DEM Party's Sezai Temelli: 'The commission must establish regular contact with Öcalan'

DEM Party Group Deputy Chair Sezai Temelli stated that the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission established in the TBMM must establish regular contact with Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of the separatist terrorist organization PKK. Temelli said, "It is highly probable that our Imralı delegation will go to the Island this week, but the day is not yet certain."

Sezai Temelli made evaluations regarding the agenda at a press conference he held at the TBMM.

Drawing attention to the housing and scholarship problems of university students, Temelli stated that the education budget should be increased and non-repayable scholarships should be expanded. Stating that "it is truly difficult to be a student under these conditions of poverty," Temelli called for budget planning.

''MALAZGIRT IS A GATEWAY OF BROTHERHOOD, BUT THE LAW OF THIS BROTHERHOOD HAS YET TO BE ESTABLISHED''

Speaking about the anniversary of the Battle of Manzikert (Malazgirt), Temelli said, "Yes, Malazgirt is a gateway of brotherhood, but it has been nearly a thousand years since we passed through this gate, and the law, legal culture, and understanding of law for this brotherhood have still not been realized."

Claiming that the Kurdish people have been subjected to great oppression throughout history, Temelli said, "Despite all the anti-Kurdish sentiment, all the attacks, and the persecution, this sentiment is still alive. There are 25 million Kurds living in this country. The number of families formed by Kurdish and Turkish marriages has exceeded 5 million."

Noting that Malazgirt represents the will for peace and coexistence as a symbol, Temelli expressed that this symbol must now be supported by concrete steps. "This feeling of brotherhood is still alive, but it has no legal framework. This law is the law of equal citizenship. We are now going through a time where we are about to seize the opportunities to realize exactly this," said Temelli, calling on the government and Parliament to take steps in this direction.

''TIME IS BEING WASTED WITH THE PROCESS OF LISTENING TO DELEGATIONS''

Temelli noted the following regarding the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission established in the TBMM:

"There is an opportunity here that can bring this law into existence. There is a strong negotiation table, but meeting formal requirements is not enough. It is of great importance to strengthen its substance, strengthen its content, and carry out work in this direction. Now is the time. The commission must take the matter seriously. The commission must now realize how serious a task it is undertaking. The time has come to focus on the main issue. Yes, it has a very, very important function. To realize this, it must move forward by focusing and taking the steps it needs to take. It should not stall. Yes, delegations are coming. Delegations came last week as well. Delegations will come this week too. As we learned from Mr. Numan Kurtulmuş's statement, it will continue to listen to delegations until the middle of September. Listening to the delegations is important. The participation of society in the commission is important. In fact, the commission should also reach out to various segments and receive their opinions and suggestions. But this is not the commission's main job. This could have been done with a sub-commission. Or this process could have been advanced by implementing a different commission. The main task the commission should be doing is to prepare the drafts that will implement the necessary legal regulations of this period as soon as possible. To prepare these drafts, there is a need for devoted and careful work. Yet what is the commission doing? We saw it last week. We can say that it is wasting time with this process of listening to delegations."

''THE KURDISH ISSUE IS AT THE SAME TIME A KURDISH LANGUAGE ISSUE''

DEM Party's Temelli described the rejection of the Peace Mothers' demands to speak in Kurdish as a "parliamentary shame" and emphasized that this mindset must change.

Temelli said that the commission established in Parliament should serve the democratic solution of the Kurdish issue. Temelli stated that this issue is not only Turkey's peace issue but also the Middle East's. "What is the most important function of this commission? It is to take steps that will enable the democratic solution of the Kurdish issue, because this issue is Turkey's democratization issue, peace issue, and social peace issue," he said.

Stating that an important dimension of the Kurdish issue is the Kurdish language, Temelli said, "The Kurdish issue is at the same time a Kurdish language issue," and said that discriminatory and exclusionary attitudes towards Kurdish should be abandoned. 

''REGULAR MEETINGS MUST BE HELD WITH ÖCALAN''

Arguing that regular contact must be established with Abdullah Öcalan for the commission to be effective, Temelli noted that these meetings should be held continuously, not just once. Temelli said, "This subject is an important subject because the primary interlocutor of the issue is Mr. Öcalan. He is the one who brought the issue to light, showed the ways to a solution, and this is the fundamental reason for the establishment of this commission. It is impossible for a commission that does not meet with Öcalan to make progress. Therefore, this meeting needs to take place as soon as possible." Temelli expressed that such a meeting would open the door not only to the commission's work but also to the resolution of broad social and political problems.

News Source: 12punto