Demirtaş: Öcalan sent new letter

ANF – News Desk 04.04.2013 – BDP co-chair, Selahattin Demirtaş, said that Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan has sent a new letter.

The BDP co-chair said on Nuçe TV that the new letter is believed to reach them tomorrow. Criticizing reports in the media on what Öcalan might have said or not said about the PKK guerrillas’ withdrawal beyond Turkey’s border, Demirtaş said the Kurdish leader did not spoke in detail about that in the meeting but wrote in the letter about it. Therefore, Demirtaş said, “reports are in fact only speculations”.

Demirtaş said it wouldn’t be right to make an exact statement about the process of withdrawal before this letter reached the addresses in question and their reply letters are sent to Öcalan. He said they expected the developments to become clear within the next week. BDP co-chair remarked that Öcalan intends to advance the progress and to overcome the current deadlock despite all the difficulties he was facing. “He doesn’t think the process has been interrupted and he is continuing carrying out his works. He is aware of the fact that he is responsible for the process but he thinks it is unfair to lay the whole burden on his shoulders”, he said and underlined that the Kurdish people and all those supporting the peace process should respect the leader of a people and appreciate Öcalan’s efforts for a solution so that the process can make an advancement.

Demirtaş underlined that “It is not true that Mr. Öcalan made a definitive call on PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) for withdrawal without arms but he is taking a stance for the improvement of the process”.

Referring to the wise people chosen for the committee to serve the peace process for the Kurdish question, Demirtaş said that the list didn’t involve the names they had foreseen. Still, -he said- “BDP and Mr. Öcalan see it important that this commission has been established”. It wouldn’t be true to judge the commission as we need time to see what it will practice. Still, it should necessarily consist of people from various circles.

Demirtaş stated that it would be wrong to expect the AKP government to bring freedoms to the country, adding; “We need to enhance our struggle more and more to make sure that this process can lead to an achievement in terms of rights and freedoms. We have reached this point we are standing at today by means of the struggle we have given and we need to deepen this struggle by ensuring a unity among all circles, Alewis, left-wingers, women, men young people, workers, villagers, Kurds, Turks, Armenians and all other groups. This is what Mr. Öcalan proposes too”.

Demirtaş added that Öcalan saluted all prisoners, jailed lawyers, women and mothers. Selahattin Demirtaş visited the Kurdish leader on Wednesday alongside BDP deputies Pervin Buldan and Sırrı Süreyya Önder.