‘Deadlock of resolution process solved after we received a letter,’ says PKK's senior figure

ISTANBUL – Radikal

Murat Karayılan was appointed leader of the PKK’s armed wing, the People’s Defense Forces (HPG) after handing over the leadership of the organization to Cemil Bayık and Bese Hozat. DAH photo

The Kurdish peace process is no longer in deadlock since the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) military headquarters in the Kandil Mountains received a letter from its jailed leader, a senior figure of the organization has said.
 
Murat Karayılan, who was appointed leader of the PKK’s armed wing, the People’s Defense Forces (HPG) after handing over the leadership of the organization to Cemil Bayık and Bese Hozat, had warned last week that the peace process might face a blockage if Turkey failed to make a step.
 
“[Öcalan] has written a letter to the state and another to our movement regarding what has to be done during the second phase [of the process]. He told the delegation which had visited him that ‘if this letter is not delivered, it would mean that [the government] does not want to make a step.’ And the letter was not delivered in the meantime. It was delivered later on,” Karayılan said, in a statement to militants in Turkey and Northern Iraq via radiotelephone, daily Radikal reported. 
 
“If the letter had not been given, there would have been a deadlock as a result,” Karayılan said.   
 
A letter from Öcalan arrived in Kandil after being delivered by Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputy parliamentary group head Pervin Buldan on July 9. A delegation comprising BDP co-chair Gültan Kışanak and independent Kurdish deputy Ahmet Türk went to Kandil as planned before Buldan, but couldn’t deliver the letter reportedly due to “bureaucratic problems.”
 
Jailed leader proposes establishment of eight commissions
 
Karayılan said the PKK’s jailed leader has proposed the establishment of eight commissions to facilitate the process. “In his letter, [Öcalan] presents his point of view on what can be done by the state to ease the moving forward of the process. He proposes the creation of eight commissions. These are: a justice commission, a socio-economic commission, a National Pact [Misak-I Milli] commission, a women’s freedom commission, an ecology commission, a civil society commission, a security commission and a truth commission,” Karayılan said without elaborating further. 
 
“[Öcalan] makes serious efforts for the resolution of the Kurdish issue and it is important that the state acts accordingly,” he added.
 
Karayılan also said that the letters intended to incite the state to make steps and remove the concerns of the militants. “We are clear: We stand behind our leader’s [Öcalan] project,” he said.
 
The peace process has entered a critical phase after the PKK started the withdrawal of its militants from Turkish soil in May. However, while the pullout has reportedly been slower than expected, both the PKK and BDP became more vocal about the reforms that are planned to be implemented in what is called “the second phase” of the process.
 
Criticism of Lice event, wise persons’ lack of impact
 
Karayılan also slammed the government over the Lice incident when a Kurdish teenager died after soldiers opened fire on protesters demonstrating against the construction of a new gendarmerie board in the sensitive district in Diyarbakır. He criticized the government for continuing with the building of posts and dams in the region.
 
“They haven’t behaved according to the spirit of the time; our people, who have shown their democratic reaction against all the unjust practices, have witnessed a harsh intervention. This is a big oppression and an insult,” Karayılan said.
 
He also added that the works of the 63 wise persons appointed by the government had not been taken into consideration as much as it should have been. “For instance, it was expected that the government would take steps after the Wise Person’s commission delivered their final report. But they did not do it. They could have made a lot of steps even starting with the [recommendations] made in the Wise Person’s report,” Karayılan said. 
 
The commission, who visited all seven regions in Turkey explaining the process, presented their report to the government on the beginning of July.