AMED - Stating that they have not seen any concrete steps taken by the government in the process that has been going on for about 6 months, Amed citizens said, "We don't have time anymore, countries in the Middle East are at war with each other. At this rate, the Israeli-Iranian war will spread here as well."

 

Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan's "Call for Peace and Democratic Society" and the PKK's decision to dissolve and disarm pave the way for a democratic and peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue. 

 

Citizens in Amed (Diyarbakır), one of the places where the pulse of the process is felt, warned the government to take steps as soon as possible to prevent the Israeli-Iranian war from spreading to Turkey.

 

Fuat Aksal, one of the citizens who expressed that a life where everyone can freely speak their language and express their thoughts should be built with the process, pointed out that similar processes have been experienced before.

 

"I hope that this time the desired level will be reached and there will be no deception. Because people now want to live in peace. If we want a better quality of life, this Kurdish issue must be solved. This war affects everyone economically in one way or another," he said. 

 

'STEPS MUST BE TAKEN OR THE WAR WILL SPREAD HERE TOO'

 

Interpreting the government's use of the language of peace on the one hand and the continuation of attacks on the other as a "good-faced policy", Aksal warned: "This process needs to evolve into a real peace as soon as possible. This is only possible with constitutional guarantees. If the government wants real peace, not for its own interests, it needs to build this peace process. We do not have time anymore, countries in the Middle East are at war with each other. At this rate, the Israeli-Iranian war will spread here.”

 

Pointing to the problems caused in families by the assimilation policies that prohibit the Kurdish language, Aksal said: "My children speak Turkish and my mother does not speak Turkish, she speaks Kirmanji. In other words, grandchildren cannot communicate with their grandmothers. These are the results of assimilation policies. In the school where I used to teach, 90 per cent of the students spoke Kurdish, but we taught them Turkish by force. This understanding must end and bilingual education must be introduced. People should be able to speak their own language and receive education and treatment."

 

Pointing to the historical origins of the Kurdish struggle, Aksal said, "In this context, Öcalan has been struggling for years and Öcalan is someone whom Kurds see as a leader. Therefore, he and Selahattin Demirtaş must be released. These are the people that 10 million people call leaders."

 

 

'ABDULLAH ÖCALAN CONTRIBUTES TO THE PROCESS'

 

Emphasizing that a peaceful life should be built instead of war, Fatih Sipçik said: “We want to speak and study in our mother tongue. But unfortunately the state is not very sincere about peace. If peace is to come, both sides must take steps. In this context, Mr Abdullah Öcalan is doing whatever he can to contribute to peace.”

 

Serbülent Çulcu stated that peace should be achieved as soon as possible and said that the country cannot develop without peace and added: "He who wants war is not a person with good intentions."

 

'I TRUSTED AFTER ABDULLAH ÖCALAN'S MESSAGE'

 

"The state should take a more practical step," said Eşref Taşkıran, "Because theoretically everything seems to be settled, but in fact it is not. Although I look at it positively, I am not comfortable. If certain steps were taken, it would create a little more confidence. If political prisoners were released, I would believe a little more. But frankly, apart from that, I don't have much faith in the state. As long as the satisfactory process does not start, it does not mean anything to me. I have always distrusted the state, but after Abdullah Öcalan's message, we had some confidence in the process. But continuity is essential. This is not something that can be carried out unilaterally."

 

 

Stating that they want peace, not war, Miyase Şeker said, "We want to live in brotherhood with everyone. The Kurds have not been given their rights until today, hopefully they will be given their rights after this day. But if the state wants peace, it should stop the war. But Abdullah Öcalan should also be free so that we can be brothers and sisters. We are waiting for peace, but we do not have faith."

 

'THE STATE SHOULD ALSO TAKE A STEP'

 

Hamdi Üçgül stated that everyone should fulfil their responsibilities and embrace this peace process and added: "This struggle that has been going on for 40 years must have a positive result. The first of our demands within the scope of the process is the freedom of our Leader. We cannot trust the process unless the leadership is free. They should not be in contact with the leadership. Just as the leadership and the PKK have taken steps, the state should also take steps."

 

MA / Heval Önkol