CHP leader criticizes government’s stance on Kurdish issue

DIYARBAKIR

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel has cautioned the government not to underestimate the Kurdish issue.

"The problems experienced by the Kurds will not be solved by just one person speaking in the parliament, but by the representatives of 86 million people speaking in the assembly," Özel told reporters during a visit to the southeastern city of Diyarbakır.

His remarks came after Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli suggested that the PKK's imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan could speak in parliament.

"The process in which the [ruling] People's Alliance does not acknowledge the Kurdish people's problems and attempts to hastily address them carries extremely great risks and dangers," Özel said.

"We defend an understanding that sees the problems experienced by the Kurds... and shows the will to solve them, not an understanding that solves them behind closed doors."

The CHP leader vowed that his party would fight "until all citizens speak in the language of their choice and legal predictability is ensured."

In a parliamentary meeting on Oct. 21, Bahçeli said Öcalan could attend a parliamentary session of the Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party to "declare the end of terrorism."

"If he shows this resilience and determination, the legal regulation on the use of the right to hope and the way for him to benefit from it should be opened to the fullest," he said.

He referenced a provision that permits prisoners serving aggravated life sentences to seek sentence reviews after a set period.

Meanwhile, reports said the pro-Kurdish DEM Party submitted a bill to parliament on Sept. 30 for Öcalan to benefit from the "right to hope" and a legal arrangement to be made in this regard.