ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Monday rejected the Turkish authorities’ “preventing” PKK leader Abdulla Ocalan from delivering his long-awaited message in video form and offering a written version instead.
Bese Hozat, the co-chair of the Kurdistan Communities Union’s (KCK) said, “We strongly reject and criticize this approach [by the Turkish authorities], and we do not accept it in any way.”
The senior KCK figure further criticized the 26-year-long imprisonment of Ocalan on Imrali island located south of the Turkish mainland, arguing that such restrictive conditions undermine “the potential impact” of Ocalan’s message. Such a message “cannot be delivered under such restrictive conditions,” Hozat said.
The PKK leader is expected to release a statement by the beginning of next month, to set an end to the 40-year-long Kurdish issue in Turkey through “democracy and peace.” Observers believe the Ocalan might ask his group to lay down arms.
However, the PKK has stated that it will not heed such calls unless Ocalan is allowed to physically meet the group’s leadership and is released from prison.
The upcoming message notably comes amid significant regional power dynamics.
In her Monday remarks, Hozat also rebuked “allegations” from Turkish state-affiliated media suggesting that the PKK might be laying down arms. “All the news and narratives from [Turkish] state media about the end, exhaustion, and disarmament of the PKK stem from psychological warfare,” she said.
She elaborated that Ocalan’s anticipated message would call for “a democratic resolution of the Kurdish issue and the democratization of Turkey,” adding that “if the Kurdish issue was resolved, we will definitely discuss disarmament.”
The KCK co-chair’s remarks notably coincide with the renewed efforts of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which has been mediating talks between Ankara and the PKK in a bid to end hostilities. Details of the process remain unclear, but officials from the pro-Kurdish party have stated that it aims to bring peace to the country.
