Meeting day under review for DEM Pary- PKK head talks: Minister

ANKARA

The Justice Ministry is in the process of evaluating an appropriate date for a potential meeting between the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) and the jailed head of the PKK terrorist organization, Minister Yılmaz Tunç has said.

“The assessment of the application is ongoing. We are working on establishing a suitable date,” Tunç told reporters on Dec. 10 ahead of a parliamentary session, signaling that the party’s request might be approved.

He added that the ministry will make an announcement soon, noting that the application, submitted on Nov. 26, remains under review.

Last month, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahçeli called for the swift initiation of direct talks between the pro-Kurdish party and PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.

Following Bahçeli’s remarks during his party’s group meeting, DEM Party Co-Chairs Tuncer Bakırhan and Tülay Hatimoğulları filed an official application with the ministry, seeking permission to meet Öcalan on İmralı Island.

Öcalan has been held in solitary confinement in a prison on İmralı Island since 1999. PKK is listed as a terror organization by Türkiye, the U.S. and the EU.

On Oct. 22, Bahçeli proposed to release Öcalan if he accepts to instruct the terror organization to lay down arms and bring an end to the armed struggle against Türkiye.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan described the proposal as a historic opportunity, with calls on the Kurdish people and political actors to put distance between them and the PKK terrorist organization.

After the call, DEM Party expressed readiness to “make every contribution for a democratic solution to the Kurdish issue and democratization of Türkiye.”