ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A delegation from Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party on Thursday launched a series of official talks with the Turkish political parties over a potential peace process between the state and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) following a rare meeting with the jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.
The Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) delegation, consisting of veteran Kurdish politician Ahmet Turk and the party’s lawmakers, Pervin Buldan and Sirri Sureyya Onder, first met with Numan Kurtulmus, speaker of the Turkish parliament.
“We informed him about our meeting, listened to his suggestions and made a general assessment,” the DEM Party said in a statement.
Buldan and Onder were granted rare access to Imrali prison on Saturday to meet Ocalan. Turk is expected to join them during the next visit, though the date has not yet been confirmed.
The DEM Party delegation returned from Imrali with a message from Ocalan, which read “strengthening Turkish-Kurdish brotherhood again has gained historical importance and urgency, as well as being a critical responsibility for all peoples.”
Ocalan called on political fronts in Turkey to contribute to the process by “making positive contributions,” saying the Turkish parliament could be an important platform for change.
Ocalan also expressed his willingness to cooperate with the changes proposed by Turkish President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli.
Meeting with ultranationalist leader
The DEM Party delegation also visited Bahceli on Thursday. The meeting lasted for 45 minutes, according to a separate statement from the pro-Kurdish party which elaborated that they discussed the latest meeting with Ocalan.
The details of the meeting were not disclosed and the MHP did not issue any statement regarding the rare meeting.
Bahceli, who was a staunch foe of DEM Party and accused it of being the political wing of the PKK, has proposed that Ocalan should address the Turkish parliament and announce the dissolution of the PKK.
MHP and AKP are government allies.
The DEM Party announced that their delegation will also meet with the AKP and other political parties which have seats in the parliament.
Ocalan has been kept in the island prison since 1999. On Sunday, the DEM Party lawmakers said he was in good health and had high morale.
Founded in 1978, the PKK initially called for the establishment of an independent Kurdistan but now calls for autonomy. The group is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey.
DEM Party’s predecessor, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), played a key role in negotiating peace talks a decade ago. The short-lived ceasefire collapsed in 2015 and was followed by intense urban fighting in the country’s southwestern Kurdish areas.
