A delegation from the United Left Group of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) came to Ankara to hold a series of contacts regarding the status of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan, the "right to hope" and the process. Within this scope, the delegation first submitted an application to the Ministry of Justice requesting the implementation of the European Court of Human Rights' (ECHR) rulings.

 

Following the application, a statement was made by the delegation, which included PACE United European Left (UEL) Group Co-Chair and AKEL MP from Cyprus George Loucaides, PACE-UEL Group Co-Chair and ERC Senator from Spain Laura Castel, PACE-UEL Group Vice-Chair and La France Insoumise Senator from France Emmanuel Fernandes, Honorary PACE President Tiny Kox, and PACE UEL Group Secretary Anna Kolotova.

 

While the English version of the press statement was read by the members of the delegation, the Turkish version was read by Berdan Öztürk, Co-Spokesperson of the Foreign Relations Commission of the Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party.

 

The statement reads: 

 

"Today, we are here as the Co-Presidents of the Group of the Unified European Left (UEL) in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Honorary President of PACE, and members of the group’s Executive Bureau.

 

As is known, we had previously conveyed to the relevant institutions our request to visit Mr Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, the former HDP Co-chairs and Mr Abdullah Öcalan, whose role is widely regarded as indispensable for the peaceful resolution of the Kurdish issue, one of Turkey’s most fundamental matters. Within the same scope, we had also requested an appointment with the Ministry of Justice, which is the legal and administrative interlocutor of the process. However, to date, we have not received any response to these requests submitted through official channels. Today, with our belief that the doors of dialogue must be opened, we are in front of the Ministry of Justice to renew our official petitions and to share our views on the process with the public.

 

'A CRITICAL AND HISTORIC INITIATIVE'

 

We, as the UEL delegation, are following the ongoing Peace and Democratic Society Process in Turkey with hope and great interest. We view the establishment of lasting peace and regional stability as a critical and historic initiative that will positively impact the future not only of all citizens of Turkey, with its population of 85 million, but also of hundreds of millions of people beyond its borders, particularly in Europe and the Middle East.

In an era where wars causing severe devastation are occurring in many parts of the world, and rearmament efforts that invite new wars are gaining momentum, we find every step taken toward ensuring lasting peace in Turkey to be highly valuable, and we support them on behalf of our group.

We call upon all parties to the Peace and Democratic Society Process, which will enable the democratization of Turkey and the permanent establishment of regional stability, to continue advancing this initiative with determination and responsibility. In this context, we strongly support that Mr Öcalan’s conditions of detention evolve in a manner that will facilitate the advancement of this process and strengthen the prospects for peace.

 

'RIGHT TO HOPE IS A LEGAL NECESSITY'

 

We underline that the implementation of the “right to hope” judgment rendered by the European Court of Human Rights regarding Mr Öcalan at the earliest opportunity is a legal necessity. The implementation of judgments by the European Court of Human Rights in the cases of Mr Selahattin Demirtaş and Mr Osman Kavala is also a crucial obligation that requires immediate action. We strongly advocate that Turkey should take legal and legitimate steps in accordance with its obligations under international law on its own initiative, before further action by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe becomes necessary.

 

We support concrete contributions to this process by all relevant state institutions of Turkey, primarily the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), as well as by the Council of Europe. As the UEL Group, we respectfully announce to the press and the public that we will resolutely continue our discussions with all parties to ensure that PACE supports this historic process at the international level."