ARJÎN DİLEK ÖNCEL

Amed – The Free Women’s Movement / Tevgera Jinên Azad (TJA) will set out from Amed towards Ankara on October 1 under the slogan “We Walk to Freedom with Hope.” The march, which will last until October 7, aims to pass through the cities of Riha (Urfa), Dîlok (Antep), Adana, and Mersin before reaching Ankara.

Main demands

Among the main demands of the march are ensuring the physical freedom of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan, securing the Kurdish people’s language and cultural rights with constitutional guarantees, recognizing the people’s will in elections, and the official recognition of the co-chair system that strengthens women’s representation.

Organized primarily by TJA, the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) and the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) are also continuing their work in many cities within this framework.

DEM Party Women’s Assembly Spokesperson Halide Türkoğlu evaluated the importance of the march and the meetings of the “National Solidarity, Brotherhood, and Democracy Commission” established in Parliament.

‘Recognizing the right to hope is among the first steps that must be taken’

Halide Türkoğlu stated that within the process that began with the call of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan on February 27, certain steps have been taken, one of which was the formation of this commission in Parliament. She said:

“Of course, we will not proceed with the understanding that the democratic solution to the Kurdish question will come solely through this commission. However, there are things that must be done immediately. One of them is the complete lifting of the isolation imposed on Mr. Öcalan and ensuring his physical freedom. Free and equal working conditions must be provided. In other words, the ‘right to hope’ is one of the important agendas that this commission can also take up and act upon, and it is among the foremost steps that must be taken.”

‘The commission must go to Imrali’

Emphasizing that Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan is the “main actor” in the process and a figure with decades of experience in the democratic solution of the Kurdish question, Halide Türkoğlu said that the commission should go to Imrali as soon as possible: “What will demonstrate the sincerity of this process is the meeting with Mr. Öcalan in Imrali.”

The commission established in Parliament held its first meeting on August 5. At the first meeting, the 12-article working procedures and principles were unanimously adopted. The commission held its second meeting on August 8. At its 12th meeting on September 24, it heard from think tanks. At its 13th meeting, the commission will hear from legal organizations.

The Criticism That ‘The Commission is Proceeding progresses with listening’ Must Be Taken into Account

Halide Türkoğlu criticized the fact that the commission continued up until October 1 with merely hearing various institutions and organizations, saying:

“Many segments of society are speaking there about the democratic solution to the Kurdish question. Some statements come from experiences stretching from past to present, and they view the Kurdish question from a broader perspective. However, some statements and discussions treat this issue only as a ‘security’ matter, containing views that believe the problem will be solved by dissolving the PKK. Of course, these discussions also reveal what direction the commission may take. From this perspective, it is important that after October 1, the commission develops legislative proposals or presents a perspective toward a solution. This method of mere hearings has begun to turn into something that prolongs the process.”

Stating that concrete steps are needed for a real solution, Halide Türkoğlu warned: “Of course, listening is important, but if they think they can move forward without listening to the actual initiator of this process, then this commission cannot go beyond repetition in the democratic solution of the Kurdish question.”

‘Women will remind Parliament of its duty’

Emphasizing the importance of the women’s march from Amed to Ankara on October 1 for the process, Halide Türkoğlu said: “It is a valuable march in terms of being the voice of that will which takes Mr. Öcalan’s ‘right to hope’ as a central agenda and sees Mr. Öcalan’s freedom as its own freedom. When we talk about the country’s democratization issue, we women want to fulfill our role with demands such as ending the policy of trusteeship (kayyum), reinstating the elected to their positions, and recognizing the right to mother tongue.”

She noted that after the seven-day march, on October 7, women will present their demands in Parliament, adding that the march also aims to remind Parliament of its duties.

‘We women approach peace with great sincerity’

Halide Türkoğlu continued:

“We need to discuss the legal dimension of the process. The right to hope must be addressed, and the commission must make contact with Imrali. These are very valuable steps toward a more democratic process. We women approach peace with great sincerity. We are truly carrying out this process with belief. We view this issue free from state mentality and from the recipes imposed by imperialist powers. As Kurdish women, and as women waging the struggle for peace in Turkey, we remind everyone of their responsibilities. We are telling where to start from and how to move forward. Because this commission has not been one that truly included women. It has not been a commission that listened to women’s movements or women’s organizations. Through marches and actions like these, we will put on the public agenda what women want and how democratic solutions and women’s peace must be addressed.”

‘The process must be removed from the monopoly of political parties and the government’

Highlighting that every segment has important responsibilities in peace processes, Halide Türkoğlu said: “This is not something only women must do, or something solely related to women’s own vision of the future they believe in.”

She concluded her speech by saying: “It is now necessary to put an end to this war. The approach to the democratic solution of the Kurdish question is at the same time an approach to women, to nature, to youth, to peoples, and to faiths. We must fight for a democratic republic. And in order to wage this struggle, everyone must play their role here. This issue must be removed from the monopoly of political parties and the government.”