Türkiye awaits with expectation the possible call of the founder and leader of the Kurdish guerrillas of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, to depose the weapons after more than 40 years of struggle to understand that the armed struggle is no longer justified.
Seven members of the DEM, the progressive party that defends the interests of the minority Kurda of Turkey, have summoned a press conference for today at 5:00 p.m. (15.00 GMT) to make an ad.
That delegation has gathered today with Ocalan, who is 75 years old, in the prison where he is serving life imprisonment since he was arrested 26 years ago. This has been the most numerous delegation that has met with the leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) since he is in prison.
Everything points to the great announcement: giant screens in Diyarbakır
The fact that the Ministry of Justice has authorized such a nourished group to visit Ocalan gives clues that today’s announcement can be important. Another sign is that giant television screens are being installed in Diyarbakır, the informal capital of the southeast regions where the Kurdish population is concentrated, and other locations, to broadcast the press conference live.
The DEM and other organizations of the Kurdish environment have issued a statement in which they summon the population to “listen together to the call of Ocalan” and in which they claim that neither the war nor the rejection of the Kurds “bring benefits.” “Once again, as the legitimate cause of the Kurdish people advances towards resolution and freedom, there should be no doubt that millions of Kurds will support this road map,” collects that note.
The PKK rose in arms against the Turkish state in 1984 to achieve the independence of the 12 million kurds estimated to live in Türkiye. Four decades, and more than 45,000 dead in attacks and fighting, then the PKK and Ocalan claim only more autonomy and cultural and linguistic rights for this minority, traditionally marginalized in Türkiye. The last attempt to end the conflict ended in 2015, after months of negotiations between the government and the guerrillas.
