RIHA — Mehmet Öcalan drew attention to the fact that family visits at İmralı Prison have not taken place for more than a month and recalled Turkish Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli’s remarks, saying: “They must fulfil the requirements of what they said.” 

 

Mehmet Öcalan briefly recounted the international pressure that forced Abdullah Öcalan to leave Syria on 9 October 1998 and the subsequent “abduction” and transfer to Turkey on 15 February 1999, a process Abdullah Öcalan has described as “the greatest conspiracy of the 21st century.” The effects of that operation, Mehmet Öcalan said, continue to shape politics today.

 

‘THE RIGHT TO HOPE IS NOT A CHARITY’

 

Assessing the international conspiracy and current developments, Mehmet Öcalan insisted that his brother’s physical freedom must be secured. He drew attention to the march organised by the Free Women’s Movement (Tevgera Jinên Azad-TJA) from Amed (Diyarbakır) to Ankara on the anniversary of the conspiracy, saying marchers were met “everywhere with love and hope.” He called on the state and government to recognise that effort and to take concrete steps, arguing that the “right to hope” is not a favour but a right that should be applied not only to Abdullah Öcalan but to all prisoners who have earned it under international law. 

 

EUROPE’S ROLE, EUROPE’S RESPONSIBILITY

 

Mehmet Öcalan criticised European states for their historical role in dividing Kurdistan and enabling the ensuing crimes. He argued that Europe closed its doors to Abdullah Öcalan after he left Syria, despite opening them to many others, and said NATO and European actors were complicit in the conspiracy against him. 

 

‘IGNORING EACH OTHER IS NO WAY TO BROTHERHOOD’

 

Referring to Bahçeli’s handshake with People’s Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party deputies last year and the subsequent calls for a “right to hope,” Mehmet Öcalan said that institutions must act on those statements. He noted that his family has been unable to visit İmralı for 50 days and recalled the period of 43 months during which no one, family, lawyers or delegations, could see Abdullah Öcalan. 

 

“We do not want bloodshed; we want peace. From now on there should be no more deaths. If the Kurdish issue is not solved, no other problem will be solved,” he said, urging that the “right to hope” be implemented for the Abdullah Ocalan and all prisoners who qualify.

 

MA / Sema Bingol