogue process was evolving into negotiation, Abdullah Ocalan said that this situation would harm the government the most. PKK Leader Ocalan continued with the following warnings: “If the AKP wants to become authoritarian, it will destroy itself. If the AKP is not genuine, this time the guerrilla will start a real war. No agreement, no solution, no peace, if fascism is imposed, war will begin. Tell this to them too. It is important that you make this statement. You should do it tomorrow. Tomorrow, February 28, coincides with the anniversary of a coup. It is important for those who are against the coup like us."

 

'WE PAVE THE WAY FOR DEMOCRATIC POLITICS'

 

The PKK Leader continued his words regarding the agreement to be announced in Dolmabahçe as follows: “You can announce it as the HDP and AKP delegation. It has my signature underneath it. The state may or may not sign it. They know. If it signs it, it will be more serious. This is the first stage, the intention stage. The second stage is the confirmation stage. It will be deemed appropriate before the Parliament and the Monitoring Board and we will also include the Constitutional Court. We will do it in the presence of the state, in the presence of the parliament. We will ask the person who comes from the Constitutional Court, 'Is what we are doing in accordance with the constitution?' Tomorrow has great meaning. We are paving the way for democratic politics. I will make the main historical statements."

 

MA / Özgür Paksoy