Lawyer Kýlýç speaks about the latest wave of arrests
Lawyer Kýlýç speaks about the latest wave of arrests
We publish some extracts from an interview ANF has done with Asrýn Hukuk office lawyer Özcan Kýlýç. Kýlýç speaks about the recent arrests and the new situation in Turkey.
- What is the reason for the arrest of lawyers affiliated to Asrýn Law Office, whose main client has been PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan for 12 years now?
- This operation has been launched within the context of the state KCK theorem which targets all Kurds including press members, lawyers, intellectuals and BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) members. The accusations against lawyers referring to the fact that they have a connection with an illegal organization and/or convey Öcalan’s instructions to it are actually not something new. In over 100 cases opened against our lawyers so far, the state has presented tape recordings of all their meetings with Öcalan as evidence. However, except for two cases, all have ended with the acquittal of lawyers. If these accusations were real, they would have already been put in prison. In other words, this operation doesn’t and can’t have a justification for being carried out today. In my opinion it bears a different purpose.
- What kind of a purpose?
- The AKP government has opened a wide range war against Kurds. The people who have been remanded in custody are not only lawyers, but also BDP members, members of women associations and civil society organizations, journalists, academics, writers and even the Chairman of an Alewi association. This operation which has been given the name of KCK operation and is going on for 2, 5 years now is a completely political operation that isn’t grounded on any crime or illegal activity. In fact we have been expecting this operation for two weeks since Habertürk paper published and targeted the schema of Asrýn Law Office and its press committee departments.
However, this operation is the result of a file which has been prepared jointly by the prosecutor and police by means of audio surveillance and wire-tapping since February of 2010. Along this process, when the public opinion expected a ceasefire term, the state didn’t raise difficulties regarding meetings on Ýmralý and neither the prosecutor nor judge ruled that they ‘committed a crime’. However, today the state wants to negotiate with Öcalan after isolating him from the outside world completely for some time.
- What kind of a benefit do the state expect from this policy of isolation?
- They want to solve the problem with actors they themselves choose. This is a kind of suppression operation. They are making an effort to determine a different actor, like Kemal Burkay for example, after disposing of Öcalan’s political position and leadership. In this regard, we recently see Fethullah Gülen giving messages on this line in connection with the Kurdish issue.
- What is the reason for the arrest of lawyers affiliated to Asrýn Law Office, whose main client has been PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan for 12 years now?
- This operation has been launched within the context of the state KCK theorem which targets all Kurds including press members, lawyers, intellectuals and BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) members. The accusations against lawyers referring to the fact that they have a connection with an illegal organization and/or convey Öcalan’s instructions to it are actually not something new. In over 100 cases opened against our lawyers so far, the state has presented tape recordings of all their meetings with Öcalan as evidence. However, except for two cases, all have ended with the acquittal of lawyers. If these accusations were real, they would have already been put in prison. In other words, this operation doesn’t and can’t have a justification for being carried out today. In my opinion it bears a different purpose.
- What kind of a purpose?
- The AKP government has opened a wide range war against Kurds. The people who have been remanded in custody are not only lawyers, but also BDP members, members of women associations and civil society organizations, journalists, academics, writers and even the Chairman of an Alewi association. This operation which has been given the name of KCK operation and is going on for 2, 5 years now is a completely political operation that isn’t grounded on any crime or illegal activity. In fact we have been expecting this operation for two weeks since Habertürk paper published and targeted the schema of Asrýn Law Office and its press committee departments.
However, this operation is the result of a file which has been prepared jointly by the prosecutor and police by means of audio surveillance and wire-tapping since February of 2010. Along this process, when the public opinion expected a ceasefire term, the state didn’t raise difficulties regarding meetings on Ýmralý and neither the prosecutor nor judge ruled that they ‘committed a crime’. However, today the state wants to negotiate with Öcalan after isolating him from the outside world completely for some time.
- What kind of a benefit do the state expect from this policy of isolation?
- They want to solve the problem with actors they themselves choose. This is a kind of suppression operation. They are making an effort to determine a different actor, like Kemal Burkay for example, after disposing of Öcalan’s political position and leadership. In this regard, we recently see Fethullah Gülen giving messages on this line in connection with the Kurdish issue.
