Discussion on Öcalan's comments

Emre Uslu

…what Öcalan said in the leaked minutes from the meeting is highly problematic for a number of reasons. For instance, there is an understanding that the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and Öcalan, under the guidance of Erdoğan, are preparing operations against the Gülen movement. Since the movement has given support to the negotiation process, there is no point in Öcalan targeting them unless he is being dictated to politically. Even people who are close to PKK networks are surprised that Öcalan has targeted this group. Whether it is true or not, once AKP supporters focus on the substance of what Öcalan said, it will seriously harm the AKP government, as the Gülen movement and supporters of the AKP have similar roots in the society.

Thus, Erdoğan was clever to shift the focus on the Milliyet [the daily which published the minutes] and whether the leak is harmful the peace process or not. For instance, Erdoğan did not mention a single word about what he thinks about Öcalan's claims about his party and the Gülen movement. It seems that Erdoğan is intentionally avoiding discussion on Öcalan's comments in the meeting with the BDP deputies because he knows that once he does, people will start to discuss the substance of the report.…

Excerpted from the authors column published on Today's Zaman, 08 March 2013, Friday