Jailed Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş is demanding his release from prison to contribute to a new peace process in Turkey aimed at the laying down of arms by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Turkish Minute reported on Wednesday.
Kurdish politician and lawyer Sıdkı Zilan, who met with Demirtaş, the former co-chair of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), at Edirne Prison in northern Turkey on November 17, said in a series of tweets that Demirtaş is ready to support a peace process but gave the impression that he believes he must be released from prison to negotiate the Kurdish issue, as he cannot effectively contribute to this process from behind bars.
The Kurdish issue, a term prevalent in Turkey’s public discourse, refers to the demand for equal rights by the country’s Kurdish population and their struggle for recognition.
Demirtaş said he can take responsibility for peace, Zilan said, adding, “However, in an equation where Kurdish politicians are held hostage, there is no ground for discussing the Kurdish issue. The manifestation of free will requires a free environment.”
Zilan made clear that he is neither Demirtaş’s private attorney nor his spokesperson. However, he expressed confidence in the imprisoned Kurdish leader’s potential to contribute to the peace process, noting that his contribution will likely be impossible under the constraints of incarceration.
“Demirtaş prioritizes social peace as much as the reconciliation of the primary parties involved,” Zilan said, adding that the Kurdish leader emphasized the importance of engaging in dialogue with all groups and individuals to spread peace across all layers of society.
Demirtaş has been imprisoned since November 2016 on charges related to his political activities and speeches, which many international observers, including human rights organizations, have condemned as politically motivated.
In its 2020 ruling on Demirtaş, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ordered his release and said his “unjustified” detention pursued the ulterior motive of stifling pluralism and limiting freedom of political debate in Turkey.
Zilan’s visit to the Kurdish leader came in the aftermath of a surprise move by far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, normally an ally of Erdoğan, who last month suggested allowing jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan to address the main pro-Kurdish party group in the Turkish Parliament and to call on the PKK to lay down its arms.
Bahçeli’s proposal marked a significant shift, given his longstanding opposition to talks with the PKK.
Bahçeli said that if Öcalan takes the step for the PKK’s laying down of arms, there could be legislative action to pave the way for his possible release.
Ankara appears to be reconsidering the resumption of dialogue with the PKK, after an almost 10-year freeze in peace efforts. The reason for the effort is to prevent Iran from reaching out to Kurdish fighters to destabilize Turkey during a possible escalation with Israel, according to a report by Al-Monitor last month.
The PKK, designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies, has waged a war against the Turkish state since 1984 in support of Kurdish rights. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict.
