NEW international petition against the isolation of Öcalan

[Anthea]

International delegation led by Judge Moosa asks to visit Öcalan in İmralı

PKK (Kurdistan Worker's Party) leader Abdullah Öcalan who was brought to Turkey as a result of an international conspiracy on 15 February 1999 remains in isolation in İmralı Island Prison since.

An international delegation led by Nelson Mandela's lawyer Essa Moosa from the International Peace and Reconciliation Initiative has planned a three-day visit to Turkey on February 14th to make efforts for the ending of the isolation on the Kurdish leader and the ongoing war in North Kurdistan territory.

The delegation will meet committees from HDP, CHP and AKP before going to the Island of İmralı for a visit to Öcalan on 16 February.

Jusge Essa Moosa will be accompanied by the following names during the three-day talks in Turkey;

Independent author, copy editor, and graphic artist Janet Biehl from America

Political activist, writer and publisher Dimitri Roussopoulos from Canada, co-founder of International Confederation for Disarmament and Peace

Academic Federico Venturini from the University of Leeds, UK,

Academic Dr. Thomas Jeffrey Miley from the University of Cambridge, UK

Social justice activist Dr. Radha D’Souza from UK

Andrej Hunko, member of the German Parliament, Bundestag

Author Eirik Eiglad from the New Compass, Norway

Edgar de Jesús Lucena González from the Venezuealan Parliament

Joe Ryan, Chair of Westminster Justice and Peace, UK

Francisco Velasco Andrade, former Minister of Culture for Ecuador.

LETTER TO THE TURKISH MINISTER OF JUSTICE

Judge Essa Moosa who will be leading the delegation to visit Turkey, wrote a letter to the Turkish Minister of Justice, Bekir Bozdağ, in which he explained the reason for their demand to pay a visit to İmralı as follows; "We believe Öcalan can play a very important role for the resolution of the Kurdish question in Turkey, in the same way President Nelson Mandela did in South Africa."

‘ÖCALAN AND MANDELA IN THE SAME POSITION'

Essa Moosa stressed in his letter that Öcalan's conditions needed to be improved in order for the re-initiation of the peace process, and likened his situation to that of South African leader Nelson Mandela. In this regard, Moosa attached a copy of a letter written to him by Mandela on 21 August 1989 which manifests how the South African leader didn't give up the fight for peace despite all the challenging circumstances during those years.

'WE WANT TO VISIT ÖCALAN'

The letter by Judge Moosa, which was written on behalf of a very esteemed delegation in international, political and cultural arena, said; "The mission of the delegation is to visit Turkey to provide a contribution to the ending of the conflict ongoing since the unexpected collapse of the peace process and its re-initiation of talks for peace. This mission therefore requires a meeting with firstly Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and then Kurdish people's imprisoned leader Mr. Abdullah Öcalan. We intend to focus on talking to Mr. Öcalan regarding the peace process for we believe he can play a very important role for the resolution of the Kurdish question in Turkey, in the same way President Nelson Mandela did in South Africa. Our delegation asks to be granted a visit İmralı Prison on February 16th, 2016."

Moosa said the delegation also wanted to hold a briefing meeting with the Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdağ after the visit to the Kurdish leader in İmralı.

DELEGATION SUPPORTED BY PROMINENT NAMES

The 11-person international delegation is also supported by a variety of worldwide known names who include Prof. Noam Chomsky, Tariq Ali, Prof. David Graeber, John Holloway, Mauro Palma, Dr. Felix Padel, Baroness Helena Kennedy, Baroness Jenny Jones, Mark Thomas, Jeremy Hardy, Dr. Dafydd Iwan, Dr. Bill Bowring, Mike Mansfield, James Kelman, Bruce Kent, Dr. Derek Wall, Bert Schouwenburg, Stephen Smellie, Nick Hildyard, Louise Christian, Tony Simpson, Ara Sarafian, Alastair Lyon, Matt Foot, Bronwen Jones, Johannes de Jong and Feroze Mithiborwala.

[Anthea]

Has permission for the visit been granted?

[Anthea]

International delegation to arrive in Turkey for a visit to Öcalan

An international delegation led by Essa Moosa has planned a three-day visit to Turkey on February 14th to contribute efforts for the ending of the isolation on the Kurdish leader and the ongoing war in North Kurdistan.


PKK (Kurdistan Worker's Party) leader Abdullah Öcalan who was brought to Turkey as a result of an international conspiracy on 15 February 1999 remains in isolation in İmralı Island Prison since.

An international delegation led by South African Leader Nelson Mandela's lawyer Essa Moosa from the International Peace and Reconciliation Initiative has planned a three-day visit to Turkey on February 14th to contribute efforts for the ending of the isolation on the Kurdish leader and the ongoing war in North Kurdistan.

The 11-person delegation which will arrive in Istanbul tomorrow will meet committees from HDP, CHP and AKP before being granted a visit to the Island of İmralı on 16 February. Judge Essa Moosa will be accompanied by the following names during the three-day talks in Turkey;

- Independent author, copy editor, and graphic artist Janet Biehl from America

- Political activist, writer and publisher Dimitri Roussopoulos from Canada, co-founder of International Confederation for Disarmament and Peace

- Academic Federico Venturini from the University of Leeds, UK,

- Academic Dr. Thomas Jeffrey Miley from the University of Cambridge, UK

- Social justice activist Dr. Radha D’Souza from UK

- Andrej Hunko, member of the German Parliament, Bundestag

- Author Eirik Eiglad from the New Compass, Norway

- Edgar de Jesús Lucena González from the Venezuealan Parliament

- Joe Ryan, Chair of Westminster Justice and Peace, UK

- Francisco Velasco Andrade, former Minister of Culture for Ecuador.

Thomas Jeffrey Miley, Janet Biehl and Andrej Hunko spoke to ANF before the visit to Turkey which is meant to provide contribution to efforts for the ending of the ongoing conflict and re-initiation of peace process.

JEFFREY MILEY: ÖCALAN'S IDEA NEEDED

Academic Dr. Thomas Jeffrey Miley from the University of Cambridge called attention to the deadlock faced today with regards to the resolution of the Kurdish question in Turkey, adding; "While Turkey's intellectuals who speak against the escalated conflict and human rights violations are being threatened and suppressed, Turkey faces the risk of witnessing a war like in Syria which would storm through the entire region. This is the very reason why Abdullah Öcalan's idea is needed. His voice is of great importance for peace, and the democratic confederalism model put forward by his side is the only alternative to the atrocity, chaos and war ongoing in the Middle East. For all these reasons, we want to go to İmralı and talk to him."

Pointing to AKP government's failure to embrace the HDP's political project and results of elections, Miley said the followings; "AKP and Erdoğan treated HDP's success as a threat against their authoritarian system. One other factor is the growing sympathy for the Kurdish Freedom Movement that put up brave resistance in Kobanê. These two developments have mobilized the warlike reflexes of those holding the ideological and power tools of the Turkish state which consequently resorted to violence. However, Kurdish Freedom Movement cannot be suppressed and defeated this way."

JANET BIEHL: TURKEY SHOULD RECOGNISE THE RIGHTS OF KURDS

Independent author and copy editor Janet Biehl also called attention to Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan's role in the resolution of the Kurdish question, saying; "The goal of the delegation's visit is to enable the re-initiation of dialogue in order for the resolution of the Kurdish question through peaceful ways. Mr. Öcalan has a major role in this regard. The ongoing aggravated isolation imposed on him since April is anti-democratic and unlawful. There exists an urgent need to end the military operations on Kurdish towns, massacre of Kurdish civilians, isolation on Öcalan and re-initiation of peace process."

Drawing attention to Kurdish people's inalienable right to live freely in their own land with their own identity, Biehl criticised the suppression of Kurdish people's self-rule demand through military ways, adding; "The Turkish state is suppressing the Kurdish minority, denying their existence utterly, bombing Kurdish towns and implementing genocidal policies against Kurds whom it sees as terrorists. It is doing this with merciless atrocity. In this age, the Turkish state should recognise the existence of Kurds and grant them the right to live freely together, which will also bring along democratization."

ANDREJ HUNKO: TURKEY IS COMMITTING A CRIME

Another member of the delegation, Andrej Hunko, member of the German Parliament, put emphasis on the urgent need for both sides to return to the negotiation table, for the accomplishment of which - he said- Öcalan must be free. He noted that they will have a series of talks in Istanbul and Ankara during their visit.

Hunko described the Turkish state's massacres in Kurdistan as unacceptable and a crime according to the international law, adding; "In spite of this bare truth, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has remained silent on Turkey's practices on the excuse of the refugee problem. This is a shame."

[Anthea]

Delegation STILL waiting for permission to visit Ocalan

The delegation of world-renowned names has arrived in Istanbul on anniversary of the February 15 conspiracy and is still awaiting permission to visit Ocalan

Why does the Ministry of Justice take so long to reply?

It is not as if the intended visit is a surprise to anyone

[Anthea]

PKK (Kurdistan Worker's Party) leader Abdullah Öcalan who was brought to Turkey as a result of an international conspiracy on 15 February 1999 remains in isolation in İmralı Island Prison since.

An international delegation led by South African Leader Nelson Mandela's lawyer Essa Moosa has arrived in Istanbul to make efforts for the ending of the isolation on the Kurdish leader and the ongoing war in North Kurdistan.

The delegation which has conveyed to the Ministry of Justice their request for a meeting with Minister Bekir Bozdağ will have a series of talks with representatives of political parties, non-governmental organisations, intellectuals and academics during their three-day visit in Turkey.

The first meeting of the delegation took place with Democratic Society Congress (DTK), which will be followed by talks with HDP and NGOs. Members of the delegation are still waiting for an answer from the Ministry of Justice to their application for a visit to Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan in İmralı.

[Anthea]

The 11-person international delegation on a three-day visit to Turkey continues its talks as part of their goal to make efforts for the ending of the isolation on the Kurdish leader and the ongoing war in North Kurdistan.

The delegation conveyed to the Ministry of Justice their request for a meeting Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan in İmralı, but hasn't been answered yet.

Members of the delegation today held a press conference in Istanbul in which they called attention to Öcalan's role for the achievement of peace, and called upon the Turkish state to resume the process of resolution and end violence.

The delegation had already applied to the Ministry of Justice for a meeting with Öcalan but the Ministry said they haven't received the letter yet. The delegation therewith sent another letter to the Ministry today.

Öcalan has been denied meeting with elected politicians since before the June election; with his family for 14 months; and with his lawyers for the past 5 years.

The goal of our visit was to visit Mr. Abdullah Öcalan, who is jailed in İmralı Prison and isolated from the whole world for 9 months, to talk about the interrupted peace process in Turkey. As of February 15, it has been 17 years since Öcalan was arrested.

[Anthea]

International delegation returns without a response on İmralı visit

The 11-person international delegation that has been on a three-day visit to Turkey to make efforts for the re-initiation of peace talks has returned without getting a response for their demand to visit Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan in İmralı prison.

The Ministry of Justice failed to respond to the delegation's request for a meeting with Abdullah Öcalan on İmralı.

Yesterday, members of the delegation today held a press conference in Istanbul where they voiced disappointment over the Justice Ministry's abstinence from any effort to have a talk with their side.

The delegation's first application Ministry of Justice took place on 30 January. The delegation had reiterated their request for the İmralı visit on 3, 5 and 13 February.

[Anthea]

230 lawyers apply to meet Öcalan

230 lawyers who assembled under the organisation of Asrın Law Office have applied to Bursa Public Prosecutor's House demanding a meeting with Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan who has been denied visit by his lawyers since 27 July 2011.

Lawyers asked to be granted a visit to Öcalan in aggravated isolation in İmralı Prison within the soonest time possible.

Lawyers seeking a meeting with the Kurdish leader include members of Libertarian Lawyers' Association (Özgürlükçü Hukukçular Derneği, ÖHD), Mesopotamia Lawyers' Association (Mezopotamya Hukukçular Derneği, MHD) and many others from Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir.

[Anthea]

Lawyers launch international petition against the isolation of Öcalan

Lawyers launched an international petition campaign against the isolation of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan, emphasizing that the isolation threatened peace, had torturous aspects, and should end immediately.

The international petition campaign, demanding an end to the isolation of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan and addressing the European Council (EC) General Secretariat and the Committee on the Prevention of Torture (CPT), began in Greece. Öcalan’s lawyers met with bar association and lawyers’ organization representatives in Greece regarding the petition campaign.

Öcalan’s lawyers visited the Bar Association of Piraeus and asked for support to and participation in the petition campaign. The Bar Association board discussed the topic and made a statement signed by the The President George Stamatogiannis and the Ηοnorary Secretary Panagiotis Petropoulos.

'DISCRIMINATORY TREATMENT AGAINST ÖCALAN A DIRECT VIOLATION'

The Bar Association of Piraeus expressed its strong opposition to the violation of the rights of Abdullah Öcalan, who is detained in Turkey since 1999 under circumstances of complete isolation and, indeed, in the last few years without the possibility of personal, or even telephonic or other communication even with his relatives and lawyers.

The statement pointed out that the discriminatory treatment against Abdullah Öcalan in comparison with other detainees and his total and continuous isolation constitute a direct violation of the above International Treaties, as well as of the fundamental rights of detainees.

The Bar Association of Piraeus called upon the Turkish Government to comply with its international obligations concerning the protection of human rights and the prevention of torture and any harsh and degrading conduct. The Bar asked that Turkey stops forthwith such inhuman and degrading treatment of Abdulah Ocalan, lifts the state of his isolation and restores the normal and unimpeded communication, by mail, telephone and in person, between him and his family and lawyers.

Below is the text of the petition launched by lawyers:

"İmralı Island is a law-free zone. Abdullah Öcalan has been imprisoned in İmralı Island since his arrival in Turkey on February 15, 1999. İmralı prison has been designed for Öcalan’s imprisonment, and the 5 miles around the island have been declared as military zone and airspace.

Mr. Öcalan was the only prisoner of İmralı prison between February 16, 1999 and November 17, 2009. 5 prisoners were transferred to the island afterwards, but Öcalan could see these prisoners only 5 hours a week. In a way, the arrival of 5 prisoners did not end Öcalan’s isolation and meant the isolation of 5 more prisoners.

As stated in European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and CPT reports, Öcalan never had access to a phone and his right to send and receive letters was limited. Many of the letters Öcalan wrote and hoped to receive were censored or seized without any explanation. Although Öcalan has the legal right to see family members twice a month, state officials often arbitrarily limited or violated this right. Öcalan’s right to meet with his lawyers was also arbitrarily violated with excuses such as ‘broken ferries’ or ‘weather conditions.’ Öcalan’s meetings with his lawyers have been prevented since July 27, 2011. Öcalan has also not been able to meet with family members since October 6, 2014 and with political committee representatives since April 5, 2015.

'ISOLATION IS TORTURE'

CPT had described Öcalan’s situation as “unarguably isolation since February 16, 1999” (http://www.cpt.coe.int/documents/tur/20 ... nf-eng.pdf, p.31). ECHR had described the situation between February 6, 1999 and November 17, 2009 as “torture and maltreatment, as described in the 3rd article of the convention.”

'ISOLATION THREATENS INTERNAL PEACE'

Isolation of Öcalan threatens internal peace and inflicts a critical blow to the peaceful solution of problems through negotiation. Periods in which the isolation is intensified are also the periods when violence against civilians reaches its peak. This pattern has been prevalent since the beginning of Öcalan’s imprisonment, and peace was only given a chance when Öcalan became more accessible.

Objecting to isolation is also objecting to war and standing up for peace. Objecting to the heavy cruelty against Abdullah Öcalan, whose freedom is demanded by 10 million and 328 thousand people living in a diverse geography, is also standing up for the co-existence of people from different linguistic, cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds.”