Kurdistan: Now it’s Erdogan’s Turn
„Öcalan’s announcement is a historical opportunity for Turkey to enable a democratic and fair solution to the decades-long conflict with the Kurds. Now the ball is in the court of the Erdogan government.“ says Jan van Aken, deputy party chair of DIE LINKE to the call of the imprisoned leader of the Kurdish PKK to give up the organisation’s armed struggle with Turkey. Van Aken further:
Therefore it is necessary that Turkey now disarms - militarily as well as ideologically. Only when the Kurdish people in Turkey gain political, economical, and cultural rights and are no longer treated as second-class citizens this step of Öcalan can lead to success. Today, during the celebrations of the Kurdish New Year, again reports about violence and harassment by Turkish security emerge, still thousands sit unjustly in Turkish jails - this repressive policy needs to cease. At the same time the international community and the German federal government are asked to support the path of dialogue with all their power to use this historic opportunity and make it politically productive.