The call of the century made by Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan was announced to the public on 27 February by the Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party İmralı Delegation. Following the call, a ceasefire was declared by the PKK, but no steps have yet been taken by the ruling party. 

 

Lawyer Mehdi Özdemir, a member of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) Amed (Diyarbakır) Branch, made evaluations on Abdullah Öcalan's call.

 

Stating that Abdullah Öcalan's call includes a new beginning, Özdemir noted that this new beginning aims to strengthen democratic politics for everyone, to secure peace on the basis of law and to build social peace. Özdemir added that all segments of society should follow this call for peace, which includes a new road map for the upcoming process.

 

Pointing out that Abdullah Öcalan is the guarantor of a peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue, Özdemir reminded the EXtHR's judgement on Abdullah Öcalan and the other three prisoners held in İmralı Prison and stated that a legal change is needed in Turkey to implement the judgement. "When we evaluate it in the context of the peace process, in order to ensure the physical conditions of Mr Abdullah Öcalan's freedom, the 'right to hope' must be implemented and a legal amendment in this sense must be put forward urgently," he said. 

 

Stressing that the constitution and legal regulations have been shaped by the state's discriminatory and marginalising policies for a hundred years, Özdemir emphasised that many legal rugulations should be changed, transformed or repealed throgh constitutional amendments. Özdemir said, "Both the definition of identity based on certain ethnicities in the preamble provisions of the constitution should be prevented, constitutional citizenship should be evaluated in the context of an ethnicity and different identities should be freed from the exclusionary, marginalising position, and the prohibition provision in Article 42 should be eliminated in terms of education in mother tongue. Work should be carried out to urgently make certain arrangements for the dissemination of education in mother tongue."

 

EQUAL CITIZENSHIP

 

Underlining that many legislations in Turkey pose an obstacle to the peaceful resolution of the Kurdish issue, Özdemir said, "All segments of society should have a say on the Kurdish issue, be a part of this process, assume responsibility and develop various proposals to ensure legal security. From this point of view, steps should be taken to make many constitutional and legal changes in the context of equal citizenship, local governments and cultural rights."

 

Özdemir reminded that in the context of international conventions, from the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child to the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, there are many conventions that include administrative and legal regulations on education in mother tongue or the use of mother tongue in public sphere, and pointed out that Turkey has made reservations to these conventions and created obstacles to their implementation. Özdemir emphasised that the reservations to these conventions should be removed and steps should be taken to implement the provisions of the conventions.

 

Drawing attention to the threat on the judiciary, Özdemir added, "In this respect, necessary steps should be taken to transform the judiciary into rights-based practice and to ensure its independence. If we aim for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish problem, we need to prevent such movements and practices that create obstacles or threats to the use of fundamental rights and create a deterrent effect."

 

 

MA/ Rukiye Payiz Adıgüzel