Latest news with #Imrali
Rudaw Net
2 days ago
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Erdogan commends Ocalan's support for peace process
Also in Turkey Erdogan will not seek Turkey-Iraq oil export deal renewal: Gazette PKK says no more disarmament until Ankara enacts reforms Turkish parties discuss forming PKK peace commission in parliament Parents find missing daughter during PKK disarmament ceremony A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday praised the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) for his continued support for peace talks between the Kurdish group and Ankara. Erdogan also noted progress in ongoing efforts to establish a parliamentary commission to bring the matter before the legislature. 'We are determined to build a terrorism-free future. We are clear about what we will do to reach our goal, how we will achieve it, and where we will ultimately end up,' Erdogan told journalists on Monday. 'Imrali has provided and continues to provide all kinds of support on this issue. This aspect is very important,' the Turkish leader added, referring to the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been jailed at Imrali prison since 1999. On May 12, the PKK announced its dissolution and intention to disarm after being urged to do so by their founder Ocalan who said it was time to take the struggle for Kurdish rights into the political sphere. The PKK has declared a unilateral ceasefire and on July 11 had a ceremonial disarmament where 30 fighters, including commanders, burned their weapons. Erdogan also said that they are following the PKK disarmament process, adding that the negotiations to form a parliamentary commission to address the peace process, or what Ankara calls terror-free Turkey, have 'reached the final stage. You will soon see progress at the parliamentary level.' The peace process will be guided by the parliamentary commission. Representatives of the parliamentary bloc of Turkey's political parties met with the parliament speaker on Friday and the commission will be formed within days. The commission has broad political support, except from the ultranationalist IYI Party. Cemil Bayik, co-chair of the executive council of PKK umbrella group the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), said in a recent interview with PKK media that the commission's sole purpose cannot be disarmament of the PKK. 'If the PKK armed itself, it wasn't because they wanted to use weapons. The Turkish state, through its policies and practices, forced them to do so. That's why the armed movement developed. If they don't want an armed movement, they need to change their policies. Only then will the problem be solved. The issue of weapons alone won't solve the problem,' he said. He also warned that the group will not commit to further disarmament until Turkey makes legal reforms to address discrimination of its Kurdish population, and if Ankara fails to take action, then other groups will emerge and pick up the fight. Devlet Bahceli, the initiator of the nascent peace process and leader of Turkey's Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), has said that a Kurd and an Alevi could serve as vice presidents of the country - a statement he reiterated on Monday. 'Both Alevis and Kurds are ours,' he said. 'We are one, we are together, we are brothers, we are a very large family.'
Rudaw Net
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
PKK disarmament could be completed within four months: Kurdish lawmaker
Also in Middle East Sudani, Erdogan discuss Ankara-PKK peace talks President Barzani plays key role in PKK peace talks, says veteran politician Turkey continues to strike PKK ahead of disarmament: Watchdog France hails Iraq ties, stresses Kurdish inclusion in Syria's future A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The disarmament process of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) could be completed within four months if the Turkish government and all parties cooperate, a senior member of Turkey's pro-Kurdish party and part of the delegation involved in the peace process said. Mithat Sancar, Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) lawmaker and a member of the Imrali delegation that visited jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, told Rudaw on Friday that the recent 'historic' ceremony in Sulaimani province was a 'big step' in the right direction "This process has been ongoing for six or seven months, and now a big step has been taken," Sancar said. "Perhaps after another three to four months this issue will end,' he said. The PKK on Friday held a landmark ceremonial disarmament in Sulaimani province with 30 members and commanders - divided equally between men and women - burning their weapons before heading back to their hideouts. The decision to lay down arms was made following a call earlier this year by jailed leader Ocalan for the PKK to pursue politics instead of armed conflict. Sancar emphasized that new "peace laws" and integration measures will be needed to allow former fighters to re-enter civilian life and participate in democratic politics. He added that a parliamentary commission is expected to be formed within a week to prepare these proposals. While local leaders and the PKK have taken steps toward de-escalation, Sancar stressed that the Turkish state also needs to act. "This shouldn't be prolonged," he said. "A plan needs to be made, a mechanism established, and laws need to be passed." He noted that the decision to burn the weapons rather than surrender them was deeply symbolic. "They say, 'We are laying down arms by our own will … and we want peace, we want a democratic solution.'" Sancar, who visited Ocalan on Imrali island as part of the delegation, said the PKK leader appeared in good health and remained "prepared for this process," as he continues to draft ideas for politics and society and has called for broader engagement, including visits by journalists, academics, and politicians. The PKK, established in 1978, initially sought Kurdish independence before shifting its focus to securing political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey. It is designated as a terrorist organization by Ankara and its Western allies. Hevidar Zana contributed to this report.
France 24
07-07-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Erdogan, pro-Kurdish MPs meet in 'new phase' of rapprochement
DEM, Turkey's third-biggest party, has played a key role in facilitating an emerging peace deal between the government and jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan, whose Kurdish militant group is expected to begin laying down its weapons later this week. The meeting, which lasted just over an hour, brought together Erdogan, Efkan Ala, a senior figure in his ruling AKP, and spy chief Ibrahim Kalin with DEM lawmakers Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar. "Our delegation conveyed their views and suggestions on the new stage the process has reached and what to do next," the DEM lawmakers said in a brief statement after the talks. DEM lawmaker Buldan called the meeting "historic". "The process is now entering a new phase in which consultations are needed," she told reporters before the meeting, saying it was "important to consult to take the necessary steps". Fellow DEM lawmaker Mithat Sancar said the new phase was "very important" and that they would "consult with the president and his delegation about the characteristics of this new phase and the upcoming requirements". On Sunday, the pair said they held a "very productive" meeting with Ocalan on Imrali prison island. The jailed 76-year-old PKK founder also characterised the upcoming talks with Erdogan as "historic". DEM has submitted a proposal to set up a parliamentary commission, which Ocalan said would "play a major role" in directing the peace process. DEM told AFP the commission would likely be set up by mid-July. The meeting came as the PKK was to hold a ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan to start destroying a first tranche of weapons -- which will likely take place on or around July 10-12. Ahead of the ceremony, spy chief Kalin was due to travel to Baghdad on Tuesday for high-level talks on the logistics of the disarmament process, the Hurriyet daily reported. Afterwards, Kalin would meet with the parliamentary speaker Numan Kurtulmus to discuss setting up the commission, it said. The disarmament process is expected to unfold over the coming months.
Asharq Al-Awsat
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
PKK Urges Türkiye to Ease Imprisonment of 'Chief Negotiator' Ocalan
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has said Türkiye should ease prison conditions for its founder Abdullah Ocalan, declaring him the group's "chief negotiator" for any future talks after a decision to disband. A spokesman for the Kurdish group, blacklisted as a "terrorist" organization by Ankara and its Western allies, told AFP in an interview on Monday that Türkiye has not yet provided guarantees for a peace process, and expressed objection to exiling PKK members. In recent months, the PKK has made several historic decisions, starting with announcing a ceasefire and ultimately declaring on May 12 its dissolution, ending a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state that cost more than 40,000 lives. The group's moves followed an appeal by Ocalan, made in a letter from Istanbul's Imrali prison island where he has been held in solitary confinement since 1999. Zagros Hiwa, spokesman for the PKK's political wing, told AFP in a written interview that "as an organization which has waged military struggle for 41 years, we have decided to dissolve and put an end to armed struggle." "By this, we give peace a real chance." "So from now on, we expect that the Turkish state makes amendments in the solitary confinement conditions" of Ocalan, and allow him "free and secure work conditions so that he could lead the process," Hiwa said. "Leader Apo is our chief negotiator" for any talks with Türkiye, he added, referring to Ocalan. The spokesman said that "only Leader Apo can lead the practical implementation of the decision" taken by the PKK congress earlier this month to disband, paving the way for a political settlement. The dissolution mechanisms are unclear yet, but the Turkish government has said it would carefully monitor the process to ensure full implementation. Hiwa said the implementation would be addressed in Ocalan's negotiations with Turkish officials.
News.com.au
12-05-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Ocalan: founder of the Kurdish militant PKK who authored its end
Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed founder of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), is an icon to many Kurds but a "terrorist" to many within wider Turkish society. After a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, the PKK said on Monday it was disbanding and ending its armed struggle. The move came after Ocalan issued a historic call on February 27 for his fighters to lay down their arms in a major step towards ending the decades-long conflict. Now 76, Ocalan has been held in solitary confinement since 1999 on Imrali prison island near Istanbul. But since October, when Turkey tentatively moved to reset ties with the PKK, Ocalan has been visited several times by lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish opposition DEM party. For many Turks, the PKK leader is public enemy number one. He founded the group in 1978. Six years later, it began an insurgency demanding independence and later broader autonomy in Turkey's mostly Kurdish southeast. A Marxist-inspired group, the PKK was blacklisted as a "terror" organisation by Ankara, Washington, Brussels and many other Western countries. - An olive branch - Attitudes began shifting in October when ultra-nationalist MHP leader Devlet Bahceli, a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, offered Ocalan an olive branch if he would publicly renounce violence. The next day, the former guerrilla, who embodies the decades-long Kurdish rebellion, received his first family visit in four years. He sent back a message saying he alone could shift the Kurdish question "from an arena of conflict and violence to one of law and politics", later offering assurances he was "ready to... make the call". Ankara's move came shortly before Syrian rebels overthrew ruler Bashar al-Assad, upending the regional balance of power and thrusting Turkey's complex relationship with the Kurds into the spotlight. - From village life to militancy - Ocalan was born on April 4, 1949, one of six siblings in a mixed Turkish-Kurdish peasant family in Omerli, a village in Turkey's southeast. His mother tongue is Turkish. He became a left-wing activist while studying politics at university in Ankara and was first jailed in 1972. He set up the PKK six years later, then spent years on the run, launching the movement's armed struggle in 1984. Taking refuge in Syria, he led the fight from there, causing friction between Damascus and Ankara. Forced out in 1998, he moved from Russia to Italy to Greece in search of a haven, ending up at the Greek consulate in Kenya, where US agents got wind of his presence and tipped off Turkey. He was arrested on February 15, 1999, after being lured into a vehicle in a Hollywood-style operation by Turkish security forces. Sentenced to death, he escaped the gallows when Turkey started abolishing capital punishment in 2002, living out the rest of his days in isolation on Imrali prison island in the Sea of Marmara near Istanbul. For many Kurds, he is a hero whom they refer to as "Apo" (uncle). But Turks often call him "bebek katili" (baby killer) for ruthless tactics that include the bombing of civilian targets. - Jailed but still leading - With Ocalan's arrest, Ankara thought it had decapitated the PKK. But even from his cell he continued to lead, ordering a ceasefire that lasted from 1999 until 2004. In 2005, he ordered followers to renounce the idea of an independent Kurdish state and campaign for autonomy in their respective countries. Tentative moves to resolve Turkey's "Kurdish problem" began in 2008 and several years later Ocalan became involved in the first unofficial peace talks, when Erdogan was prime minister. Led by then spy chief Hakan Fidan -- who is now foreign minister -- the talks raised Kurdish hopes for a solution with their future within Turkey's borders. But the effort collapsed in July 2015, sparking one of the deadliest chapters in the conflict. The government has defended its de facto silencing of Ocalan, saying he failed to convince the PKK of the need for peace. Seen as the world's largest stateless people, Kurds were left without a country when the Ottoman Empire collapsed after World War I. Although most live in Turkey, where they make up around a fifth of the population, the Kurds are also spread across Syria, Iraq and Iran. Turkey's widescale use of combat drones has pushed most Kurdish fighters into northern Syria and Iraq, where Ankara has continued its raids. bur-hmw/gil
