ISTANBUL – Onur Emre Yağan, Secretary General of the Red Party (Kızıl Parti), emphasized the necessity of establishing free and open dialogue conditions for Abdullah Öcalan in order to ensure meaningful progress in the peace and democratic society process. "Without Öcalan’s ability to express himself freely, the process will remain slow and fragile," Yağan said.
Following Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan’s call for peace, a new parliamentary commission, “Commission on National Solidarity, Fraternity, and Democracy” was established to explore democratic solutions. However, concerns have been raised about the commission’s effectiveness, particularly due to restrictions on Kurdish language use and the lack of clarity on whether Öcalan will be directly consulted.
Yağan criticized the limited structure of the commission and stated: "Peace can only succeed to the extent it is embraced by society. The commission must open itself to democratic mass organizations, trade unions, anti-war initiatives, and women’s movements, or it risks being sabotaged."
'ÖCALAN MUST BE ABLE TO SPEAK FREELY'
Stressing Öcalan’s key role in resolving the Kurdish issue, Yağan said: “If Öcalan is only allowed to speak once a month, the process will progress slowly and unevenly. He must be provided with the conditions to participate in free and open discussions.” He also proposed a more active role for women’s organizations in the process and warned that restricting the peace effort to parliament alone would be insufficient.
CALLS FOR BROADER STEPS
Yağan stated that regional developments will influence the peace process and called on Turkey to recognize the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria as part of a broader solution. He also highlighted the need to release political prisoners from the Kurdish movement and create legal frameworks for engaging with PKK guerrillas based outside of Turkey. "If this issue is to be resolved in a lasting way, these concrete steps must be taken," he said.
OPPOSING NATIONALISM AND DISCRIMINATION
While clarifying that his party is not unconditionally aligned with the Kurdish political movement, Yağan stressed their revolutionary responsibility to support a peaceful solution. “We oppose nationalist ideologies that block resolution and fuel discrimination. The socialist movement in Turkey must stand united with the Kurdish people and not allow this process to be derailed by hostility,” he said.
Although the Red Party has not formally engaged with the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party on the issue, Yağan said they are ready to contribute proposals if requested.
MA/ Melik Çelik