Rozerin Gültekin

 

ISTANBUL - Commenting on the importance of the establishment of the commission to be established in the Parliament on a legal level and the importance of taking legal steps in the “Peace and Democratic Society” process, Arzu Eylem Kayaoğlu from ÖHD said, “The state needs to take positive steps so that something new can be built on mutual trust.”

 

In continuation of the process that started with the historic call of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan on February 27th, on July 11th, a ceremony was organized by the Peace and Democratic Society Group in the Şikefta Casenê region in the countryside of the city of Silêmanî in Southern Kurdistan, where weapons were destroyed by burning. Following the ceremony, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş and representatives of political parties met in Parliament on July 18th to discuss the establishment of a parliamentary commission, which has been proposed since the beginning of the process. At the meeting, it was decided that the commission would be established directly on the initiative of the Speaker of Parliament, rather than by law. Arzu Eylem Kayaoğlu, lawyer of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), made evaluations on the developing process.

 

The process since February

 

Underlining that the PKK has made it very clear that it takes the process seriously with the steps it has taken in the process that started in October, Arzu Eylem Kayaoğlu stated that the Middle East has been redesigned and the nation state structure has disappeared, and that Turkey has taken a role in initiating the peace process in order to be least affected by this design. Arzu Eylem Kayaoğlu said, "Kurds refer to this period as the period of Peace and Democratic Community. Although the state uses definitions such as ‘Turkey without terrorism’, this period is actually the period of peace and democratic society as envisioned. Of course, the state and society cannot embrace the call at the same rate. The public is waiting for concrete steps to be taken by the state."

 

Trust relationship with the state

 

Arzu Eylem Kayaoğlu pointed out that the Call for Peace and Democratic Society emphasized democratic politics and law in the gun-burning ceremony held by the Peace and Democratic Society Group on July 11, and expressed her demand for a review of the existing law in the ongoing process. Arzu Eylem Kayaoğlu said, "As ÖHD, we are among the important institutions of the society and the Kurdish people. Various non-governmental organizations and human rights organizations, including ÖHD, were called to the process of socializing the peace and democratic society process. Going there is a promise to do everything in their power for the democratization of Turkey and the establishment of the rule of law in the best way possible. Establishing the commission by law will produce much more positive results. It will not be a commission that is rendered dysfunctional. We are talking about a commission that weaves this process as a whole, socializes it, discusses in its sub-working groups and sub-commissions the legal arrangements that need to be made, makes legal arrangements, takes political and political steps, and ensures democratization. Therefore, it is very, very important. The state needs to take positive steps so that something new can be built on mutual trust."

 

Legal security of the Commission

 

Speaking about the importance of the commission to be established in the Parliament to legally operate the process, Arzu Eylem Kayaoğlu said: "The commission, which is legally established, will be a legal guarantee for everyone involved, but it will also mean that this process will be legally secured. This may be the first process to be legally defined by the state. In the previous 2013-2015 process, there was a legal arrangement of 12-13 articles, but it was very limited. It is important that this process has a legal basis in order not to face this again. On the other hand, what is being practiced in İmralı, which we have been objecting to for years, is a discriminatory and completely different execution regime. In this process of peace and democratic society, the state is presenting Mr. Öcalan's meeting with his family, family meetings with other friends, and delegation meetings as a favor, but this is a legal obligation. Even now, not counting the lawyer visits during the hunger strikes in 2019, there is still no lawyer visit. In order for Mr. Öcalan to carry out this process more positively, physical working conditions must also be created. "