Rabia Önver

 

WAN - PIA Secretary General Menice Rümeysa Gülmez, in her evaluation of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan's call, said: "We do not see a positive, broad step that we have seen so far in this process. These steps are always expected from the Kurds. We expect steps from the state, not from the Kurds."

 

Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan signalled a new process on 27 February with his call for ‘Peace and Democratic Society’, which was described as the ‘Call of the Century’. Following this call, constitutional amendments, which have been on the agenda for a long time, started to be discussed again. In the public opinion, there were expectations that the government and the state would take concrete steps in response to this call. Following Abdullah Öcalan's statements and the PKK's concrete steps in the field, there was a strong expectation in society and political circles that ‘the state should also take a step’.

 

Menice Rümeysa Gülmez, Secretary General of the Party for Humanity and Freedom (PIA), made evaluations on this call.

 

‘Is it an eye-colouring process for Kurds?’

 

Menice Gülmez, who said that they have been in favour of peace for years and have been struggling for it, stated that they find the steps taken with the Call of the Century valuable and important. Menice Gülmez said, "This step is a step taken to prevent more deaths of our people, to release the prisoners in prisons as soon as possible and to remove the trustees. Kurds have been in favour of peace and solution for years. As PIA, we find the step taken very important and valuable; however, this step must be continued. The steps taken should be real, not just political and symbolic. But unfortunately, we cannot see anything other than a few steps taken. We cannot see a practice in the field. The trustees and arrests also continue. We are wondering if the state is once again a process of deceit for the Kurds."

 

‘People want steps to be taken’

 

Menice Gülmez emphasised that the steps taken are of no value if the process is not reflected on the field and stated that the government supports the process only as a political step. Menice Gülmez said, "We, as Kurds and Kurdish parties, are waiting for the steps taken to be concretised and for this to continue. The people also want steps to be taken now, because there is a great excitement among them. This process may be a process that the AKP government uses for its own interests. Or it could be a preliminary preparation for the re-election of the President. This step is not only a step taken for the Kurds; it is a process initiated by the government for its own interests. When we look at the state's practices, we can never say that they are one hundred per cent sincere steps. Because when it comes to the Kurdish people, we are always sceptical about the steps taken by the state or governments."

 

‘Political prisoners still in prison’

 

Menice Gülmez stated that the process being carried out and all those who want peace should take a step and said, "Even if there is a solution process initiated by the government for themselves or a work that they do not name, we need to work on how much we can benefit from it. So far we have not seen anything from the steps taken. Political prisoners are still being held in prison. Many political obstacles are still being imposed. We do not see any positive, broad steps that we have seen so far in this process. These steps are always expected from the Kurds, they want the Kurds to sacrifice themselves."

 

‘Revolutions require courage’

 

Menice Gülmez underlined that the AKP government must now take concrete and important steps in order to understand whether the process is a sincere process or not and said, "They can take a step by releasing political prisoners, especially Mr Öcalan. The trustees must be terminated in such a way that they will not come again. Concrete steps need to be taken to make Kurdish an official language. There should also be work at the constitutional level. If the AKP-MHP government wants to see something concrete, they need to give something concrete. If they want the Kurds to take a step forward, they need to take a step forward themselves. Some revolutions require courage, there should be no cowardly governments. Therefore, if they really want peace, tranquility and prosperity in the country, they need to take steps that they will win and we expect these steps from the government."