According to KurdPress, Murat Karayilan, a member of the People's Defense Center Command, issued a message on the occasion of the anniversary of the "August 15 Uprising" and evaluated the latest developments in the peace process and democratic society and the framework law approved by the Turkish Parliament.

Karayilan considered Abdullah Öcalan's physical release as one of the inevitable conditions for the progress of the process and criticized Öcalan's exclusion from the scope of the law.He recalled the Kurdish movement's readiness to move the struggle from the arena of war and weapons to the arena of politics and law; however, he considered the realization of this transition to be dependent on Öcalan's direct role in managing the process.

The meaning of the August 15 uprising went beyond armed struggle

Referring to the beginning of the PKK's armed struggle on August 15, 1984, Karayilan described the event as a social intervention and a call against the silence of the Kurdish community.

He said: "Although the August 15 uprising began with weapons, its meaning went far beyond weapons. This movement was formed as an intervention in society and a call against its silence."

According to Karayilan, the Kurdish community initially approached this movement with skepticism and concern, because previous experiences had been accompanied by repression; but as the guerrilla forces continued their activities, distrust gave way to trust, fear gave way to courage, and despair gave way to hope.He added: "People who were considered dead came back to life and stood on their feet."

Evaluating Bahçeli's call

Qarayilan claimed that the Kurdish freedom movement has been the target of widespread attacks by the Turkish government in the past 10 years, and that advanced and banned weapons and the support of NATO, some neighboring countries, and some Kurdish forces have been used in these operations.

He considered the resistance of the PKK forces in the Zap and Metina regions to be the cause of Turkey's failure to achieve its military goals, and assessed the call by Bahçeli, the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), as the result of the government's inability to eliminate the movement through war.

Qarayilan considered Abdullah Öcalan's positive response to this call the starting point of a process that has continued to this day.The Peace Framework Law Has Many Shortcomings and Mistakes

Karayılan described the framework law passed by the parliament as a new step in the history of the Republic of Turkey and considered it a valuable step in terms of recognizing the will of the Kurds.

At the same time, he criticized various parts of the law: "This law has many shortcomings and mistakes. First of all, the architect of this process, Öcalan, is not included in it, while it is the initiator of his process."

Karayılan listed the absence of the word "Kurd" and any explicit reference to democracy in the text of the law as other shortcomings.

He added: "The sensitivities of our people, the views of our movement, and even the views of our leadership have not been taken into account. The issue has been reduced to just laying down the guerrilla weapons, while we are facing a major, century-old issue.»

According to Karayilan, without examining the historical reasons for the emergence of the guerrilla and the roots of the Kurdish issue, the limited legal approach cannot create a lasting and radical solution.

We are ready to transfer the struggle to the field of politics and law

Karayilan considered Abdullah Öcalan’s physical freedom to be the main condition for advancing the process and convincing the members of the movement to lay down their weapons.

He stated: “I had said before that as long as Öcalan is in prison, I cannot tell anyone to lay down their weapons and go. I am at the same point now.”

Karayilan continued: “But if Öcalan takes action, welcomes friends, holds meetings and convinces them, this will be possible. We are ready to transfer the struggle from the field of war and weapons to the field of politics and law.»

He spoke about Öcalan's 33-year effort to end the armed struggle and considered the continuation of the war during this period to be the result of the policy of those who sought to eliminate the Kurdish movement.

Karayilan added: "We want this war to end and our approach in this regard is sincere."

72 hours turned into 42 years

The member of the People's Defense Center Command criticized the continuation of the war language in the speeches of Turkish government officials, calling it a continuation of the "psychological warfare" literature.

Recalling Kenan Oren's words after the start of the August 15 uprising, he said that the then Turkish president had promised that the perpetrators of this act would be arrested and handed over to the judiciary within 72 hours.

Karayilan added: "Those 72 hours have now turned into 42 years and have not yet been fulfilled. Öcalan started this path alone; but now we are millions of people and have tens of thousands of cadres.»

Proposal for the establishment of a Justice and Truth Commission

Qarayilan called for the establishment of a “Justice and Truth Commission” to investigate past events and conflicts.

“If we open the past cases, it will become clear who is guilty and who is innocent. That is why we propose the establishment of a justice and truth commission to investigate, reveal the facts and hold those responsible accountable.”

According to Qarayilan, the Kurdish movement is ready to participate in such a process and its goal is to reach an agreement with Turkey, end the hostility and turn a new page.

He added: “We are not going to join the enemy; we want to join the democratic republic. That was our expectation, but the other side continues to consider us terrorists and criminals.»

Karayilan called the approach that holds only one side of the conflict responsible for the violence unfair and called for a comprehensive review of the past.

In conclusion, he described the Framework Law as an important document that should not be treated casually; but he considered its success to depend on addressing the shortcomings, creating conditions for Öcalan to play a role, and truly transferring the Kurdish issue to the political and legal arena.