On Feburary 27th, imprisoned Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan issued a historic call for the group to lay down its arms and disband following months of talks and over 40 years of sporadic conflict with Turkish forces. Medyascope spoke with Kurdish leaders in Turkey’s southeastern city of Cizre regarding their expectations for peace in the region.
| Kurdish leaders in Cizre express hope for peace process following Öcalan’s call |
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Former Şırnak Bar President Rojhat Dilsiz, former Şırnak Mayor Abdullah Güngen, current Şırnak Bar President Abdullah Fındık, and local teacher Ayhan Haykır joined Medyascope in Cizre to discuss the developments.
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“Peace is never one-sided”
Haykır criticized the Turkish government’s continued crackdown on municipalities controlled by the pro-Kurdish DEM Party midst the ongoing peace process, saying:
“Peace is never one-sided. Throughout this process, everyone is required to use the language of peace, be it authorities, the government, the state, or whoever. But now we are seeing that this process’ most important actor continues to constantly accuse people of being terrorists, murderers. If they start using the language of peace, this will benefit everyone.”
“Demirtaş is still in prison”
Former Şırnak Bar President Rojhat Dilsiz criticised the continued imprisonment of numerous Kurdish politicians, including Selahattin Demirtaş. Demirtaş, former co-leader of the DEM Party-predecessor People’s Democratic Party (HDP), has been imprisoned in Edirne since 2016. Demirtaş’s potential release had been rumored to be a part of the recent peace negotiations but these rumors were never confirmed.
“The weapons have been put down, but I read this as actually a call to democratize Turkey so that Kurds and Turks can live in peace. But what will be done now? There are still thousands of Kurdish politicians in prison for utilizing their freedom of expression. Demirtaş and his friends are still in prison. The trustee system is still in place. Existing barriers towards freedom of expression remain.”
“A democratic Turkey is the key”
Former Şırnak DEM Party Chair Abdullah Güngen identified democratization in Turkey as the single most important factor for the success of the ongoing peace process, saying:
“We are faced with a reality in Turkey, which is an armed conflict that has lasted 40, 45 years. This conflict has social dimensions, economic dimensions, environmental dimensions, and even extends to include such issues as femicide in Turkey. These are enormous issues which my colleagues have already touched on. In order for peace to be successful, we need a democratic Turkey, one in which democracy has a future and mother tongue rights are respected. This means rights for every group, sect, minority, and race.”
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick
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