The main opposition, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), on Tuesday voiced tentative support for the recent initiative to end PKK terrorism in Türkiye.
“Such a process should be based at Parliament, which would steer and supervise it,” CHP leader Özgür Özel told reporters in Ankara after receiving lawmakers from the PKK-linked Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party).
Tuesday’s talks were the latest in a string of meetings DEM Party lawmakers Sırrı Süreyya Önder and Pervin Buldan have held since meeting jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan in the prison on Imralı Island near Istanbul.
Önder and Buldan, accompanied by Ahmet Türk, a veteran politician who served as mayor of the southeastern province of Mardin, have been briefing parties represented at Parliament about their meeting with Öcalan and listening to their input.
The lawmakers first met with Devlet Bahçeli, the chair of the government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), who was the one to spur the new terror-free initiative.
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.
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.
Türkiye has maintained a robust military crackdown on the terrorist group in the past four decades.
A “reconciliation process” launched by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the early 2010s collapsed 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.
The process had been essentially frozen until Bahçeli’s unprecedented call in October.
Through Önder and Buldan, Öcalan conveyed a message from prison, confirming a positive response to Bahçeli’s call.
“Reinforcing the 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.
“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,” the PKK leader said.
Some far-right parties strictly opposed “negotiating with terrorists,” as they labeled the process, while the main opposition party, the CHP, has been guarded about Öcalan’s remarks and meeting the DEM Party delegation, despite its long electoral alliance with it.
“We have always expressed the CHP would contribute to any initiative to prevent any more losses and end a problem that has lasted for 50 years,” Özel said.
He said the CHP conveyed its expectations, concerns and criticism to the DEM Party delegation.
“We have plainly expressed that there is a need to form a strong commission at Parliament, including all political parties,” he said.
Özel also argued the social consensus must be considered, as well as the fears and concerns of the families of martyrs and veterans of the PKK violence.
For his part, Önder said they welcomed the “valuable” suggestions of the CHP.
“This is not a political maneuver of a narrow faction,” Önder told reporters after the meeting. “We have to heed everyone since it concerns the future of this entire nation.”
The DEM Party delegation also met with AK Party representatives on Monday.
AK Party Group Chair Abdullah Güler on Tuesday dismissed claims the said initiative would allow Öcalan’s release or house confinement or pardon.
“It’s not right to approach these incidents as conditional. A pardon (for Öcalan) is not on our agenda,” Güler said at a conference with media representatives. “This is not a solution process nor is it similar.”
The DEM Party meeting was a private conversation and there is a good climate to resolve and conclude this vital issue for Türkiye, Güler said, adding that he observed “a very positive atmosphere for this process.”
The DEM Party is expected to make a statement later this week at the conclusion of their meetings.