Turkiye's pro-Kurdish DEM Party anticipates visiting Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan in prison within the upcoming days, after which he is expected to issue a statement regarding the group's future, a DEM spokesperson said Wednesday.  

The visit to the island prison would mark the third by a DEM delegation since December, as part of a government-led effort for Ocalan to urge the PKK to disarm—potentially bringing an end to the more than 40-year insurgency against the Turkish state.

The DEM Party delegation has requested permission for another visit to Ocalan and expects the meeting to take place this week, spokesperson Aysegul Dogan said.  

The party hopes Ocalan’s message will be delivered via video, as it would have a greater impact, she added.  

Ocalan has been held in near-total isolation on Imrali prison island since 1999, with only limited contact with the outside world.  

Government and ruling party sources also anticipate that Ocalan will soon call on the PKK to disarm. However, there is some opposition to releasing a video statement due to sensitivities surrounding the PKK, which is designated as a terrorist organization.

Veteran Kurdish politician Ahmet Turk has also requested to join the delegation, Dogan said. If the visit goes ahead as planned, the DEM delegation will release a statement upon their return, she added.

Ocalan hints at readiness to end insurgency, disarm

Ocalan previously signaled a willingness to call on militants to disarm, following a push from a key ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, urging an end to the group's decades-long insurgency.  

Ocalan met with two parliamentarians from the pro-Kurdish DEM Party on Saturday at his prison on Imrali Island, marking the first of its kind in nearly a decade. 

"I am ready to take (the) necessary positive step and make the call," Ocalan was quoted as saying on Sunday. While the nature of the call was not clarified, his remarks followed suggestions from Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), that Ocalan should call on armed groups to lay down their arms.  

Bahceli's expanded proposal in October suggested Ocalan might declare an end to the insurgency in exchange for potential release. Erdogan described the idea as a "historic window of opportunity" but has refrained from discussing any formal peace process.  

Ocalan, who has been serving a life sentence since his capture 25 years ago, noted that recent events in Syria and Gaza have made addressing the Kurdish issue "undelayable". He also called for opposition parties and Parliament to contribute to the process, hinting at potential legal reforms.