The announcement of the PKK that it will hold its 12th congress between 5 and 7 May in accordance with Abdullah Öcalan's call from İmralı on 27 February and that comprehensive and detailed information and documents about the results and decisions taken will soon be made public means that a critical stage in the "process" has been passed.

However, in addition to accurate back-channel information about this process, allegations have begun to circulate that could be described as urban legends.

First of all, the article by my dear friend and colleague Ayşe Yıldırım, published on Kısa Dalga under the headline "Radical change in Öcalan's prison conditions: Moved to a larger room, a secretariat established", contained a number of new details at once.

On the basis of the developments in İmralı and the following stages of the trial, as well as the information from our discussions within the Kurdish political movement, we can outline our notes as follows:

As Ayşe Yıldırım also mentioned in her article, it was stated that new transfers to İmralı had taken place, with three more people being brought in. However, it was noted that no female prisoners had been transferred to İmralı, citing reasons such as the fact that İmralı was not designed as a women's prison and the lack of female staff. Improvements in Öcalan's working environment and physical conditions were described as "partial improvements". The report in the Takvim newspaper that Öcalan had undergone eye surgery in Ankara was said to be inaccurate. The eye operation had already been carried out when the İmralı delegation visited the island shortly before Öcalan's statement on 27 February. It was stated that the conditions on the island were suitable, with remarks like "There are even comrades who are undergoing dental treatment".

In the PKK statement on the congress, it was stated that "Ocalan's perspectives and proposals submitted to the congress have been read and evaluated", which raises the question of how the PKK's demand for Ocalan's participation in the congress in some form has been dealt with. Some claims and statements were also made on this issue.

In our talks, it was clearly stated that Öcalan's work on the PKK Congress has been going on since 27 February and that the systematic sending of certain letters and messages has continued since then. It was emphasised: "There has been no interruption here. He has been able to establish a systematic link with his movement. This work has developed gradually".

It was mentioned that a significant part of Öcalan's political report has been completed and submitted to the Congress as a perspective. The aspects of the report about the model that would be implemented after the dissolution of the PKK and the kind of social model that would emerge after the renunciation of arms and violence are also being worked on.

The absence of terms like "dissolution" and "laying down of arms" in the PKK congress statement inevitably raised some questions. However, the statement noted that "historically important decisions regarding the work of the PKK were taken at the congress on the basis of Öcalan's call", which essentially provided an answer to these questions. We asked for further clarification. It was stated that the congress was a dissolution congress for the PKK, while the methods and the timetable for the laying down of arms would be clarified and announced in due time. It was also stated that the completion of the technical aspects of the process, including the disarmament and the status of the PKK cadres, could take 3-4 months.

So are the legal provisions necessary to fulfil the essence of Öcalan's 27 February call, characterised as a "call for peace and a democratic society", on the horizon? Is there any preparation for the process to evolve from what conflict resolution literature calls "negative peace" - simply the cessation of conflict - to "positive peace", filled with democratic steps of resolution?

What we have passed on so far without comment consists of news notes based on information obtained from discussions with trusted sources.

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