Öcalan’s Message to Özgür Özel and Criticism of Demirtaş

Öcalan’s Message to Özgür Özel and Criticism of Demirtaş

Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the armed group PKK, in his meeting with the İmralı delegation, criticized the 2015 remarks of Selahattin Demirtaş — former co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) — who had told Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, “We will not let you become president,” and also sent a message to Özgür Özel, leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP).

Details of this meeting, held with a delegation from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) on İmralı Island, have only recently been made public. According to Aytunç Erkin, a journalist for Sözcü, Öcalan said in the conversation:

“You will also convey a message to Mr. Erdoğan. At this historic juncture, you must clarify the matter. I studied in state and boarding schools, and I know what it means to familiarize Kurds with the state. One can struggle against the Kemalist party, but my style of leadership is different.”

He then continued:

“At that time, Selahattin said: ‘We will not let you become president.’ That was not right. I have no concern about making him president or not. I may or may not speak with Mr. Erdoğan to resolve fundamental issues; for now, you are conducting these talks on my behalf. The purpose of these negotiations is not the victory of any particular party, including the Republican People’s Party (CHP) or any other, in the elections; ultimately, it could be a democratic alliance. You are the third path, the third alliance. I had previously seen that the HDP had the potential to gain around 15 percent of the vote.”

In another part, Öcalan added:

“The slogan ‘We will not let you become president’ was Selahattin’s and Sırrı’s mistake. There was no need to turn it into such a direct slogan, nor to place Erdoğan directly in the opposing position. They should have focused on the democratic alliance, activities, and expanding the front.”

Message to Özgür Özel

Later in the meeting, Öcalan asked that a message from him be conveyed to Özgür Özel, leader of the Republican People’s Party:

“I take into account the interests of the PKK leadership in the Qandil Mountains, the DEM Party, and even the CHP. Convey my greetings to Mr. Özgür Özel and meet with him as well. A danger is looming, and it can only be overcome through politics and the creation of a democratic alliance. The continuation of this process could be dangerous; if it proceeds in this way, as in the Gezi events, protests will spill into the streets and the country will fall back by a decade. During the era of the Committee of Union and Progress, similar conditions arose in the Balkans and led to the Balkan Wars.

What matters is the content of democratic politics: first, the adoption of freedom laws, and then the drafting of a constitution. If Özel and his colleagues support freedom laws and democratic integration, both Turkey’s path and the future of democratic politics will open up, and it will be possible to move toward a truly democratic election.”