The reason for their violent actions is the anniversary of the establishment of the PKK and the conditions at the İmralı Island prison, where PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan is serving a life sentence. After transferring new inmates to the prison, Öcalan was relocated to a new cell, which the PKK says is a “death well.” Although prison conditions are said to have improved, PKK and DTP supporters say they are actually worse and that the relocation of Öcalan was punishment and a move aimed to deceive PKK circles. Analysts warn that the rising tension over Öcalan’s prison conditions have the potential to harm the initiative process. Yeni Şafak’s Yasin Doğan says although the move to improve Öcalan’s prison conditions could have been seen as a step in harmony with the Kurdish initiative, it has turned into a move that could damage the initiative because Öcalan has created a big fuss about the changes. “The improvement of the F-type prison conditions on İmralı, the establishment of new social facilities there and the end of Öcalan’s isolation with the transfer of new inmates have, according to Öcalan, not improved his prison conditions. The situation is very obvious; bad intentions and abuse are on the stage again, and the issue has been a victim of Öcalan’s personal concerns,” says Doğan.
By complaining about his imprisonment during a meeting with his lawyers on Nov. 25, when Öcalan said his new prison situation is harmful to his health and that he feels that he is at the bottom of a well, Vatan’s Ruşen Çakır states that Öcalan took the DTP, the PKK, the Kurdish political movement and Turkey hostage. “Öcalan sabotaged the Kurdish initiative on Nov. 25, although he initially seemed supportive of it [even claiming that he had started the process]. As the result of this sabotage, we can say the initiative train has derailed,” contends Çakır. Just like every time before, Öcalan made himself the center of attention and claimed that there were efforts to eliminate him, the PKK and the DTP. After the meeting notes with his lawyers were released, the DTP, the PKK and their Kurdish grassroots groups changed their view about the Kurdish initiative and withdrew support from the process less than 10 days after Öcalan made the above comments. Questioning whether a return to the initiative is possible after this, Çakır says it is possible, but only if Öcalan withdraws his complaints about his prison conditions.
In the wake of rising tension regarding Öcalan’s prison conditions, Radikal’s Oral Çalışlar suggests that a parliamentary commission should be sent to İmralı Island to see the problems for themselves and inform the public of the facts. According to Öcalan, he has been illegally kept in a cell alone for 10 years and stated that this solitary confinement happens nowhere else in the world. Even though it seems that the government is making some changes so that his prison conditions are in line with international law, it seems that his prison situation is worse than before. “It is really difficult to understand this approach,” says Çalışlar, who calls on the government to understand the potential danger that bad prison conditions for Öcalan pose to the peace process.
