649 CSO’s announce peace initiative for Kurdish Problem

649 CSOs declared that they would continue their work towards peace with the “Regional Civil Society Organizations Initiative.”  The initiative called for the termination of the military operations, cessation of the PKK operations, release of the children victims of the Anti-Terror Law (TMK), as well as imprisoned Kurdish politicians. The initiative also demands a civil constitution and improved dialogue with the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.

649 NGOs organized workshops in their own provinces, and then met at Diyarbakir for a workshop. The initiative was announced in a press release at the Sumerpark Reception Room. There was extensive media interest in the event, which was aired live by the major news agencies.  Semsettin Koc, president of the Diyarbakir Physicians’ Guild, delivered the statement to the press.

“GOVERNMENT SHOULD CONSIDER OUR CALL”

During his speech, Koc said that the violence in the region, the loss of lives, the economic damage, and human rights violations were the impetus for this initiative, and they would work for democracy, equality, and peace in the region. In conclusion, Koc asserted that despite the broad support for their call for peace, including their support from the Kurds, the government has refused to acknowledge their demands.

REACTIONS TO THE TREATMENT OF DEAD BODIES OF THE HPG MEMBERS

“The notion of  ‘security has been brought back into discussion, despite our knowledge this approach is not a democratic or peaceful solution to the Kurdish problem” said Koc. “The initiative that has created a professional army will make conflict permanent in the region”. Koc also pointed out the army’s treatment of corpses of the HPG, the armed forces of the PKK, was such that “no human conscience could ever accept and erodes all hopes for peace”.

“GUNS SHOULD BE WITHDRAWN MUTUALLY”

Koc said that only a mutual disarmament would bring an end to the violence in the region, and is an unnegotiable condition for peace. “Guns should be mutually withdrawn, the Turkish Armed Forces should cease operations and the PKK should halt acts of violence. There should be an end to armed conflict, to create a political environment that can support peace”, said Koc. Referring to the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, Koc continued, “For a permanent solution, all stakeholders should be a part of the dialogue and their ideas and suggestions considered seriously without prejudice.”

“JUSTICE FOR THE VICTIMS OF THE ANTI-TERROR LAW”

Koc outlined the principles of peace initiative of the 649 CSOs:

•    NGOs of the region believe there is a pluralistic, democratic, equality-oriented civil and constitutional solution to resolve the Kurdish problem.

•    To fairly represent the political will of the people, all bans created by the Political Parties Law (SPK) should be removed; especially sections used in general elections, to bring an end to representational injustice.

•    The Anti-Terror law (TMK) should be abolished and Turkish Criminal Code (TCK) should be revised in accordance with the principles of universal law and human rights.

“WE WILL BE ACTIVE DURING THE NEGOTIATIONS”

Calling for the release of imprisoned Kurdish politicians, Koc said  “to create an environment for peace, political discourse should be peace-oriented. “We are deeply concerned about increasingly militaristic language. We believe freedom of speech is also a key requisite for peace”. Koc emphasized the role civil society can play in the resolution of ethnic conflict: “Worldwide civil society organizations have played key roles in the resolution of ethnic conflict. Our responsibility as the ‘Regional Civil Society Organizations Initiative’ is to do everything in our power to foster grounds for peaceful negotiation and debate”.

After the declaration of the initiative, Diyarbakir Representative of the Turkey’s Human Rights Foundation Sezgin Tanrikulu said “we will not only declare our principles with the initiative, we will be directly involved in the peace process”.