Öcalan’s written message was read out at the Newroz celebrations in Diyarbakır. Öcalan made call of farewell to arms on the basis of principles.
HDP Parliamentary Group Deputy President Pervin Buldan read out the message in Kurdish. This was followed by Member of Parliament Sırrı Süreyya Önder reading out the message in Turkish.
In his message, Öcalan said, “We are now faced with the mission to start the new process on the basis of the ten articles officially declared at the historical Dolmabahçe Palace by us all.”
Öcalan made a call to hold congress to declare an end to armed struggle, saying, “I see it historical and necessary to hold a congress to stop the armed struggle which has been carried out by the PKK against the Republic of Turkey for nearly 40 years, and to set the political and societal strategies and tactics which are suitable for the spirit of this new period.”
Öcalan added, “I hope that we can come to a principal agreement at the shortest possible time, and through the truth and reconciliation commission formed of Members of Parliament and a Monitoring Council, successfully realize this congress.”
Öcalan emphasized the role of women and youth in taking active part in the struggle for freedom and equality.
Abdullah Öcalan’s message, [in the translation provided with some redaction] is as below:
TO ALL OUR PEOPLE;
I am greeting the Newroz of all our people and friends who take sides with peace, equality, freedom, and democracy.
The crisis, which is caused by neoliberal policies imposed upon the whole World by imperialist capitalism and its despotic local collaborators, takes effect on our region and country. In this crisis environment, the ethnic and religious differences of our people and their cultures are being disappeared by meaningless and brutal identity wars. Neither our historical nor modern, neither our conscience nor our political values can remain silent or indifferent against this political landscape. On the contrary, an urgent intervention is our religious, political and moral responsibility.
Our struggle for democracy, freedom, fraternity and honourable peace of our country’s people is now at a historical threshold. The forty-year struggle of our movement that suffered many pains did not come to nothing but now is at a stage that cannot be maintained in the same way. History and our people demand a democratic solution and peace in keeping with the spirit of our time. We are now faced with the mission to start the new process on the basis of the ten articles officially declared at the historical Dolmabahçe Palace by us all.
With the agreement on principles under declaration, I see it historical and necessary to hold a congress to stop the armed struggle, which has been carried out by the PKK against the Republic of Turkey for nearly 40 years, and to set the political and societal strategies and tactics which are suitable for the spirit of this new period. I hope that we can come to a principal agreement at the shortest possible time, and through the truth and reconciliation commission formed of Members of Parliament and Monitoring Council, successfully realize this congress. With this congress, the new period starts. In this new period, we are entering a new process within the Turkish Republic on the basis of a free and equal constitutional citizenship, as a democratic society with a democratic identity, to live fraternally and in peace. In this way, we will overcome the 90-year history of the Republic that is full of conflicts, and we are walking towards a future knitted with real peace and universal democratic criteria. The real history of Newroz is to greet this process in your presence. However, the facts that are right for our country and our people should at the same time be valid for our region of myriad sacredness. The reality of capitalist imperialism in general for the last two hundred, and especially one hundred years is: On the basis of nation-state nationalism to set ethnic and religious identities against each other, and to sustain its existence according to a cruel policy of divide and rule -until now!
We should know that the latest brutality of imperialist powers, which do not give up their ambitions on the Middle East, has appeared in the image of ISIS. This organization forces even the meaning of brutality, and has slaughtered Kurdish, Turcoman, Arab, Ezidi and Assyrian people without indiscriminating women and children.
Today is the day to terminate this brutal and disastrous history and to move towards peace, fraternity and democracy which are suitable to our past. My mind and belief tell me it is necessary to overcome the nation states which are caused by confrontational, exhausting, disastrous nationalism with democratic politics to move towards a collective ground based on open democratic identities. For this, I call nation states to perform the new type of democratic easement with a democratic policy and again I call upon the nation states to build the new democratic collective house of the Middle East within them.
Besides, today I call upon women and youth whose wings beat for freedom, who form the overwhelming majority of your tremendous crowd to take active roles and be successful in the struggle for freedom and equality in the economic, social, and political and security fields of the forthcoming period. Besides, I am greeting the resistance and victory of Kobani which has great meaning for our region and also for the international World. I also greet the “Soul of Eşme” that grew on this basis as a symbol among our peoples of this new history. The assessments I have sought to make above are, in one sentence, a precious call for the societal rebuild, revision and restoration of both our history and contemporary times.
Again, I am greeting this historical Newroz in your presence for all the people of the World.
Long live Newroz
Long live the fraternity of People
