Imprisoned Ahmet Özer's assessment of the peace process: He told Bahçeli to 'take action' and warned the CHP about the commission

Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer, who has been imprisoned in Silivri Prison for 10 months, made statements regarding the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission established in the TBMM as part of the new peace process.

"I AM FOLLOWING THE PROCESS, I AM HOPEFUL"

Responding to questions from Ayşegül Başar of bianet, Özer stated that he is closely following the commission process, adding, "Even though I am in prison and in a 12-square-meter cell, I am following the process, and I am hopeful."

Özer argued that peace would only be possible through democratization. "If the Kurdish issue is not resolved, peace cannot be achieved. The indispensable condition for achieving peace is democratization. That is why I have stated from the very beginning that the process must be handled not only as a 'Turkey without terrorism' but as a 'Democratic Turkey,'" he said.

CALL TO BAHÇELİ TO "TAKE ACTION"

In his call to MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli, Özer stated that not only rhetoric but also practical steps must be taken.

"I find his statements extremely important and valuable for the establishment of legal security and trust in the law. However, rhetoric is not enough; what is important is for this rhetoric to be put into practice. Therefore, the partners who are the addressees of these statements must move to implementation so that words do not remain just words. Since the government is the one that will implement this, the addressees of these words are the AKP and Erdoğan. In that case, the MHP must take action on this matter so that they do what is necessary," he said.

"IF THE CHP WITHDRAWS, LEGITIMACY WILL DIMINISH"

Touching upon the operations targeting the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Özer stated that the moves made following Bahçeli's statements were noteworthy:

"Are the operations, which are the exact opposite of Bahçeli's rhetoric, perhaps an answer to Bahçeli? After all, if an operation takes place the morning after Bahçeli says 'end the operations, speed up the trials,' how should one interpret this?"

Stating that the balance in the commission could be disrupted if the process is not managed correctly, Özer continued his words as follows:

"Yet they could sit down and talk about this. Or is the AKP forcing the CHP to withdraw from the commission? In that case, the legitimacy of the commission will diminish, and the steps it takes and the work it does will not find resonance with the public. Is the AKP perhaps calculating that while doing this on one hand? If the process does not yield the desired electoral result, will we return to the beginning as it did on June 7, 2015? I hope that does not happen, and that Turkey does not squander this opportunity it has seized. But the answers to these questions are also essential for correctly reading and advancing the process."