In a pivotal moment for the new initiative to convince the PKK terrorist group to lay down arms, the PKK-linked Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) on Monday met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the capital Ankara.
AK Party Deputy Chair Efkan Ala, Group Chair Abdullah Güler and spokesperson Ömer Çelik welcomed DEM Party’s Sırrı Süreyya Önder and Pervin Buldan for a landmark meeting a week after the pair visited the PKK’s jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan.
The pair were accompanied by Ahmet Türk, a veteran politician who served as mayor of the southeastern province of Mardin after multiple tenures as a lawmaker in parties that were spiritual predecessors of the DEM Party.
Last week, Önder and Buldan first met with Devlet Bahçeli, chair of the MHP, a member of the AK Party-led People’s Alliance, and said they would meet with all parties represented at Parliament and brief them about their meeting with Öcalan.
Bahçeli, in October, breathed new life into a solution for a problem plaguing Türkiye since the 1980s.
Risking his political legacy as a staunch proponent of the annihilation of the PKK, Bahçeli openly called on the government to grant a temporary release for Öcalan so that he could address a parliamentary meeting of the DEM Party and urge the PKK to dissolve itself.
Bahçeli’s call found support from Erdoğan, while the opposition parties were caught off guard.
Earlier on Monday, the DEM Party delegation met with Future Party (GP) Chair Ahmet Davutoğlu, who called for the new process spurred by Bahçeli’s call to be used to “build a strong peaceful Türkiye by proceeding with calm and away from provocations.”
Önder said the party would make a comprehensive statement after visiting Selahattin Demirtaş, the former head of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), the DEM Party’s spiritual predecessor, in prison.
Speaking to reporters following the meeting, Güler said they had a “candid, positive chat where we shared our opinions.”
“The necessary statements will be made in the coming days,” Güler assured.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which long aligned itself with the DEM Party, remains cautious in support of this new initiative. Some far-right parties strictly opposed “negotiating with terrorists,” as they labeled the process, namely the Good Party (IP), which will not receive the DEM Party lawmakers.
CHP Chair Özgür Özel on Monday said his party would discuss a meeting with the DEM Party, claiming: “We cannot say yes to anything that is not approved by the families of martyrs and veterans.”
PKK terrorism
The PKK, which has killed thousands since it launched its first terrorist attacks in the 1980s, claims to fight for Kurdish self-rule and brainwashes the Kurdish population concentrated in southeastern Türkiye to draw recruits.
Since the campaign of terrorism began, Türkiye resorted to military tactics to suppress the PKK, especially in the 1990s. Under AK Party-led governments since the early 2000s, this policy continued for several years.
In the 2010s, the AK Party launched a “reconciliation process” to address fundamental issues exploited by the PKK, such as the rights of the Kurdish community. Positive steps by the government led the PKK to cease its attacks for a few years and “withdraw” to northern Iraq from the southeastern regions of Türkiye.
Yet, efforts failed due to the PKK’s reluctance to further progress and the emergence of a Syrian wing of the terrorist group that exploited the security vacuum in war-torn Syria.
Önder and Buldan, who met Öcalan during the reconciliation process, were part of delegations participating under the HDP.
Öcalan’s response
Through Önder and Buldan, Öcalan conveyed a message from prison, confirming a positive response to Bahçeli’s call. He said it was a “time of brotherhood and peace for Türkiye and the region.”
The DEM Party said in a written statement posted on its website that lawmakers and Öcalan discussed developments in Türkiye and the Middle East and Öcalan proposed positive solutions to “imposed dark scenarios.”
Öcalan has been serving a life sentence in a prison in Imralı, south of Istanbul, since his capture 25 years ago. Though the PKK picked new senior cadres after his capture, he is still a revered figure for the group, which refers to him as “leadership.”
“Reinforcing Turkish-Kurdish brotherhood is a historic responsibility and is a matter of importance and emergency for all peoples,” Öcalan said in his statements quoted by the DEM Party.
Öcalan also said it was essential for all political circles in Türkiye to take the initiative without being confined to “narrow calculations,” “act constructive,” and “provide a positive contribution” for this new process to succeed.
“I have the capability and resolve to contribute positively to this new paradigm empowered by Mr. Bahçeli and Mr. Erdoğan. My approach will be shared with the state and political circles. I am ready to take the positive step and make the call. Our efforts will advance the country to the level it deserves and will be a guideline for a democratic transformation,” Öcalan also said.