In this latest episode of the Medya News podcast, Erem Kansoy interviews Member of the European Parliament Laura Castel. Castel is a member of both the Catalan Parliament and of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). In the discussion, Kansoy asks Castel whether the recent family visit granted to Kurdistan Workers’ Party leader Abdullah Öcalan, and the statements made by politicians from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Turkey signify any real hope of change.
Laura Castel, thanks for joining us today.
Thank you, Erem.
Dear Laura, as you know, the latest developments are that the Kurdish leader, Mr Öcalan – his nephew, Ömer Öcalan, has visited İmralı Island and he got a message for the world, Öcalan’s message, and Öcalan saying that the isolation still continues and he has the ability and power to solve the Kurdish question if there is a right place and atmosphere to do so. So how do you evaluate this message? First of all, what would you like to say on the isolation on Öcalan?
Thank you, thank you, Erem, and thank you for asking me my opinion on that, because as a member of the Council of Europe, I think we are very focused on human rights, and I think that is a question of human rights. So it’s a basic right, the freedom of expression, and of course freedom itself. So what is important here is that for the first time in, I think, in three years, he can be visited and also can convey a message and as you said I think that it is very important for the dialogue… I think it is of utmost important to be recognised. And I think it has been several movements in the political arena in Turkish Parliament, I think, because the far right even has proposed to take Mr Öcalan to the parliament, in order to speak in the parliament.
So I think there are some movements that maybe could be, you know, a shift of the last years in the political arena of Turkey. So I think it’s very important for the one hand that Mr Öcalan could convey a message of dialogue, peace and you know, the political resolution of the Kurdish question and the other movements that have been done from the side of the far right and the right, even the government of Erdoğan. So I think it may be, maybe the things have moved, they are moving. So, let’s see.
Thank you, Laura. Secondly, you mentioned the peace process and dialogues as well. How important are they, and what needs to be done to bring Turkey to the peace negotiations and stop the war and start the peace negotiations?
I think it is the way to solve the Kurdish question, only with dialogue, only sitting at a table and solving all the things. Of course, the first is to stop the war, because the army of the Turkish government is bombing always the north of Iraq. So I think that should be stopped. The dialogue, it is the first step. And the second step is put on one side of the table, Mr Öcalan, as the leader of the Kurdish movement, and give him the opportunity to lead this dialogue, this peace, and this call for peace, and this call for dialogue in order to solve this question. I think that is the cornerstone and the only way to solve this… only dialogue and political solutions.
Thank you, Laura. Also, another problem is about Turkey’s attacks on Rojava. Lately, in the last 10 days, since the 23 October, the operations and bombardments still continues. But when you look at the inner policies of Turkish government, especially the opposition like CHP [Republican People’s Party], also MHP [Nationalist Movement Party] as well, they’re making announcements that they are mentioning they’re holding out a peace hand for the Kurds. But the bombardments still continue. How do you comment on this? Do you think this is like a true peace hand or is it just a fake political peace hand?
Yeah, you’re right. It is contradictory. Very contradictory. It exists. The world is contradictory. This kind of announcement of good intentions and even some visits in the prison, some announcements of taking Mr Öcalan in the parliament. Also, Erdoğan saying that this is a good idea. but at the same time they are bombing this Kurdish territory. So I don’t know what does it mean, I don’t know if it’s, as you said, a fake strategy, so announcing that they are trying to do things. I think it is in order to having the arguments in front of the Council of Europe, for instance, that we are doing things, so we want, we are willing to do this, we are willing to open a dialogue, we want to take Mr Öcalan in the parliament, we want to open this dialogue, but at the same time they are bombing territories and killing civilians. I think maybe it could be a fake strategy, just to have, you know, a shell, a protection of, yes, we are doing the path of human rights, so we are taking Öcalan out of the prison, just for taking in the parliament and I don’t know, maybe it could be that, to stop the actions of the Council of Europe against Turkey. I don’t know, could be that.
Thanks, Laura. So also, if it’s possible for you to comment on the situation of the campaign that the Kurds are running, which is ‘Freedom for Öcalan a Political Solution for the Kurdish Question’. Because according to that, there are 69 Nobel laureates who have signed this as well, and also the European Council has this topic on their agenda, the ‘Right to Hope’ for Öcalan … and you are also a Council of Europe member as well. So, where does it go, do you think, politically? Do you think the European Council will take action in a year’s time against Turkey if Turkey doesn’t comply with the human rights of Öcalan? How is it going to work? What does Turkey need to expect during this process?
I think there are some movements, very little, but of course with Turkey’s government or Turkey’s representatives, you never know, so maybe it is fake. But I detect some movements from the side of the government and some representatives of the government in the Council of Europe. but proclaiming that they want to solve that, really. And it seems that it is true, because I think there are some articles in the press claiming that it should be solved, and announcing visiting prisoners, political prisoners in the prison. So there are some things, some movements. At the same time, these Nobel Prize signatures in favour of the dialogue and taking Mr Öcalan outside the prison and so on, I think it is a next level and could be, this time could be heard.
And also, it is a way to put the Kurdish question and Mr Öcalan concretely, this issue in the agenda. And it is a way to proclaim that Mr Öcalan’s situation should be solved immediately. Because it is not solved. At the end, it is… as I said, it is the cornerstone of the Kurdish question. If he is in prison, the Kurdish question never will be solved. And I think maybe the Council of Europe is now taking it seriously. We know that Turkey is one of the founder member states of the Council of Europe and it’s very important and we don’t want to expel Turkey outside the Council of Europe as it was Russia from the aggression, of course, because it is not the same, an aggression against another member of the consular group, of course. But the violation of human rights from the Turkish government, I think they are huge, and so we need this put on the agenda, and I think this time could be the one, the one putting this on the agenda.
Is there anything you would like to add on about all this?
In the Spanish Senate, our group, myself and my colleagues of the Basque country, [from Euskal Herria] Bildu, and myself have registered a motion in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Spanish Senate asking the Spanish government to fix and help in Mr Öcalan’s situation. So I think that is important. It’s another action. I think all these little actions at the end helped to put the frame, an argumentative frame in favour of the human rights and the freedom of expression and political representation, of all the ideologies in a peaceful way. And I think it’s important.
We did this, I think on 9 October, so two weeks ago, or three weeks ago. So that’s another thing I would like to share with you. So the Kurdish question is always present in our agenda because we as Catalans and my colleague as Basque country citizens, we are very fond of you, of the Kurdish people, because I think we should help each other, and we believe in the self-determination of the peoples.
Laura Castel, thanks for joining us and thank you for your valuable comments.
Thank you, thank you, and keep fighting, fighting peacefully.
