Öcalan’s statements were made public by his younger brother, Mehmet Öcalan, who has recently spoken to the Hürriyet daily. The Öcalan brothers met last week.“My brother said this: ‘If the state is sincere, these problems can be solved. No one but me can solve this. The problem is a big one. I mean, if the state wants, the problem can be solved; it must make peace with whoever it has fought. Some people may have good intentions, but they cannot solve the problem; I can.’ My brother wants to contribute to the solution and prevent further deaths from happening,” the younger Öcalan said.
Mehmet Öcalan argued that the terrorist leader did not favor either the state or the PKK. “He only spoke the truth. He made impartial remarks,” he said, quoting his brother as saying, “If there is a crime, it is not one-sided.”
The jailed man had a message for the PKK as well, according to his brother: to be realistic.
“Abdullah Öcalan is a bridge between the Turks and the Kurds, and some hands want to tear this bridge down. Both Kurdish nationalists and Turkish nationalists want to get rid of Öcalan. What he says is that, should the state do what is necessary, it would be easy for him to convince the PKK,” Mehmet Öcalan said.
The terrorist leader said he is the only one able to convince the PKK to resolve the Kurdish problem. His brother quoted him as saying: “If the state is sincere, I can do everything to make sure the PKK does what I want, including laying down arms. The projects are ready in my mind. The process [towards a solution] must not be sabotaged. If there is something [positive] to happen, there will be attempts by both the state and the PKK to dash efforts. This should not be allowed and vigilance is required.”
Secret talks were held between Turkish intelligence officials and members of the PKK in Oslo in 2010. An almost 50-minute-long voice recording from the secret talks was leaked to the media in September 2011, which sparked debates across Turkey at the time.
Recently, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said the Turkish government could hold talks with the PKK or Öcalan again if necessary to resolve the terror issue in the country.
Erdoğan also said, “We have taken these steps in Oslo and İmralı [where Öcalan is held] before, and we will take the same steps again when we deem them necessary.” He added, “The timing of such a move is very important, but we are not prejudiced against such an act.”
Öcalan the only answer, according to Tuğluk
In a related development, pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputy Aysel Tuğluk reiterated her remarks that Öcalan is the only interlocutor for the Turkish state in efforts to resolve the Kurdish problem. In remarks appearing in the Taraf daily on Sunday, Tuğluk called Öcalan the main actor — not the PKK top brass in the Kandil Mountains, European leaders of the PKK or the BDP. “Kandil cannot become the interlocutor all alone by casting out Öcalan. The Kurdish movement preserves its unity and revolves around Öcalan,” she said.
The Oslo talks ended without any solution with a PKK attack on July 14, 2011 in the Silvan district of Diyarbakır province that left 13 soldiers dead. Tuğluk believes new talks would not have a result like the bloody Silvan incident. “Both sides learned their lessons from the first Oslo [talks]. Should new Oslo [negotiations] come up, a new Silvan will not occur,” she added.
