The ‘right to hope’ is essential for democratic negotiation

2026-02-14 12:45:29


	 

	Şehriban Aslan

	 

	AMED- Stating that the conspiracy is a multi-centered intervention against the collective will of the Kurdish people, and that the aggravated life sentence regime and isolation continue despite the ECHR rulings, ÖHD Co-Chair Ekin Yeter said, “The right to hope is an urgent necessity for the establishment of democratic negotiation conditions.”

	 

	The international conspiracy against Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan has entered its 27th year. Ekin Yeter, Co-Chair of the Lawyers for Freedom Association (OHD), assessed the legal and political dimensions of the process. Emphasizing that the conspiracy was not merely an arrest operation but a multi-centered intervention process involving international powers, Ekin Yeter pointed out that the isolation conditions and the aggravated life sentence regime imposed on Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan in Imrali continue to be enforced despite the European Court of Human Rights' (ECHR) ruling on the “right to hope.”

	 

	‘A multi-centered conspiracy process is being constructed’

	 

	Ekin Yeter, who says that after World War II, Israel became involved in the Kurdish issue, states, “During that period, we see that Israel began to become intolerant of the Kurdish movement, which created and developed an alternative system for the democratic resolution of the Kurdish issue. In the 1990s, we also see that the Assad regime in Syria was trying to maintain its rule through various tactical relationships, stemming from the hegemony war between the US and the Soviet Union. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, we encounter a process in Syria where the regime, which had been fueled by this hegemonic struggle and maintained its tactical relationships, now struggles to sustain these relationships. At this point, we see that the actors behind the conspiracy process in which Mr. Öcalan was implicated were Israel and the United States, even though the Soviet Union was in the process of disintegration. We also see that various Kurdish forces, acting in concert with the alliance established by this imperial mind at the time, were also active in this regard. In other words, this conspiracy process is being constructed through a multi-centered, multi-factored process." 

	 

	‘There are serious expectations regarding the right to hope’

	 

	Emphasizing that the Assembly’s work was somewhat cumbersome, Ekin Yeter said, “It carried out its work by listening to a large number of people and institutions, and then the reports prepared by the political parties were submitted to the commission. It was published on the parliament's website and reflected in the public sphere, and when we look at this issue, we see that despite the very clear legal and social justification for it, the parliamentary commission has still not taken any concrete steps. Very few of the reports submitted to the parliamentary commission by the parties included assessments regarding the Right to Hope. Even if this report does not explicitly mention the Right to Hope, there is a very serious expectation in society that an assessment should be made on this issue and concrete steps should be taken within the scope of the necessary regulations related to the law of execution. They need to make the issue of the Right to Hope a fundamental agenda item for the parliament, and as lawyers, this is our expectation and demand."

	 

	‘The right to hope must be implemented’

	 

	Ekin Yeter continued his speech with the following statements: “The right to hope is very important in terms of the ongoing Peace and Democratic Society Process. This is because Mr. Öcalan's working conditions, his contact with society, his ability to meet with journalists, lawyers, and academics and engage in discussion are very important for the progress of the process. The fundamental thing that will transform peace processes into dialogue processes is the development of a democratic negotiation situation. Looking at the current situation, we cannot say that these democratic negotiation conditions have been established. In this regard, the right to hope must be implemented in terms of the progress of the process for democratic negotiation conditions to be established. We believe that this is the issue that the parliamentary commission should prioritize and take the first concrete steps on, especially as February 15, the anniversary of the coup attempt, approaches and the commission is now ready to proceed with joint reports and legislative work."