Deciphering the hidden messages in Ocalan’s prison letters
Prison letters penned by Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan and released in recent days have sparked a wave of discussion.
Some have inferred from their content that the PKK-Turkey peace process could be about to resume.
Others interpret them as the result of Turkish state bargaining designed to secure the Kurdish vote in the upcoming rerun of Istanbul’s municipal election.
Some even say the letters show Ocalan has strayed from his original motivations.
Whatever interpretations can be drawn from the letters, they include some underlying messages for both the PKK and the Turkish state.
What did Ocalan say?
Ocalan met his lawyers twice over the course of 20 days – the first such meetings in eight years. In the first meeting, he released a short letter including the phrase “democratic dialogue”.
He emphasized the need for “soft power” to resolve issues, reminiscent of his 2013 Newroz letter.
Regarding the situation in northern Syria – known to Kurds as Rojava – he advised “staying away from conflicts” and urged the resolution of issues through “local democracy with … the preservation of the territorial integrity of Syria.”
Ocalan’s second letter was disclosed following days of negotiations with more than 3,000 hunger strikers, most of them prison inmates. The strikes ran for several months, with 25 of them committing to death fasts.
Ocalan said he hoped the hunger strikes would end, urging supporters not to take action that would “threaten their health or result in death”. He also reiterated his stance from previous letters on Turkey and Rojava.
There are two interesting elements to draw from his second letter.
Secondly, the PKK founder says he is ready to do whatever it takes to achieve a democratic solution and dignified peace. This hints at his steadfastness in mediating for change, despite being ignored by both the PKK and Turkish state during the 2013-2015 peace process.
What were the hidden messages?
To unearth Ocalan’s hidden messages, we have to rewind a little bit.
Ocalan’s recent comments are far from new. He has presented them on multiple occasions in the past 20 years. After his arrest in 1999, he drifted away from the Kurdish question and instead focused on the democratization of Turkey.
Additionally, he chose to move away from armed resistance towards democratic means, dialogue, and what he now terms as “soft power”. But the PKK did not obey Ocalan, directly or indirectly. The Turkish government also ignored him, leading to the failure of the peace process.
When Ocalan sends new messages, he takes two things into consideration. The first is that the PKK may once again disobey him. The second is that the state may use him as a pawn in issues like the hunger strike and the Istanbul election. Therefore, Ocalan issued a coded message to the PKK on May 2, and another to the Turkish state on May 26.
By adding the names of three former PKK members to the signatories of the May 2 letter, Ocalan – who does not normally like to form political partnerships – is sending a message to Qandil (where the PKK are currently headquartered) that he now carries the clout of an alliance and that he won’t be disobeyed again.
When Ocalan says in his second letter that “the result of his messages will be clear after 30 days”, he is telling the Turkish state he does not fully trust its motives.
Some have inferred from their content that the PKK-Turkey peace process could be about to resume.
Others interpret them as the result of Turkish state bargaining designed to secure the Kurdish vote in the upcoming rerun of Istanbul’s municipal election.
Some even say the letters show Ocalan has strayed from his original motivations.
Whatever interpretations can be drawn from the letters, they include some underlying messages for both the PKK and the Turkish state.
What did Ocalan say?
Ocalan met his lawyers twice over the course of 20 days – the first such meetings in eight years. In the first meeting, he released a short letter including the phrase “democratic dialogue”.
He emphasized the need for “soft power” to resolve issues, reminiscent of his 2013 Newroz letter.
Regarding the situation in northern Syria – known to Kurds as Rojava – he advised “staying away from conflicts” and urged the resolution of issues through “local democracy with … the preservation of the territorial integrity of Syria.”
Ocalan’s second letter was disclosed following days of negotiations with more than 3,000 hunger strikers, most of them prison inmates. The strikes ran for several months, with 25 of them committing to death fasts.
Ocalan said he hoped the hunger strikes would end, urging supporters not to take action that would “threaten their health or result in death”. He also reiterated his stance from previous letters on Turkey and Rojava.
There are two interesting elements to draw from his second letter.
Firstly, Ocalan says the result of his messages will be clear after 30 days; a nod to the Istanbul election – when the Turkish government’s motivations for allowing Ocalan visits will be made clear. It will then be evident whether the visits form part of a new peace process or are simply a maneuver in time for the election to buy Kurdish votes.
Secondly, the PKK founder says he is ready to do whatever it takes to achieve a democratic solution and dignified peace. This hints at his steadfastness in mediating for change, despite being ignored by both the PKK and Turkish state during the 2013-2015 peace process.
What were the hidden messages?
To unearth Ocalan’s hidden messages, we have to rewind a little bit.
Ocalan’s recent comments are far from new. He has presented them on multiple occasions in the past 20 years. After his arrest in 1999, he drifted away from the Kurdish question and instead focused on the democratization of Turkey.
Additionally, he chose to move away from armed resistance towards democratic means, dialogue, and what he now terms as “soft power”. But the PKK did not obey Ocalan, directly or indirectly. The Turkish government also ignored him, leading to the failure of the peace process.
When Ocalan sends new messages, he takes two things into consideration. The first is that the PKK may once again disobey him. The second is that the state may use him as a pawn in issues like the hunger strike and the Istanbul election. Therefore, Ocalan issued a coded message to the PKK on May 2, and another to the Turkish state on May 26.
By adding the names of three former PKK members to the signatories of the May 2 letter, Ocalan – who does not normally like to form political partnerships – is sending a message to Qandil (where the PKK are currently headquartered) that he now carries the clout of an alliance and that he won’t be disobeyed again.
When Ocalan says in his second letter that “the result of his messages will be clear after 30 days”, he is telling the Turkish state he does not fully trust its motives.
Zryan Rojhalati is a researcher at Rudaw Research Center. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rudaw. |