Alwaght- February 15th marks the anniversary of the Kurdish oposition leader Abdullah Ocalan detention. Ocalan, who founded the Kurdistan Workers Party PKK in1978, was captured on February 15 1999 while fleeing the Greek Embassy in Nairobi after a year-long international manhunt for him, in an operation carried out by Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MİT). He was sentenced to death for treason but his sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. Ocalan is imprisoned on Imrali Island of Marmara province.
Ocalan has been waging a four-decade war against the Turkish state, aiming to carve out an independent Kurdish republic in the Southeast of Turkey.
Many Kurds see the 65-year-old as a symbol of their struggle for greater cultural and political rights.
Recently a conflict has broken out mainly in Kurdish-populated southeastern provinces of Turkey, as thousands protested the 16th anniversary of the capture of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan and called for his release.
Clashes took place mainly in the cities of Sirnak, Diyarbakir, Batman, Qizil Tepe, Mardin, Cizre Botan, Sharnakh, and Midyat. "Long live leader Ocalan," protesters chanted. The Turkish police detained 17 protesters, claiming that they participated in illegal protests.
Protestors condemned what they called “the international conspiracy against the PKK’s leader”, demanding his release to facilitate the peace process between the Turkish government and the Kurdish parties in Turkey.
The Kurdish cities in Turkey experience annual demonstrations by supporters of the PKK and its leader Abdullah Ocalan to demand his release, but those demands do not resonate with the Turkish government.
The clashes come on the heels of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) delegation announcement earlier this month that Ocalan told them: “The PKK and all of its divisions are to lay down arms. Now, the armed struggle has finished, the political struggle has begun.” Ocalan had said that the organization would lay down its arms as part of an ongoing settlement process between the PKK, Ocalan and top PKK leaders and the government. Based on reports, Ocalan may call an end to the PKK's armed struggle by March.
On Saturday, according to Reuters, the Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Ordu province said “I hope this spring, there will be developments that will allow for spring weather to be witnessed in Turkey, both in political and social environments,” giving additional weight to the above mentioned reports. He further added "Arms should totally leave Turkey's agenda. Then, beautiful steps will be taken and the country will go through an atmosphere of spring."
