Ümit Özdağ: 'Those opposing PKK amnesty are being dragged to courts'

Zafer Party Chairman Ümit Özdağ has strongly criticized a new "framework law" enacted in Turkey, which he asserts effectively provides an amnesty for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Speaking at the opening of his party's Altındağ district office, Özdağ declared that the law, signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, will pave the way for significant legal and political problems.

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This law's implementation will clearly lead to many legal and political problems.

Özdağ expressed concern that the legislation could create a legal basis for PKK leaders, such as Murat Karayılan, to move freely within Turkey. He pointed to statements from valuable legal scholars who have raised alarms about the law's implications. The party leader further alleged that this amnesty law is part of a broader agenda to enact legal and constitutional changes that would satisfy the demands of Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the PKK.

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The view that this law creates a legal framework where Murat Karayılan can easily walk the streets of Ankara and Istanbul tomorrow has already begun to be voiced by valuable legal scholars.

He specifically referenced recent statements by Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which he interpreted as praise for Öcalan's role in the amnesty process and a suggestion for him to be granted a new mission or title. Özdağ noted that PKK leaders in Europe and Kandil have already begun referencing a third commission, headed by Öcalan, which is not mentioned in the amnesty law itself.

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Devlet Bahçeli, praising the function Öcalan undertook while the amnesty law was being formed, stated that he should be given a mission and title to contribute from now on.

Özdağ drew a stark comparison between the current situation and the potential "Yugoslavization," "Lebanonization," or "Iraqization" of Turkey, warning that the Turkish nation could be divided along ethnic and sectarian lines. He stated that his party has consistently voiced these concerns through rallies and conferences since the process began. He also recounted his own experience of being imprisoned for five months on charges he claims were unrelated to his actual actions, asserting that such pressures will not deter the Zafer Party from speaking out.

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This process shows that intellectuals, politicians, and citizens who oppose the PKK amnesty and the Yugoslavization, Lebanonization, and Iraqization of Turkey by changing the constitution will be subjected to severe pressure.