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Oral Çalışlar told Serbestiyet about the meeting he had with Abdullah Öcalan in his apartment in Bekaa, Lebanon, in 1992 and 1993 when he worked at Cumhuriyet Newspaper: “We had a meeting that lasted until the morning on many issues including daily politics, Alevism, women’s rights, homosexuality and Islam.” “When I left Öcalan’s side, I learned that Özal had died. When I called Öcalan afterwards to tell him the news, he said, ‘There are many games in the Ottoman Empire. They poisoned him.’ “I asked Öcalan, ‘If this issue is resolved one day and peace is achieved, would you consider returning to Turkey as a civilian and becoming a member of parliament?’ Öcalan said, “A revolutionary cannot adapt to this order. A revolutionary can only lead to innovations through mutual destruction.’ He gave a rather revolutionary answer. I think he would not speak like this if I asked him now.” To support Serbestiyet’s journey of independent journalism: / @serbestiyetcom