Uçum: Öcalan to take role on Disarmament and Strategic Coordination Sub-Commission

Rastinews — Chief Advisor to Turkey's President Mehmet Uçum announced that Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the now-dissolved PKK, will take a role on the Disarmament and Strategic Coordination Sub-Commission set up under the "Terror-Free Turkey" process. Uçum said the assignment should not be interpreted differently, noting that the residence built on İmralı is an additional unit attached to the prison. He said the arrangement does not amount to a release. "It is a facility provided within the prison because he needs to carry out his role properly. It is a facility that gives him a more comfortable working environment" Uçum said.

Öcalan had called on the PKK to lay down its arms and dissolve itself. A framework bill drafted at a later stage of the process passed parliament with 467 lawmakers' signatures and was published in the Official Gazette, entering into force. 

Mehmet Uçum, head of the Presidency's Legal Policy Board and Chief Advisor to the President, met with members of the press at the Turkish Press Federation.

Uçum said the disarmament and dissolution process under "Terror-Free Turkey" is still ongoing. He said the next stage required by law is confirmation and declaration, adding, "That is, it will be confirmed that the weapons have been laid down, that the dissolution process has taken place, and that the disbandment has been completed. This confirmation will then be declared through a National Security Council decision. The determination stage is currently underway. The confirmation and declaration stage is expected to take place in October if possible, or in November if not, and at the latest before the end of this year. So the determination and confirmation stages must be completed by the end of this year at the latest" he said.

"He will be given a role on the commission"

Asked about the status of Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the now-dissolved PKK, and about the residence built on İmralı, Uçum recalled that the Monitoring and Evaluation Board set up under the executive had formed four sub-commissions. He said one of these sub-commissions deals with monitoring the disarmament and dissolution process, adding "Öcalan will probably be given a role on this commission. What is meant by status here is a facility provided to him so he can better fulfill what is expected of him. This is not something that should be interpreted in different ways. The structure built as an additional unit attached to the prison is likewise a facility created so he can carry out his role in this process more comfortably. No conclusion can be drawn from this that his convict status has been lifted. No conclusion can be drawn from this that he has effectively been released. Because the process being conducted with Öcalan is a process of dialogue. The goal in this dialogue is clear: the effective completion of the dissolution process and of the laying down of arms. So he is the interlocutor there anyway. Whoever founded the organization, whoever had the weapons used, is also the one who will dissolve it and who will have the weapons laid down. Otherwise, the state would handle this through security practice. But since this method has been chosen instead, it is pursued through that dialogue. It is a necessity for the person taken as interlocutor in the dialogue to be assigned to a commission and given a more comfortable working environment so he can carry out this task more easily. This is not a privilege being granted — on the contrary, it is simply providing the environment that the task requires" he said.

"Not formally an official post under law"

Uçum said assessments going beyond this were not very accurate, adding, "This is not formally an official post under law. After all, the law includes a provision on making use of any individual within the structure of the commission. If you are conducting a dialogue through a convict concerning the dissolution of a terrorist organization and the laying down of arms, you give him the means to fulfill the tasks he has taken on to advance that process. There is nothing unlawful about this. Extraordinary processes are managed through extraordinary methods. The Terror-Free Turkey process is not an ordinary, routine process — it is an extraordinary, non-routine process. You cannot advance non-routine processes within the constraints of routine methods. The approach developed here regarding Öcalan consists of the means offered to a person who has taken on a role in this non-routine process and who needs certain facilities to fulfill that role. The facilities provided are a tool for carrying out his tasks in the determination process. It would be unfair to criticize or assess this process through the lens of ordinary processes" he said.

Demirtaş's detention

Uçum also addressed the situation of former HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, who has been detained since November 2016. Uçum said there is no obstacle preventing Demirtaş from filing an application, adding: "Whether his file falls within scope, in terms of the person and the organization, will be assessed, and the relevant court will decide" he said.