Turkey

Supporters of the Kurdish community demonstrate with flags and banners on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the arrest of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan on the banks of the Rhine river in Cologne, western Germany, on February 17, 2024. Photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish party on Tuesday said that jailed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan is expected to make a “historic call” in the coming days with the aim of bringing a “permanent solution” to the Kurdish issue in Turkey.
“Mr. Ocalan is preparing to make a historic call in the coming days for a comprehensive and permanent solution to the Kurdish issue, for the construction of a democratic Turkey,” Tuncer Bakirhan, lawmaker and co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), said in a speech at the Turkish parliament.
“Yes, Mr. Ocalan is preparing for a historic call and will make this call very soon,” Bakirhan stressed, adding that the pro-Kurdish party is ready for a “permanent and comprehensive” solution.
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.
A DEM Party delegation has visited jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan twice in recent weeks. They have also held meetings with all political parties that have representatives in the parliament.
Turkish officials claim that the DEM Party is the political wing of the PKK, but the party has denied any ties with the armed group.
In January, Turkey’s far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli, who is the mastermind of the latest peace talks, said that the PKK must be dissolved “without any conditions.”
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.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned last month that if the PKK fails to heed Ankara’s demand, Turkey has “the strength, means, and determination to eradicate the separatist organization, as we have with all terrorist structures in the region, down to its last militant.”
“Mr. Ocalan is preparing to make a historic call in the coming days for a comprehensive and permanent solution to the Kurdish issue, for the construction of a democratic Turkey,” Tuncer Bakirhan, lawmaker and co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), said in a speech at the Turkish parliament.
“Yes, Mr. Ocalan is preparing for a historic call and will make this call very soon,” Bakirhan stressed, adding that the pro-Kurdish party is ready for a “permanent and comprehensive” solution.
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.
A DEM Party delegation has visited jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan twice in recent weeks. They have also held meetings with all political parties that have representatives in the parliament.
Turkish officials claim that the DEM Party is the political wing of the PKK, but the party has denied any ties with the armed group.
In January, Turkey’s far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli, who is the mastermind of the latest peace talks, said that the PKK must be dissolved “without any conditions.”
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.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned last month that if the PKK fails to heed Ankara’s demand, Turkey has “the strength, means, and determination to eradicate the separatist organization, as we have with all terrorist structures in the region, down to its last militant.”
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