A group of political figures, human rights advocates and academics from around the world who met in İstanbul over the weekend has called jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan a central figure for peace in Turkey and urged legal reforms that would give him a path to release, according to a final declaration made public, Turkish Minute reported.
The statement comes from participants of a two-day gathering hosted by the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), on December 6 and 7.
The meeting drew a high-profile group of foreign guests, including South African constitutional negotiator Mohamed Bhabha, Sinn Féin national chair Declan Kearney from Northern Ireland, former Catalan regional president Pere Aragonès, Basque lawmaker Igor Zulaika and Italian lawmaker Laura Boldrini, who now chairs the Italian parliament’s human rights committee.
Nobel Peace Prize laureates Jody Williams and Shirin Ebadi joined by teleconference, along with European Socialist official Giacomo Filibeck, British trade union leader Simon Dubbins from Unite and Italian Socialist member of the European Parliament Brando Benifei.
Academic speakers included Spanish sociologist Louis Lemkow, German constitutional law scholar and former Bundestag member Norman Paech, Egyptian historian Mohamed Refaat and Irish Marxist theorist John Holloway, who is based in Mexico.
Öcalan is the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed group that Turkey and its Western allies designate as a terrorist organization.
The PKK has fought the Turkish state since the 1984. Turkish forces captured Öcalan in 1999, and courts sentenced him to an aggravated life term. He has been held on the prison island of İmralı in the Sea of Marmara for more than 26 years.
The declaration says the conflict in Turkey has brought “pain, losses, and destruction” for more than 40 years and argues that it must not recur. It describes a peace initiative announced by Öcalan in February as a “historic opportunity” and frames the PKK’s recent pledge to end armed conflict and disband the organization as a “courageous” step that creates an opportunity for long-term stability.
The signatories say they see Öcalan as “an important actor for peace, democratic transformation and pluralism,” not only for Kurds but also for Turkey and the Middle East. They argue that his role is essential for any settlement.
The declaration ties the future of peace to a ruling of the European Court of Human Rights on the “Right to Hope,” which holds that even prisoners sentenced to life must have a realistic chance of eventual release.
The text says Turkey should adopt legal changes that recognize this right and “make Öcalan’s release possible” as part of what it calls “an honorable peace.” Until those changes occur, it says Öcalan’s writings should be accessible to researchers and journalists, and regular contact with him should be allowed.
The group argues that conflicts should be solved by political means and that dialogue is the only way to reach lasting peace and says women must play a stronger role in negotiations and political decision-making.
The declaration also supports Öcalan’s criticism of the regular nation state model and says Turkey needs a new “democratic social contract” that includes all ethnic and religious groups on the basis of equal citizenship. It says this contract should strengthen local democracy, support coexistence among diverse communities and give women equal participation.
Participants pointed to peace efforts in South Africa, Ireland, the Basque Country and Catalonia as examples of how rigid centralized systems can change when societies face long-running conflicts. They say these cases show that Turkey should hold an open discussion on local governance and pass laws that strengthen local administrations.
On Europe, the signatories say the European Parliament has taken a constructive stance but that the European Union as a whole should play a more active role. If all sides agree, they say, the EU could act as a mediator or guarantor.
The declaration links progress toward peace to the situation of political prisoners, naming Öcalan and several Kurdish politicians on trial. It says their release under a future “peace law” would be a “historical and legal necessity.”
The signatories say they will monitor how the process develops and describe their declaration as a step on the road toward a “democratic and inclusive” future for Turkey.
