Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s nationalist ally Devlet Bakhceli said on Tuesday that jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan could address the Turkish parliament and announce the dissolution of his organization in exchange for the possibility of his release.

Devlet Bakhceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), made the surprise proposal to MHP lawmakers in a parliamentary speech following media speculation in recent weeks about new efforts to end the conflict that began 40 years ago.

“If the terror leader’s isolation is lifted, let him come and talk,” Bakhceli said. “Let him shout that terrorism is completely over and that the organization has been dismantled.”

In fact, he said that if Ocalan did, he should be given the “right to hope”, implying that he could possibly be released.

“There are many people who have not yet understood this call of mine,” the president of the far-right MIR continued, and formulated his proposal “for the elimination of terrorism in the Turkish Century,” as he said, as follows: “If the isolation is lifted of the terrorist leader, let him come to speak at the group meeting of the (pro-Kurdish) People’s Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) in the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Let him declare that terrorism is completely over and the organization is disbanded. If he shows this will, let the way be wide open for legal regulation in order to exercise the “right to hope”.

The term “right to hope” in the jurisprudence of the Turkish courts refers to the possibility of early release under restrictive conditions for prisoners who have been sentenced to prison, provided they have shown good behavior and served a certain part of their sentence. Parole aims to reintegrate the prisoner into society and ensure that the sentence has a reformative function.

Abdullah Ocalan has been detained since 1999, in solitary confinement, on the island of Imrali in the Propontis, serving a life sentence.

Devlet Bakhceli’s first move, which was interpreted as an initiative to resolve the Kurdish issue, was on October 1 when, during the opening ceremony of the new parliamentary term in the National Assembly, he shook hands with the leadership of the pro-Kurdish DEM party, which even today he accuses of supporting terrorism and is a political offshoot of the PKK.

In a first reaction to Bakhceli’s position, President Erdoğan, speaking to AKP party officials, said that “we cannot accept those who have a problem with our national anthem and those who undermine our democracy”, implying the pro-Kurdish circles, “be it terror lovers masquerading as bar associations, lawyers or journalists”. However, providing indirect support for Bahtceli’s statement, he added: “We expect everyone to realize that there is no place for terrorism in Turkey’s future. We want this history window that opens to not fall victim to calculations. We want to build together a Turkey without terrorism.”

The chairman of the main opposition Kemalist Republican People’s Party (CHP), Özgür Ozel, initially supported the Bakhceli proposal. “If the bloodshed in Turkey stops, if there are no more tears from the eyes of mothers, if peace comes to the country, we appreciate what is said in this context. We will fully support the end of terrorism.”

On the side of the pro-Kurdish DEM, to which the Bakhceli proposal is addressed, the co-president of the pro-Kurdish party Tulai Hatimogulari stated that “if a beginning is to be made, it must be lifted from the isolation (of Ocalan) immediately. We are ready to take the initiative for an honest peace.” He also noted that “interlocutor for peace in the Middle East and Turkey is Mr. Abdullah Ocalan, who is under heavy isolation in Imrali.”