ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A delegation from Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party is in the Kurdistan Region and will meet with Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani on Sunday amid renewed efforts to establish peace between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) delegation, which includes two lawmakers who have met jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan twice since December, is set to meet with Barzani at 10:00 am local time, the party said in a statement.
They will also meet Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Monday before departing to Sulaimani to meet Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Bafel Talabani and the Kurdistan Region’s Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, according to the statement.
The DEM Party is mediating talks between the Turkish state and the PKK in a bid to end hostilities. Details of the process are not clear but the pro-Kurdish party’s officials have said it aims to bring peace to the country.
The visit to Erbil and Sulaimani comes amid an anticipated historic announcement by Ocalan, which the DEM Party hopes will bring a “permanent and comprehensive” solution to the Kurdish issue in Turkey.
Sitki Vakar, DEM Party’s representative in the Kurdistan Region, told Rudaw on Sunday that the delegation’s meetings are expected to discuss Turkish-Kurdish issues.
“We believe that when a part of Kurdistan has a problem, all four parts of Kurdistan [Greater Kurdistan] have to come together and help to resolve the problem,” Vakar said, referring to the Kurdish areas in Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey.
He stressed that the Kurdistan Region has “important” significance in the region, both with its geographic location and its relations with Ankara.
Turkish officials chiefly view the DEM Party as the political wing of the PKK, but the party has denied any ties with the armed group.
The PKK has said that it will not heed any calls from Ocalan to lay down arms unless he physically meets with their leadership and is released from jail.
Founded in 1978, the PKK initially called for the establishment of an independent Kurdistan but now advocates for autonomy. Turkey classifies the group as a terrorist organization.
