The European Parliament Standing Rapporteur on Turkey, Nacho Sánchez Amor, spoke to journalist Erem Kansoy about the ‘Call for Peace and Democratic Society’ made by Abdullah Öcalan on 27 February. In his historic statement conveyed through the DEM Party İmralı Delegation, the Kurdish leader highlighted the inevitable need for democratic politics and a democratic society and called on the PKK to lay down arms and dissolve itself.

“This is absolutely good news. It is another opportunity for the country to engage again in a political process that could finally drive for a peaceful solution to the conflict. The first thing I would like to raise is this; it has to be a solution or a process in the constitutional frame of Turkey,” said Nacho Sánchez Amor.

Referring to the dimensions of the Kurdish question, he continued: “I know many Kurdish people. There are other aspects; other Kurdish communities abroad, in Iraq, in Syria. I think it is an important political message to say “Let’s talk about the situation of the Kurdish issue in Turkey. Let’s find a solution in Turkey’s constitutional framework. This is my main message. Now it is a process. It is going to be a long process, but the first step is a big step.

Highlighting the importance of Öcalan’s call, Sánchez Amor said: “We didn’t have in Spain, for example, this clear blatant calling for a complete cease of violence and for the dismantling of the organization. For that reason, this is an enormous step. It is a very big, important step to start with this idea; no violence and the dismantling of the PKK.”

Commending Öcalan’s statement under heavy conditions of imprisonment, Sánchez Amor said Öcalan’s call is a big step and has to be praised because it is not easy to talk from very strict prison conditions, to be able to overcome it and to have a look at the society in the way that has been done in Öcalan’s statement.