Erdogan ally urges jailed PKK leader to announce group's disbandment

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
14 Jan 2025 18:21

Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), was captured in Kenya in 1999 and has been imprisoned on Imrali Island in northwest Turkiye since then.

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In this file photo dated Wednesday, March 21, 2018, a youth holds a flag with the image of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, in Istanbul, Turkey (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, FILE)

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's nationalist ally, Devlet Bahceli, on Tuesday, called on Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), to declare the group's dissolution following his upcoming meeting with the pro-Kurdish political party, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

Bahceli, leader of the nationalist MHP party, made these remarks after a rare meeting that took place late last year between officials from the pro-Kurdish DEM Party and Ocalan.

After the meeting, Ocalan reportedly expressed a willingness to urge the PKK to disarm. Two DEM sources informed Reuters last week that the party is preparing to meet with Ocalan again, potentially as early as Wednesday.

The PKK, classified as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States, and the European Union, has been engaged in an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, resulting in over 40,000 deaths.

Ocalan, captured in Kenya in 1999, has been imprisoned on Imrali Island in northwest Turkiye since then.

Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Bahceli said, "At the second meeting to be held between the DEM delegation and (Ocalan), it should be stated without any conditions that the organisational existence of the PKK is over."

"PKK terrorists must either bury their weapons, hand themselves in along with their weapons, or meet their inevitable end. There is no bartering, negotiating with terror," he added.

The initial meeting between DEM and Ocalan followed Bahceli’s unexpected proposal last year for Ocalan to call for the PKK's dissolution.

Responding to Bahceli's remarks in parliament, DEM co-chair Tuncer Bakirhan reiterated his party’s support for Ocalan’s stance and urged the government to take action.

"Ocalan stated that he had the power to build peace in both of the messages he conveyed; now it's the government's turn. The government must take steps to resolve problems around democratisation and the Kurdish issue," he stressed.

Sources reveal to Al Mayadeen details of Ankara-PKK negotiations

In early January, sources told Al Mayadeen that Turkiye has demanded that PKK members in the Turkish mountains lay down their arms, resolve their legal status with the state, or withdraw to the Qandil Mountains.

Ankara has also insisted on the withdrawal of PKK fighters from northern Syria, the sources added, reaffirming its rejection of any discussions about autonomy within Turkiye during negotiations with the Kurdish group.

According to the sources, Turkish intelligence is engaging in dialogue with Ocalan in his prison cell.

The sources described the atmosphere of the negotiations between Ankara and the PKK as positive, noting "significant agreement on several issues with Ocalan."

All parties involved are cautious about leaking information, as "the negotiations require time and proceed through multiple stages," the sources stressed.