DEM Party says Öcalan to make 'historic call'

ANKARA

Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) co-chair Tuncer Bakırhan said on Feb. 4 jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan is expected to make a "historic call" in the coming days.

"Mr. Öcalan is preparing to make a historic call in the coming days for a profound and permanent solution to the Kurdish problem and the construction of a democratic Türkiye," Bakırhan said in a weekly parliamentary meeting.

Asked by reporters whether the statement would be issued on Feb. 15, the anniversary of Öcalan’s 1999 capture, Bakırhan said the timing could be slightly later.

He suggested the call is likely to include a message urging PKK to lay down arms.

"The society in Türkiye wants this to evolve into a peace process," Bakırhan said. "We should not spoil this historic opportunity."

His remarks follow rare meetings between Öcalan and a delegation from the DEM Party. Lawmakers Sırrı Süreyya Önder and Pervin Buldan visited him on Jan. 22, marking their second meeting in less than a month.

The visits to the PKK leader serving a life sentence on the İmralı prison island off Istanbul were the first since members of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party’s predecessor, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), met with him in April 2015.

Öcalan’s engagement with politicians became possible after Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli invited Öcalan to come to the parliament to renounce terror and disband PKK.