Politician: ending isolation is priority to continue peace process 

Since March 21 of the current month, the health condition of leader Abdullah Ocalan has topped the agenda of Kurdish circles, as well as the Human Rights Committee and local human rights organizations, amid growing concerns and warnings about the impact of his continued isolation and detention in Imrali Prison on his health, and the direct repercussions this has on the peace process and the democratic society initiative launched by the leader.

In this context, Kurdish politician and co-chair of the Democratic Union Party Council in al-Hasakah, Farhan Dawood, warned that the continued detention of leader Abdullah Ocalan in Imrali Prison directly impacts the course of the peace process and the democratic society initiative he launched nearly a year ago. He emphasized that this process requires effective communication that would allow him to follow up on his duties and push the initiative toward more advanced steps.

Dawood explained that concerns about the leader’s health have existed for some time due to detention conditions that “do not provide the standards of normal human living.” He noted that the continuation of isolation and the prevention of communication not only threaten his health status but also hinder the progress of the peace process, which requires an appropriate political and humanitarian environment to ensure its success represented in securing his release.

Dawood stressed the necessity for the Turkish authorities to take serious steps in this direction, allowing him to hold meetings and continue his role in the political process. He pointed out that the initiative launched by the leader and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party has achieved noticeable progress, while Turkey, in his view, has not taken the required steps to ensure the success of the process.

He added that the accelerating developments and escalating events in the Middle East increase the importance of this process and the need to push it forward. He emphasized that the responsibility for safeguarding the leader’s health does not rest solely on the Kurdish people but also includes human rights and humanitarian organizations, as well as the peoples of the Middle East, since the proposed initiative “aims to serve all peoples.”

The Kurdish politician, co-chair of the Democratic Union Party Council in al-Hasakah, Farhan Dawood, concluded by stressing that discussions in Turkey about progress in the peace process do not necessarily mean that the leader’s health condition is good. He reiterated the need to end the isolation and secure his physical freedom, considering this a fundamental condition for the continuation of the process and its advancement to broader and more progressive stages.

Leader Abdullah Ocalan has been detained in Imrali Prison on Imrali Island in the Sea of Marmara since February 15, 1999, after being captured in Nairobi, Kenya, handed over to Turkish authorities, and tried there. He was initially sentenced to death, but the sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment following widespread Kurdish uprisings and protests across Kurdistan, Turkey, and internationally in 2002.

ANHA