DEM Party Urfa MP Ömer Öcalan met with the Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan in Imrali on 23 October. 

Öcalan told his nephew and DEM Party MP: "Isolation continues. If conditions are right, I have the theoretical and practical power to move this process from a ground of conflict and violence to a legal and political ground." 

Koldo Saenz De Benito, Secretary of International Relations of the Basque Country Labour Union (LAB), one of the supporters of the global campaign "Freedom for Öcalan, Political Solution to the Kurdish Question", spoke to ANF about the meeting in Imrali as well as the next steps that the international campaign could take.

The LAB Trade Union recently announced its support for the global campaign advocating for the freedom of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan. After 43 months of isolation, Öcalan was recently able to meet his nephew, Ömer Öcalan. How do you interpret the significance of this visit after such a prolonged period of isolation? What impact do you believe this could have on Öcalan himself, his supporters, and the broader Kurdish community?

I think that in this question there are different parameters for analyzing an event that has had a very great relevance.

On the one hand, there is the political fact that the Turkish authorities allowed the family to visit him after 43 months of total isolation, without anyone having any information about his situation and without even knowing whether he was alive. We must surely say that the campaign has achieved enough strength to force Turkey to take this step, and we should congratulate ourselves for that, because the efforts of those of us who have demanded Abdullah Öcalan's freedom produced results.

On the other hand, there is the human dimension of a person in an extreme situation who, after such a long period of time, has had the opportunity to see a loved one, and also, of course, for the Kurdish community who have seen that Öcalan is alive and well and that his political struggle has produced some results.

For those of us who know at first hand the experiences of political prisoners, we know the human and political importance for the prisoner of contact with his family, friends and community. Isolation tries to break all that, trying to break the prisoner by taking away what is most important in his life, which is family, friends, community and people. Undoubtedly, the visit by his nephew was an unimaginable personal joy and a reinforcement of his political convictions.

In his recent message to the public, Abdullah Öcalan emphasized that isolation conditions persist but expressed that, given the opportunity, he has both the theoretical and practical means to shift the process from a cycle of conflict and violence to a political and legal framework. How do you interpret Öcalan’s message? What could this shift mean for the Kurdish issue and for peace efforts in the region?

My interpretation is that his message goes in the direction already expressed above. I think he is trying to create the political conditions to move from a scenario of violence and war to a democratic scenario to seek a complete political and democratic resolution to the Kurdish issue. Saving distances, it is similar to the steps taken by the Basque pro-independence Left to seek a scenario of peace and democracy, taking ETA's armed violence out of the equation. I believe that Abudallah Öcalan is trying to move towards a democratic scenario, in which it will be only the Kurdish people who decide their political future in peace and democracy, and I also believe that there is nothing more democratic than that.

This reminds me of when the historic Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat addressed the United Nations, saying that he came with a rifle in one hand and an olive branch in the other hand. Drawing a parallel with that situation, from my humble position, I appeal to everyone not to let the olive branch fall.

Lately, the political climate in Turkey has seen renewed discussions about finding a political solution to the Kurdish issue. What are your thoughts on these discussions? Do you see them as a step forward, or do you believe more substantial actions are needed?

The mere fact that a discussion on a political resolution of the Kurdish question could be opened is positive, but unfortunately it is not enough. In my opinion, in order for such a process to reach a democratic scenario, there has to be a consensus between the parties in conflict, as well as the support and mediation of the international community. Peace in Kurdistan is a good thing for everyone, and although peace always has powerful enemies, it is necessary to convince the parties that peace is a win-win situation. That is why the international community cannot look the other way and has to explore political mechanisms with the aim of seeking peace with justice in Kurdistan, because that would undoubtedly be very good news for the region and the whole world.

In this sense, I believe that solidarity organisation must continue to push in this direction. We must continue to support the petition that Abdullah Öcalan has sent us, demanding that the international community does not waste this opportunity.

The global campaign for Öcalan’s freedom has undoubtedly played a significant role in facilitating this recent meeting after 43 months of silence. How important do you consider this campaign to be in the broader struggle for Öcalan’s release? Looking ahead, what further steps should be taken to ensure his freedom and support the larger Kurdish cause?

As I said at the beginning, I believe that the meeting that took place after 43 months of isolation would not have happened without the international pressure that we have exercised. There is no doubt that in order to move the positions of a power like Turkey it is necessary to accumulate a lot of strength. We achieved that and for that we have to be very happy. Unfortunately, however, nothing ended with this meeting, although I think something did start that day. I sincerely believe that on that day Turkey's impunity began to be broken and that this meeting was the beginning of a new phase in the struggle. That's why what happened should give us enough encouragement to continue believing that the freedom of Öcalan and Kurdistan is possible and achievable. This should be the challenge for the future, to continue to accumulate forces to press for the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan and for a scenario of negotiation and dialogue for a democratic resolution of the Kurdish issue.