Pervin Boldan: Öcalan must immediately take over the coordination of the peace process

The congress began with a minute of silence in memory of the martyrs of the freedom struggle.

Van Dem Party Co-Chairs: Öcalan’s release is essential for the success of the process

Vesi Dilkeçi and Gülşen Kurt, co-chairs of the Van Dem Party organization, emphasized the role of Abdullah Öcalan in the ongoing process in their speeches.

They said: “This process began with the efforts of Mr. Abdullah Öcalan. Until he achieves physical freedom, the process will not reach its goal and will not be completed.»

Abdullah Zeydan, the co-mayor of Van Metropolitan Municipality, also emphasized in a short speech the social solidarity and the continuation of the struggle to defend the will of the people and local administrations.

Boldan: Öcalan's responsibility must be clearly defined

Pervin Boldan began her speech by conveying Abdullah Öcalan's greetings to the congress participants and then spoke about the peace process and democratic society.

She stated: "I am honored to bring you the greetings of Mr. Abdullah Öcalan. This process holds great hopes. The process continues step by step and our people follow it with great expectations."

Boldan added: "The process is moving forward; but in order for it to be managed better, Mr. Abdullah Öcalan must immediately start his activities to manage the peace coordination and enter the political arena.»

The İmralı Party delegation member called on the Turkish government to officially and transparently define Öcalan's name, position and responsibility in this mechanism.

He said: "The government and the regime should determine the name of this mechanism as soon as possible and define the responsibility of Mr. Abdullah Öcalan. I believe that after this definition, the process will move forward more quickly."

Boldan addressed Erdogan: Remove the governors

Boldan continued by addressing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying that canceling the appointment of government governors in municipalities could be the first practical step of the government to strengthen trust in the process.

He said: "From here, I address the president; you can, as a first step, restore the will that has been taken from our people. Remove the governors appointed in our municipalities and return the elected mayors to their responsibilities.Boldan, stating that the DPM does not want the peace process to fail, added: “We know the value of peace and we do not want this process to disappear. We are happy that no new bodies have returned to this land and no new mothers have mourned in the past two years. No one can bear the new pain and expenses anymore.”

He continued: “Our burden is heavy and our path is long; but we believe that we will succeed.”

Hatem Ogholari: Society is losing its trust

Tulay Hatem Ogholari, the co-chair of the DPM, also emphasized at the congress the party’s continued hope for peace, but warned of the decline in public trust as a result of the government’s delay in taking practical steps.

He said: “Some people ask, do you still have hope and expectations in this peace process? Our hope for peace has never diminished.We talked about peace 30 years ago and we want peace today, but the government and the regime should know that society is losing its trust.”

Hatem Oğulari added that people want to trust the process and expect the agreements discussed in Imrali to be implemented in practice.

Referring to the October 8 statement of the Kurdish movement, he said: “In that statement, the positions and the roadmap were clearly announced. What are they still waiting for to carry out the investigations and approvals? Why is this process taking so long?”

Request for the release of sick prisoners

The co-chair of the Democrat Party emphasized that the negotiations have their own path and mechanism; but legal and democratic reforms must also be carried out in addition.

Referring to the situation of political and sick prisoners, he said: “There is no need for a decision by the Turkish National Security Council to release sick prisoners.The delay in the release of prisoners who have been in prison for 30 years is increasing and urgent action must be taken in this regard.”

Hatem Oğulları said that the DİM Party has defined its position on the two axes of “negotiation and struggle” from the beginning.

He added: “Now is not the time to stop; it is the time to strengthen the organization. The way to strengthen Mr. Abdullah Öcalan’s position in İmralı is through a wider organization and a stronger struggle. In this way, we can break the pressure and strengthen the political arena.”

At the end of the congress, the new leadership of the DİM Party provincial organization was elected. Gulsen Kurt and Veysi Güneş were elected as the new co-chairs of the party’s Van organization.