European Parliament member Martin Schirdewan called for the removal of obstacles preventing a visit to Abdullah Öcalan.
The European Freedom and Peace Forum (EFFP) has launched a campaign titled “I want to meet with Öcalan,” calling for the removal of all barriers preventing Abdullah Öcalan from sharing his vision for the future with the world. Among the supporters of the campaign is the Left Group of the European Parliament.
As part of this initiative, Martin Schirdewan, co-chair of the Left Group in the European Parliament, also announced his wish to travel to Imralı and meet with Abdullah Öcalan.
Schirdewan said: “Abdullah Öcalan has been held in isolation by the Turkish state for 26 years. Despite this, in February of this year, he declared that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) would lay down its arms and dissolve itself if there were a genuine opportunity for a serious peace process and if Turkish President Erdoğan showed the will to engage in real peace negotiations.”
The co-chair of the Left Group in the European Parliament added: “For this reason, I am calling on the Turkish state to lift all obstacles that prevent Abdullah Öcalan from presenting his ideas and vision regarding the peace process in Turkey, Kurdistan, and the Middle East.”
Schirdewan emphasized: “Because these ideas, this vision, and the peace process can offer us an opportunity to overcome the ongoing conflict and state of war between the Kurdish and Turkish peoples. I want to go to Turkey and visit Abdullah Öcalan.”[1]