Turkey’s Wise People Decide to Meet Öcalan

24 members of Turkey’s People, a delegation to for the resolution of Kurdish issue, held a meeting on Wednesday to create a civil initiate for the ongoing process. 

While the delegation originally consists of 62 members from all Turkey’s regions, Wednesday’s meeting was initiate by Can Paker, Oral Çalışlar and Mehmet Uçum who invited only 35 members. 

Öztürk Türkdoğan, Human Rights Association (IHD) Chairman and one of the attendees of the meeting, told bianet that the meeting was initiated  due to the rising of unrest in Kobane.  

“PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan said October 15 would be the deadline for the Turkish government to take a step towards the peace process. The communication between the parties has almost suspended and the government is rising its aggressive tone. 

“Therefore, the Wise People Delegation assembled for conscientious reasons. It wasn’t demanded by the government. There is a need to create a civil initiative since right from the beginning. 

“Especially, we insist to meet with Öcalan. We need to open channels for him to communication [with the rest of the society]. The latest events compel us to create these channels for him,” he said.   

Joint statement: Non-violence is essential 

The Wise People Delegation also released the following joint statement: “The resolution process must be held in a way that will essentially base on democratic politics. In this process, the exclusion of all sorts of violence is a necessary condition for the future. It shouldn’t be forgotten that the step to be taken in this process can only find a response in an environment devoid of violence.” (NV/BM) 

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.