Striking assessment from Sözcü columnist: 'Terrorist leader Abdullah Öcalan wants the release of 4,750 PKK members'

MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli’s call for “DEM and Imralı to meet” has continued to generate repercussions following the meeting held on December 28 between DEM Party members Sırrı Süreyya Önder and Pervin Buldan and the leader of the terrorist organization PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, at Imralı.

Sözcü columnist Saygı Öztürk wrote in his column today that terrorist leader Abdullah Öcalan would have certain conditions for the state.

Recalling Öcalan's supplementary statement from 1999, Öztürk stated, “Even when his own organization had forgotten about Abdullah Öcalan, Öcalan was brought back onto the stage. Öcalan wants all PKK members currently in prisons to be pardoned. He demands that not only them, but also the terrorists still in the organization's mountain cadres be unconditionally pardoned and reintegrated into society.”

"TERRORISTS IN THE MOUNTAINS WILL ALSO BENEFIT FROM THE AMNESTY"

Stating that according to Ministry of Justice data, there are currently around 4,750 PKK terrorists in prisons, Öztürk wrote, "Terrorists currently in the camps of the separatist organization in Syria and Northern Iraq will also benefit from the amnesty. For this, they will be asked to surrender with their weapons. Those who joined the organization but claim they did not participate in any actions will be released. Since terrorists use code names and their exact involvement in specific actions is not fully documented, even hardened terrorists could benefit from the upcoming amnesty by claiming they 'did not participate in any actions'."

The relevant part of Öztürk's article titled "Öcalan’s request: An amnesty should be issued for PKK members in prisons and in the mountains" is as follows:

ÖCALAN’S REQUEST: A COMPREHENSIVE AMNESTY

Even when his own organization had forgotten about Abdullah Öcalan, Öcalan was brought back onto the stage. It was brought to the agenda that he should be released by taking as an example the decision made by the European Court of Human Rights for some convicts in foreign countries, which is called the “Right to Hope.” It is not just Abdullah Öcalan who will be released; Abdullah Öcalan also has certain conditions for the state.

According to Ministry of Justice officials, there are currently around 4,750 PKK detainees and convicts in prisons. Öcalan wants all PKK members in prisons to be pardoned. He demands that not only them, but also the terrorists still in the organization's mountain cadres be unconditionally pardoned and reintegrated into society. He says that he, too, will do his part in bringing the organization to a legal line regarding this matter.

WHO WAS INVOLVED IN WHICH ACTION?

Terrorists currently in the camps of the separatist organization in Syria and Northern Iraq will also benefit from the amnesty. For this, they will be asked to surrender with their weapons. Those who joined the organization but claim they did not participate in any actions will be released. Since terrorists use code names and their exact involvement in specific actions is not fully documented, even hardened terrorists could benefit from the upcoming amnesty by claiming they “did not participate in any actions.”

Abdullah Öcalan wants “amnesty for terrorists,” but will the state fulfill this request? In the past, legal regulations such as “return home” and “reintegration into society” were enacted with the aim of distancing terrorists from the organization and winning over their families. As a result of the regulations in the Execution Law, there were almost no PKK members left in prisons for a period. Interestingly, those who were released rejoined the organization's mountain cadres. This was because immense pressure was placed on those released, and they were threatened with the murder of their families if they did not rejoin the organization.

THE PUBLIC’S DESIRE IS FOR THE BLOODSHED TO STOP

When I spoke with two sources in Diyarbakır who are closely following the developments, they said, “The public’s desire is for the bloodshed to stop and for an environment of peace to be established. It is for a comprehensive amnesty to be issued for PKK members, both those in prison and those in the mountain cadres.” After the head of the PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, was captured and brought to Turkey, his statement was taken.

Öcalan wrote a letter to the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Ankara State Security Court of the time, Cevdet Volkan, on March 22, 1999, saying, “I want to give a supplementary statement.” In his statement to Chief Public Prosecutor Cevdet Volkan and Prosecutor Talat Şalk, who went to Imralı on April 3, 1999, Öcalan stated that he wanted to help the state and expressed his request as follows:

“My goal is to further strengthen our country and our state and to assist them. I have no personal expectations. When the opportunities are provided, I am ready to provide the necessary information and bring the organization to a legal line. The state must do its part in this regard. What the state must do is to make the necessary legal arrangements to ensure internal peace. At the forefront of these is an amnesty law, an amnesty law that will enable those in the mountains and in prisons to integrate into society. I am ready to make every contribution I can on this matter.”

Today, the YPG and PKK are intertwined in Syria. The US wants to “remove the YPG from the list of terrorist organizations.” Sending PKK members to Iraq is also on the agenda. Will this happen? These issues will be discussed more frequently in the coming period...

News Source: 12punto