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This written declaration commits only those who have signed it.
Written declaration No. 534 | Doc. 13109 | 23 January 2013
To facilitate a peaceful, negotiated solution of the Kurdish issue in Turkey, Abdullah Öcalan should be released
1. The conflict around the Kurdish issue in Turkey has
assumed alarming dimensions. Over the past three years several hundred
people have been killed in numerous clashes and incidents. The number
of, mostly Kurdish, political prisoners in Turkey has risen by several
thousand. More than a hundred journalists are currently imprisoned.
These developments seriously jeopardise democratic progress in Turkey.
The conflict could even escalate into a civil war.
2. However, a peaceful resolution is not impossible. Important
steps have already been taken. The negotiations between the Turkish
authorities, the PKK and Abdullah Öcalan (the so-called "Oslo and
Imrali process") between 2009-2011 generated hopes of an end to
this decades-old conflict. The parties to these negotiations apparently
came very close to an agreement.
3. Abdullah Öcalan's positive role in these talks is widely recognised.
As a key figure for a peaceful, negotiated solution of the Kurdish
issue in Turkey, he must be released and negotiations with him and
the PKK must be restarted.