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More than 10 million demand freedom for Öcalan

Union of Kurdistan Communities calls Council of Europe not to ignore popular support to release of jailed PKK leader · Expectation grows as Öcalan could make important announcement on Kurdish New Year

In one of the most massive collection of signatures in history, the Kurdish movement got 10.3 million people to support a petition of freedom for jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. Thousands of volunteers have been collecting the signatures around the world since September 2012, and the documents have just been handed over to the Council of Europe.

The Union of Kurdistan Communities (KCK, a structure comprising the PKK and its related organizations) said in an a statement that the Council of Europe now "has a responsibility to the millions who signed the petition," and argued that no force exists that is capable to stop the will of such a large number of people.

Turkey has been a Council of Europe member since 1949. The Council of Europe vows to ensure respect for human rights and the rights of national and linguistic minorities.

Öcalan has been imprisoned since 1999 in Turkey, after he was captured in Nairobi (Kenya) in a joint operation by the secret services of Turkey and the US. The PKK leader has now for years been working for a negotiated solution to the PKK-Turkey conflict that leads to a peace agreement and the recognition of political, linguistic and cultural rights to the Kurds.

An announcement by Öcalan in March?

As the signatures were being handed over, Turkish and Kurdish media discussed for the last few days the possibility that Öcalan soon makes an announcement regarding the PKK-Turkey peace process. According to Hatip Dicle, co-chair of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK, a network of Kurdish parties and civil society organizations), a "historic" announcement could be made on Kurdish New Year (Newroz, 21st March).

Turkish newspaper Daily Sabahpoints out that the announcement could be a joint call made by Öcalan and some PKK senior leaders in the Qandil Mountains (Southern Kurdistan, Iraq) calling the PKK armed wing to lay down weapons.

Nonetheless, some Turkish analysts believe that the PKK leadership in Qandil is not ready to take that step. According to this version, this has caused tensions between those PKK senior leaders and Öcalan himself, who favours disarmament.

Meanwhile, co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) Figen Yuksekdag says the peace process might be shifting to a negotiating stage "within two weeks." If this happens, Yuksekdag says a joint Turkish government-HDP statement could be released too.