İSTANBUL - Describing the last meeting they had with PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan 2 years ago, lawyer Rezan Sarıca stated that his foresight and predictions came true one by one and said, "Öcalan is the only person who will solve the Kurdish problem and get Turkey out of the situation it is in."

 

PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held under heavy isolation conditions for 22 years in İmralı F Type High Security Closed Prison, has not been allowed to meet with his lawyers since 7 August 2019. After 1999, when Öcalan was brought to Turkey with an international conspiracy, he was able to meet with his lawyers at regular intervals. However, after 27 July 2011, the government banned him from being visited by his lawyers and family. This ban was broken as a result of the 200-day hunger strike of thousands of prisoners in Turkish prisons. Öcalan held 5 meetings with his lawyers on May 22, June 12, June 18 and August 7, 2019, the first of which was on May 2, 2019. Lawyer applications made after the last meeting have not been responded.

 

Rezan Sarıca, one of the lawyers of Asrın Law Office, who took part in all 5 meetings held in 2019, explained Öcalan's assessments in the last meeting and evaluated the aggravated isolation conditions.

 

 

'I CAN SOLVE THE KURDISH QUESTION IN A WEEK'

 

Sarıca said that Öcalan evaluated many issues in the last visit to İmralı and one of them was the possible war and conflict situation. Noting that Öcalan questioned why Turkey insisted on the war between Kurds and Turks, Sarıca shared that Öcalan evaluated the developments as a result of 100 years of historical denial. Sarıca said, “Mr. Öcalan has been saying that as no result has been achieved so far with war, a solution cannot be achieved today either. He was trying to prevent Turkey from launching an operation in North-East Syria. ‘Why does the state mind compell them to act this way? Why is Turkey imposing a chauvinist-militarist line on itself?” he was asking and trying to understand this. He did not accept this believing that this way of thinking wouldn't help anyone. He believed that  this was an imposition against the unity of the people of Turkey. So he was trying to avoid it. Mr. Öcalan said, 'I can solve this problem in a week'. “I can see what will happen,” he said again. He told that his only condition was to stop the possibility of conflict. He said he was the only one who could do that.”

 

251 UNANSWERED APPLICATIONS FROM LAWYERS TO VISIT HIM IN IMRALI

 

Sarıca stated that after the 7 August meeting in which many issues were discussed, their applications to see Öcalan in İmralı were not answered. Stating that there have been 251 lawyer applications since the last meeting, Sarıca shared that their applications were not answered until September 2020. Reminding that Öcalan's solitary confinement punishments between 2005 and 2009 in September 2020 were based on the 156-page "Road map" presented to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 2009 as a defense. Sarıca said: "This is what we were told about the ban on visits. And since March 12, 2021, none of our applications were answered."

 

ÖCALAN'S PATH

 

Emphasizing that negotiations were not allowed so that Öcalan's peace line would not come to life, Sarıca continued as follows: "He had a short phone call with his family most recently. Apart from that, no face-to-face contact has been made since March 3, 2020. We are concerned about the conditions in the prison island. We are making all our applications to the prosecutor's office, court, administration, higher courts and the ministry. But none of them were responded. We can't get an answer. The will that Öcalan represents is the will for peace. Öcalan is the only person who will solve the Kurdish problem and get Turkey out of the situation it is in. Therefore, isolation is being implemented to continue the deadlock. It is obvious that there is no way out. If Öcalan was heard, such a price would not have been paid. Kurdish blood is spilled every day. Shortly after the massacre of a family of seven people in Konya, 4 people were killed by a tank yesterday. The only way to stop the bloodshed is Öcalan's path. In order to do that, isolation must be lifted. Öcalan must be able to see us, his lawyers, and his family. Then the political isolation must be lifted and Turkey will get rid of this darkness."

 

 

MA / Ferhat Çelik