Earlier today, Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu, the leader of HÜDA PAR, commented on the expected statement from Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the PKK. He emphasized that Kurdish demands should be addressed regardless of whether the PKK disarms. Yapıcıoğlu asserted that these are not merely demands of the PKK but represent the rights of all Kurds, asserting that the legitimate demands of Kurdish civilians should not be viewed as conditions set by the PKK to end a conflict that only arose from the lack of Kurdish rights.
He criticized the lack of coverage and reliable information regarding Öcalan’s expected speech. Yapıcıoğlu added that Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would address the topic when there is a certain level of certainty.
HÜDA PAR has long criticized the perception that the PKK represents the Kurdish people. In 2015, a group of HÜDA PAR intellectuals made a similar point, arguing that if Turkey’s issue was indeed with the PKK rather than the Kurds, then Turkey would simply support the KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) to defeat the PKK in both Iraq and Syria. This topic gained significant attention during the Kurdish Civil War in Iraq, as many reporters observed that the KDP managed to drive the PKK out in a matter of months, while the Turkish army spent years attempting to do so unsuccessfully. This raised similar questions about Turkey’s approach to the conflict.