Orsola Casagrande: Conditions must be created for Abdullah Öcalan to play his role 2025-02-05 10:01:02       Melek Avcı   ANKARA- Award-winning journalist and author Orsola Casagrande, commenting on the talks with PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan and Turkey's attacks on northern and eastern Syria, underlined that the isolation should be lifted and conditions should be made favourable for Abdullah Ocalan to play his role.     Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) İmralı Delegation Pervin Buldan and Sırrı Süreyya Önder held two meetings with PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is held under aggravated isolation in İmralı on 28 December 2024 and 22 January.  The 7 basic messages that came after the meeting were on the agenda of the world, and the information that Abdullah Öcalan was preparing for a historical solution was taken with hope.    While this process was ongoing, a large number of international participants, including academics, trade unionists, politicians, human rights defenders, sent a letter addressed to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoEEC) demanding the immediate access of Abdullah Öcalan to his lawyers and family and his eventual release.   The letter also pointed to the talks with Abdullah Öcalan and emphasised his readiness for a peaceful process despite his 26 years of imprisonment and called for concrete steps to end the conflict in Turkey and contribute to lasting peace in the Middle East.   One of the signatories of the letter, Orsola Casagrande, an award-winning journalist and writer who has collaborated with international peace mediator Brian Currin in peace negotiations in the Basque Country, Kurdistan and Colombia, spoke to JINNEWS about the new negotiations and the isolation.     ‘The visit was marred by the fact that the isolation has not been lifted’   Orsola Casagrande stated that the visit with Abdullah Öcalan after a 43-month break was important and that Abdullah Öcalan should be free in order to play his role for a lasting peace. Orsola Casagrande said, " I think that the visit by Omer Ocalan was good news, at least one of the violations of rights (namely the right to receive visits) was interrupted, albeit not completely (still Ocalan is not able to see his family and lawyers). It was good to receive news from Ocalan after 43 months of absolute isolation, because everyone was very concerned about him. Of course, as Ocalan himself pointed out, isolation continues, that's why the happiness for the visit with his nephew was darkened by the fact that isolation has not been lifted. Which means we all have to continue to struggle and demand the end of isolation, and the release of Ocalan, so that he could play his role in the search for a just and lasting peace.”   ‘AKP-MHP alliance fails to offer ways out of the crisis, war has taken the country's budget’    Orsola Casagrande stated that the İmralı talks are remarkable at this stage in view of the developments in Syria and the Middle East and added that the current government in Turkey is not as strong as it used to be and the society is in crisis. Orsola Casagrande added, “I think that  Turkish president Erdogan finds himself in a very difficult situation: he is not as strong as he was some years ago, society is tired and angry because of the economic crisis strangling it, the AKP-MHP alliance is not offering ways out of the crisis and ultimately most people start seeing that war is taking away a lot of the country's budget.. Money that should go instead to improve social, health and work conditions.”   ‘Erdoğan started a reign of terror but was defeated both in the elections and on the front line’   Orsala Casagrande stated that the current government could not break the Kurds' determination for peace despite all the genocide and oppression, " rdogan knows very well that peace is not possible without engaging in dialogue with the main interlocutor, the main party in the conflict, namely Abdullah Ocalan. Erdogan knew this back in 2013, but preferred to try working out things in a different way: after collapsing the peace process in 2015, he staged the attempted coup and began a true reign of terror, arresting thousands of people...   Yet, he could not break Kurdish will and determination to work for peace. A commitment the Kurdish people showed and reaffirmed at every local election for example. Erdogan added repression to repression and didn't not achieve anything. Likewise, on the war front, he couldn't achieve the results he had hoped for: guerrillas responded and continue to respond to every single attack. After the general elections Erdogan realized that his support further diminished, so he decided to work on a double table, so to speak.”   ‘The last desperate attempts of someone losing power’   Regarding the attacks on northern and eastern Syria at the same time as the negotiations were taking place, Orsala Casagrande said: “On the one hand, he allowed communication with Ocalan, while on the other took advantage of the chaotic situation in Syria to attack Rojava. The two things go together of course and it is no coincidence that they happen at the same time, because in fact Erdogan is de facto accepting Ocalan as the main interlocutor while attacking the very implementation (democratic confederalism) of Ocalan's paradigm in Rojava. I think that Erdogan wants to show his muscles by attacking Rojava, somehow thinking that this would allow him to obtain concessions... However, it looks to me more like the final desperate attempt of someone who feels he is losing power. Of course, the attacks against Rojava are killing people, civilians and fighters alike. Which is why the international community should stand up and raise its voice against these crimes against humanity, because this is what they are.”   ‘Öcalan is the only real person interested in peace’   Referring to the talks in İmralı and the messages coming from there, Orsala Casagrande said “ The messages are very important, of course, and above all they showed once again that the only real person interested in peace is Ocalan (together with Kurds of course). Despite everything that happened, throughout all these years, Ocalan never stopped working for a political solution to the Kurdish question. This was always his commitment and he reaffirmed this in the last meetings he had with the Imrali delegation. Once again, the international community cannot remain silent and should support Ocalan and his proposal for a just and lasting peace. Of course, for any peace process to be called so, conditions and an environment favourable to negotiations must be created. This is not yet the case. The first thing to do is ending isolation and providing Ocalan with suitable conditions to work. He should be able to meet whoever he deems important, whenever he deems appropriate, not when the AKP-MHP government wants. A peace process is not something you start and end on demand.”   ‘Conditions favourable to negotiations have still not been created’   "Of course, in order for any peace process to be called as such, conditions and environment favourable to negotiations must be created,” Orsola Casagrande said, pointing out that the isolation must first be lifted: " As I said before, Ocalan never stopped working for a solution to the Kurdish question leading to a just and lasting peace and the democratization of Turkey. And of course, a solution for Turkey also means creating conditions for a solution to the issues concerning the Middle East.”   What should international organisations do in this process?    As the anniversary of the 15 February International Conspiracy approaches, Orsola Casagrande also pointed to the role of the international community in a new process of negotiations and peace: “Again, the international institutions and the international community and states should be much more active in supporting Ocalan's initiative and the Kurdish people. One action that they could take is to demand the respect of international laws and the implementation of the right to hope. In addition, the international institutions should do more to prevent the ongoing crimes against humanity committed by the Turkish state in Northern and Eastern Syria but also in other parts of Kurdistan.”