NEWS CENTER - According to people who participated in the “Take a Step for Peace” marches, the first condition for the process to move forward is the physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan and political prisoners. Education in the mother tongue and an end to the appointment of trustees are among the public’s main demands.

 

Discussions surrounding the Peace and Democratic Society Process remain focused on parliament. Although months have passed since the commission prepared its report, no concrete steps have yet been taken, increasing distrust towards the process in Kurdistan.

 

People are demanding steps towards the physical freedom of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan, the opening of democratic political space, the release of prisoners, education in the mother tongue and the abolition of trustee appointments. 

 

Within this framework, marches under the slogan “Take a Step for Peace” were held in many cities on 16 May. 

 

Paşa Alican, one of the participants in the march held in Tetwan (Tatvan), Bedlîs (Bitlis), recalled Abdullah Öcalan’s Peace and Democratic Society Call and criticised Turkey for failing to take any concrete steps so far.

 

Referring to the continued imprisonment of political prisoners and ill detainees, Alican said: “We want education in our own language. We want our language to become official. We have no trust in the government. They are stalling us. Our leader (Abdullah Öcalan) is imprisoned and our friends are in prison.”

 

Another participant, Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party Tetwan Municipal Council member Berivan Canbey, said they had proven their desire for peace.

 

Pointing to their goal of a democratic republic, Berivan Canbey said: “As Mr Öcalan said, if this process does not succeed, everywhere will become like Gaza. The state must now recognise this reality and take concrete steps.”

 

Berivan Canbey said the ongoing violations in prisons and the failure to release prisoners showed that “the state is not approaching the process sincerely,” adding that Kurds had resisted for centuries and that intolerance towards Kurds must now come to an end.

 

Peace Mother İpek Canbey referred to the absence of legal regulations and questioned under what conditions PKK members would return and how they would live. She said guerrillas had consciously struggled for freedom and that they also wanted peace with the same awareness. 

 

Stating that they trusted Abdullah Öcalan rather than the state, İpek Canbey said: “As long as we exist, we will remain committed to our leadership and our cause. This war must end and the state must take concrete steps. If no steps are taken, everything will collapse.”

 

Fatma Turan, who joined the march in Colemêrg (Hakkari), recalled President Tayyip Erdoğan’s messages regarding the “process” and said: “The Kurds have done everything expected of them. But Turkey has not taken any steps. We only want our identity and our language. Abdullah Öcalan must be released. Municipalities are still being governed by trustees. Prisoners who are being held unjustly in prisons must be released.”

 

Mahmut Temel also said the state must take action and that electoral concerns should be set aside. “This process cannot move forward unless Abdullah Öcalan is released. If Abdullah Öcalan is not among his people, we will not be able to believe in this process,” he said.

 

Şükrü Kaya from Colemêrg said that despite talk of peace, trustee appointments continued and prisoners had not been released. Stressing that no clashes had taken place following the PKK’s recent steps, Kaya said the Kurdish people wanted equality and peace.

 

Kaya said: “Abdullah Öcalan is the architect of this process. Unless our leader and our prisoners are released, we will not believe in this process. What we want is sincerity. Let there be equality and let concrete steps be taken.”

 

Sedika Kaya said they had always wanted peace and called for action to be taken: “If Abdullah Öcalan is free, then we will also be free. As long as he is not free, we are not free either. The Kurdish side has taken all the necessary steps. We still have not seen any steps from the Turkish side.”