Özel responds to Öcalan-Demirtaş controversy following DEM reaction: 'I have no intention of...'

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel's mention of Selahattin Demirtaş during a debate regarding the new residence built for PKK terrorist organization leader Abdullah Öcalan on İmralı has drawn a reaction from the DEM Party front.

In an interview with Yeni Arayış, Özel had stated regarding the issue, “Instead of talking about someone moving into a house, we would rather talk about Demirtaş reuniting with his home. It is necessary to focus on democratization.”

In another statement he made recently, Özel had said, “Our concern is not Öcalan’s house, but Demirtaş reuniting with his home.”

REACTION TO ÖZEL FROM HATİMOĞULLARI

DEM Party Co-Chair Tülay Hatimoğulları reacted to Özel's words.

Stating that it is wrong to pit Öcalan and Demirtaş against each other, Hatimoğulları assessed, "The roles and missions of both in this struggle are different."

NEW STATEMENT FROM ÖZEL

Speaking to T24, Özel made a new statement regarding the issue following the criticisms directed at him.

Stating that his words were not intended to pit anyone against each other, Özel used the expressions, "I have no intention of pitting anyone against each other. The parties themselves know who will be pitted against whom."

In the continuation of his statement, Özel drew attention to the topic of democratization:

"The issue I am trying to draw attention to is that article seven is very important for the implementation and success of article six.

What is section seven? Section seven is democratization. And what I am saying is the release of Demirtaş, and the implementation of the Constitutional Court ruling and the ECHR ruling. In this case, Kavala will also be released, the Gezi prisoners will also be released, Demirtaş will also be released, everyone will be released. Besides this, when the steps we call democratization steps are taken, the trustee problem will be eliminated."

News Source: 12punto