ANKARA – Turkey’s pro-Kurdish DEM Party expects to visit imprisoned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan within days, with hopes of receiving a statement from him on the future of the Kurdish separatist movement, DEM spokesperson Aysegul Dogan announced on Wednesday.
The anticipated visit to the island prison of Imrali would mark the third meeting between a DEM delegation and Ocalan since December, reflecting growing momentum in a government initiative aimed at encouraging Ocalan to call on the PKK to disarm. Such a move could pave the way to ending a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1980s.
According to Dogan, the party has applied for permission for the visit and expects it to occur this week. She expressed hopes that Ocalan would deliver his message via video, noting, “A video message would have a greater impact.” However, the idea of releasing a video statement is reportedly facing resistance due to the sensitive nature of the PKK, which is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU.
Ocalan has been held in near-total isolation since his capture in 1999, with limited communication with the outside world. Despite this, his influence over the PKK and the broader Kurdish political movement remains substantial. Government insiders and ruling party officials anticipate that a call from Ocalan for the PKK to disarm could be imminent, signaling a potential turning point in Turkey’s Kurdish conflict.
Veteran Kurdish politician Ahmet Turk has also requested to join the delegation, Dogan confirmed. Should the visit proceed as expected, the DEM delegation plans to issue a statement upon their return. The outcome of the meeting and Ocalan’s potential call for disarmament could significantly impact Turkey’s domestic politics and its ongoing conflict with Kurdish militants, as well as its relations with regional powers and Western allies.