Response from Istanbul

The Kurdish agenda in Turkey is changing from today. PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan’s statements from Imrali, the prison island in the Sea of ​​Marmara where he has been held since 1999 on a life sentence, shift the weight of decision-making into the hands of Turkey’s biggest enemy. And the most impressive: the initial move that led to today’s development was made by Ocalan’s greatest enemy, the leader of the far-right Nationalist Action Party, Devlet Bakhceli, an essential government partner of President Tayyip Erdogan.

What happened in Imrali?

The parliamentarians of the pro-Kurdish party DEM, Pervin Buldan and Sisri Sureya Oder, after permission given by the Ministry of Justice on Friday, December 27, visited the leader of the PKK in Imrali yesterday morning and discussed with him for three hours the proposal of Devlet Bakhceli from last October: Ocalan himself to renounce terrorism, the PKK to lay down its arms and for Ocalan to make these statements in the Turkish National Assembly, in the parliamentary group of the pro-Kurdish DEM party.

The two MPs returned yesterday from Imrali and issued an announcement that tomorrow (today Sunday) they will make statements and assessments for their meeting with the ARO.

Indeed, on Sunday morning the two DEM deputies, in their written statement, stated the following: “We had a comprehensive meeting with Mr. Abdullah Ocalan in Imrali on December 28, 2024. His health was good and his morale quite high. His assessments of finding a permanent solution to the Kurdish question were vital.” “During the meeting where the latest developments in the Middle East and Turkey were evaluated, Mr. Ocalan presented positive solution proposals against the imposed dark scenarios of the future”, the two MPs said.

Ocalan’s statements included in the written statement were, among others, the following: “The re-strengthening of Turkish-Kurdish brotherhood is not only a historical responsibility, but it has also become of decisive importance and urgency for all peoples.” “For the success of the process, it is necessary that all political circles in Turkey take initiatives, act constructively and contribute positively, without engaging in narrow and opportunistic calculations.” “The events in Gaza and Syria have shown that the solution of this problem, which has been attempted to become gangrenous by external interventions, has become necessary.” “I have the competence and determination to offer the necessary positive contribution to the new paradigm empowered by Mr. Bakhtseli and Mr. Erdogan”. “It is a time of peace, democracy and brotherhood for Turkey and the region.”

Waiting for specific suggestions

Ocalan’s statements and the positive message he sent must be analyzed and turned into concrete proposals. Is Ocalan ready to renounce terrorism and disband his organization? Will PKK-affiliated Iraqi and Syrian Kurds heed his call to lay down their arms?

However, it is important that in his statements Ocalan adds the factor of Syria and Gaza to the equation for a solution to the Kurdish.

There have still been no reactions to the statements of the PKK leader. The first comments of the Turkish media say that a new solution process has started and they notice that in Ocalan’s statements the word PKK is not mentioned anywhere, but the Grand Turkish National Assembly is presented as an institution where, as he says, “all political circles in Turkey must take the initiative, act constructively and make a positive contribution.”