Öcalan prepares for August statement

International conditions have never been this stable for condemning terror and solving the Kurdish issue with political means. The United States and Europe say "enough now" and the northern Iraq and the Kurdish government want the PKK issue to stop being an obstacle to relations with Turkey.

And the PKK administration says that this issue cannot be solved with weapons but they don’t negotiate seriously. It tries to save the organization’s upper level management and those in prison.

Öcalan’s statement is expected in such an environment. According to PKK sources, Öcalan will print a "road map" for the future. He will state his expectations of Ankara and advice to the PKK.

Öcalan gives importance to this statement and it is thought that developments will accelerate afterward. This "road map" from İmralı might accelerate this process or on the contrary confuse everything. Öcalan’s suggestions will be adopted like a constitution regarding the PKK and nobody will dare to change anything no matter how much difference in opinion there is within the organization. Öcalan’s own balance is extremely complex. On one side there are some facts.

The PKK needs to decide whether to carry this out with or without weapons. But when making this decision they know that such a terror organization will not be eliminated without obtaining something in return.

On the other side there is Turkey’s changing attitude. Ankara is taking brave steps for the first time not taken in a long time and is also signaling a continuation of this path.

This has come to such a point where each act with a weapon, each drop of blood shed, each conspiracy or assassination attempt only slows down this process.

Allergies or reactions to the PKK by democratic forces in this country prevent expected steps to be taken in the Kurdish issue.

Öcalan is facing an extremely difficult and complex equation.

If he comes forward with exaggerated and unacceptable demands this will stop the process before it even starts. Blood will be shed in vain. The "insolvability" of this situation will be of benefit to those in favor of the terror.

And if he does not request anything satisfactory to his own public then he will lose the Kurdish front.

Opportunity for peace?

Because we have arrived at such a critical point, Öcalan with the help of his lawyers is taking the pulse of the public before his August statement.

He indirectly asks those who deal with this issue, even if they are of a different opinion, "What do you say? What do you recommend?"

The lawyers only listen, gather mutual points from who they asked and will probably communicate it to İmralı. They also came to me. I repeated what I wrote in my articles:

"ÉWeapons won’t lead anywhere. On the contrary, even those who want to eliminate deficiencies in the Kurdish issue keep quiet because they show reaction to the PKK terror.

The PKK has come to a point of hindering the solution of the Kurdish issueÉthe PKK needs to take its finger off the trigger and not get in the way of security forces. Blood-shedding should be stopped.

If Kurdish origin citizens have a request they need to come forward in Parliament and on a political platform.

Only democratic forces can solve the Kurdish issue, not the PKK..."

The liberal-democratic wing in this country is really fed up with PKK terror. It put the Kurdish issue in an even more difficult position. Now there is a need for a new start.

Let’s see how Öcalan will make use of this opportunity.