Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan made a historic call on February 27. A new page was opened with the call for “Peace and Democratic Society”. If the government takes steps and the process succeeds, the Kurdistan Worker's Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan-PKK), which has gone down in history as the “29th rebellion” and of which Abdullah Öcalan is the leader, will convene its congress and carry out the dissolution stated in the call. The call resonated widely around the world. 

 

The foundation of the PKK was laid at a meeting of Abdullah Öcalan and 6 of his friends at the promenade area adjacent to the Çubuk Dam in Ankara during Newroz 1973. Following the decisions taken at this meeting, the establishment of the PKK was announced in 1978. It was given a life span of "6 hours" by the governments of the time. However, it grew bigger and bigger with each passing day.

 

Filiz Yerlikaya (Gulan) was one of the thousands of people who joined the ranks of the PKK. Gulan's family migrated from Bedlis (Bitlis) to Adana in 1970. Gulan was born here in 1971. Her mother named her “Filiz” in the hope that her daughter would be a source of hope, joy and resistance. In 1974, the family moved to Ebex (Çaldıran) district of Wan (Van), at the foot of the Tendürek Mountains. After staying there for 3 years, they migrated to Ankara due to the earthquake in Wan. She started living in the Tuzluçayır neighborhood, where the Kurdish and Alevi population was densely populated. 

 

Gulan's school life also started here. While her childhood was filled with many difficulties, she was subjected to the discrimination and oppression that every Kurd faces. She took part in youth and organizing activities at university. She joined the PKK in 1999 and died in Qandil on June 7, 2002.

 

Gulan's sister Yıldız Bahçeci evaluated the historic call written by Abdullah Öcalan. Stating that she experienced very intense emotions during the call, Yıldız Bahçeci sadi, "When I saw the Leader (Abdullah Öcalan) and the 3 heroes behing him, I couldn't hold myself back, I cried. It was a very beautiful feeling. Seeing the Leader gives me strengst. I am also happy that he is the one who started and finished this case. As we say, there is not an inch of land left in Kurdistan where the blood of young people has not been spilled. I always thought about this, I wish they could see today."

 

'EVERYONE SHOULD TRUST ÖCALAN' 

 

Yıldız Bahçeci said that Öcalan's historic call is a "harbinger of peace" and added: "This historic statement is very precious and very valuable for us. I mean it was a manifesto. Both to the Kurdish people and the Turkish people. We hope that the second century will be the century of peace. The Leader is a power, a morale, an achievement. In that sense, it was a historic statement for us. It is also a historic statement for everyone. I hope that the state will also take this mission that the Leader has taken on with responsibility."

 

Yıldız Bahçeci pointed to the emphasis on “democratic politics and legal dimension” in Abdullah Öcalan's call and said, “The Leader points to the field of democratic politics and emphasizes its legal dimension. Of course, we have thousands of prisoners in prisons, thousands of exiles. As they say, 'they should lay down their weapons, the political space will be prepared, and accordingly the weapons should be laid down.' The government should give an answer to this. The legal aspect is the same. For democratization in Turkey, the law must work first. If the law works, democratic politics will be possible.” 

 

Emphasizing that Kurds trust Öcalan, Yıldız Bahçeci said, “We have a lot of faith. We have a bigger responsibility from now on. Yes, war is a very difficult process, but peace is even more difficult. We need to understand and explain this process well. Everyone should believe and trust him (Öcalan). He will fulfill everything. We understand him too late, but I am sure that the 2nd century will be the century of freedom.” 

 

MA / Melik Varol